Buying a used w124 station. Any advice?

I'd get a copy of "The Mercedes Benz E-Class Owner's Bible". It's been an invaluable part of learning the nuances W124 ownership for me

JD.

R. Broekstra wrote:

I don't think so. It was an option in Europe (in fact almost anything was an - expensive - option as I understand it). You can also add an aftermarket one for ~400 EUR, I think. Not such a bad idea, because old CC's tend to break eventually.

As a Dutchman (like me) you can probaly read German. Try this buyer's guide:

People say they should easily last 500.000 km, especially the diesels, but Dutch politicians have something against old diesels, as you may have noticed.

There are some specialized places in Holland that sell very low mileage MB's, I got mine - a '87 250D with 76kkm - from budgetbenz. Expensive but genuine. If you want more addresses, let me know...

Ximinez

Thanks for the tip. Only $26 from amazon, ordered it rightaway :)

[snip] > Try this buyer's guide:

Ah excellent, exactly the kind of info I was looking for.

Whoosh, these guys are really, really expensive. Easily 2-3 times the average prices I've seen around the net. I'm interested in paying a little more for a good car from a trustworthy source, but > 10 grand for a 124 is above my budget. If you've got any other places I should check, please let me know

-- Rien

The ones in my bookmark list are all relatively expensive, especially for combis. Cars older than 15 years are interesting for business owners for tax reasons. That's probably why there are so many of these places in Holland and why they charge the prices they charge. It's also the reason I drive my 250D ;)

Good luck!

Ximinez

I've heard W124 turbo diesels have frequent issues with the charger so a non turbo is probably better.

If it's not too cumbersome (and expensive) to transfer a car from Germany you can probably also check markets over here which probably gives you more choice.

or

Kind regards

robert

[snip]

I already found some nice models over there. The drawback is that I have to pay between 1500 and 2500 euro additional taxes when importing a 124 to the netherlands. It might pay off though, as the cars seem to be cheaper in germany.

Cheers,

-- Rien

You have to pay taxes on a used-car import? Not VAT, surely?

Just a Dutch diesel surcharge?

DAS

For direct replies replace nospam with schmetterling

No, it's the old 'luxury tax', BPM that makes cars so expensive here. If you import old cars you still have to pay a small percentage of that tax over the original sale value. You also pay VAT over new cars, not old ones.

The BPM tax is 45% on sale over the net price (minus 1500 EUR for a gas car).

So if you buy a new 20000 EUR gasoline car, I think you'd pay:

20000 + (9000 - 1500) + 3800 = 31300 EUR

(the 3800 is the 19% VAT)

The BPM tax should be slowly phased out in favour of road pricing (if that ever comes), but VAT is set to rise to 20% soon.

Ximinez

Yes, makes more sense, but I thought there was an extra tax on diesel cars to make up for the (relatively) low price of the fuel, but I suppose that's in the annual road tax.

Hah, 20% VAT. We in GB were once among the highest in western Europe, starting at 15% and then rising to 17.5%. Then Germany rose to 16% and to now 19%...

And our food and children's clothing are not 'VATted', but that doesn't make our food any cheaper than elsewhere. I understand that UK supermarket margins are higher than in, e.g., Germany, for example, and our exchange rate is probably a bit too high (but I don't care as it's a benefit to me...)

DAS

For direct replies replace nospam with schmetterling

What a bizarrely European concept. So much for encouraging efficiency.

I understand that in some European countries, legal fines are adjusted upward based on income, too. Weird.

Is VAT a substitute for American-style sales tax, or applied in addition to it?

Geoff

-- "If it rains after a liberal washes his car, they say it's a right-wing dirty trick." -- Ann Coulter

See below.

DAS

For direct replies replace nospam with schmetterling

The higer (fixed) road tax in combination with the lower fuel tax on diesel actually made diesel more attractive for people who drive a lot. I believe the percentage of diesel cars in Holland is a lot higher than that in the US. Diesel came under fire because of reports about toxic particle emissions, so some changes are likely there.

Not here, thankfully. We do have a few rental houses that are priced according to income, that idea popped up recently. And, on top of that, rent subsidies for low-income people.

Substitute, we don't have a sales tax.

Ximinez

Hey guys,

Ohwell, no problem for me with the extra luxury tax when importing a w124 anymore. I found a nice 1993 E280T yesterday. I hope it will serve me well :)

Cheers,

-- Rien

: I understand that in some European countries, legal fines are adjusted : upward based on income, too. Weird.

I understand the rationale; I just don't agree with it. The punishment for committing a crime should be a function of the seriousness of the offense, nothing else. And a crime isn't somehow more serious when it's committed by a relatively well-off person than it is by a relatively poor one.

I'd say it's socially unjust to penalize one person more heavily than another for committing the same crime, particularly because of circum- stances that are irrelevant to the commission of the offense. And on a more practical (if decidedly un-PC) level, perhaps it's fitting that monetary penalties fall harder on the less well-off. Since most crim- inals are from the lower socioeconomic classes, it makes sense to have a stronger deterrent where they're concerned.

Life isn't fair. Some people are wealthier than others. Some people are smarter, more attractive, or more talented than others. A fundamental difference between our societies is that to an American, being able to more easily absorb the expenses of living, whatever they may be, is an incentive to better oneself. To a European, it's an excuse to dispro- portionately penalize the well-off. That's the result of centuries of class resentment, which our own history largely lacks.

America is known as the land of opportunity, and Americans are known for our optimism. That's why rather than thinking of the weathy as a class of oppressors who got where they are on the backs of the prole- tariat, we admire them and aspire to join them.

: Is VAT a substitute for American-style sales tax, or applied in addition : to it?

Looking at the rest of the world through the lens of one's own society is hardly unique to Americans.

[...]

Ouch! Sales tax is set at the state level in America, with counties and cities often adding their own (proportionately low) sales taxes. The current sales tax where I live (the Silicon Valley area of California) is, IIRC, 8.5%.

Thanks for the explanation.

Geoff

-- "If it rains after a liberal washes his car, they say it's a right-wing dirty trick." -- Ann Coulter

Geoff

The theory is that the fine impacts the guilty equally, regardless of available income, so if your disposable income each month (after tax, mortgage and other fixed deductions) is $1000, then fine of $500 (in the UK a £250 fine for speeding is not uncommon and the maximum for speeding is £1,000 - See

then thiswill impact you quite seriously, while if your disposable income is$10,0000 then $500 will have no impact at all and you will speed in thesame place again, whereas a fine of 50% of your disposable income ($5,000)may cause you to consider more carefully before speeding. Add to that the very likely possibility of losing your driving licence for a number of years on multiple driving offences and thereby perhaps forcing you to lose your job or paying a lot for transport to and from work. For example, it's quite possible for me to lose my licence for 3 years in a single day, just driving the 9 miles into work, as there are 3 fixed speed cameras and each camera could be worth up to 6 penalty points on my licence and I will lose my licence once I have accumulated 12 points within a 3 year period so one tends to be careful.

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for caravanning, for my personal web site and because I love the email address.