FS: '95 E300 Diesel OM606 - Final Year, Special Edition trim

ValveCoverGasket

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Joined
Apr 26, 2012
Location
pnw
TDI
colorado duramax, 1z vanagon, tdi touareg
figured this would generate some interest on tdiclub, and i suppose the classifieds do say diesel vehicles in general...

sadly its come time to part ways with a car i spent almost a year searching for, had for several years, sold to a friend, and bought back about 2 years ago. all told ive put a bit over 100k miles on this in the 2 times ive owned it. at this point its not in need of any kind of service other than regular oil and filter changes as you rack of more miles

we're looking to get into the #vanlife and have too many other cars, so this needs to find a new home who will take care of it for another couple hundred thousand miles






































Flickr album of the current cleaned up condition

Flickr album of various services

currently has ~255k miles

the good:
-face lifted w124, rarest of the rare om606 variants, as its the w124 final year and a special edition trim - this came with every option available on the w124 in the states with the exception of the power rear window shade
-eagle eyed viewers will have noticed that the egr blend valve linkage is missing in the engine bay picture - the egr is currently blocked off (valve stuck to shut) via vacuum line block offs and removing the linkage. theres no check engine light and it runs great (more mpgs...) this way, but it would take ~5 minutes to bring it back to stock
-speaking mpgs - it gets mid-high 30s on my 55-60mph back road commute. less on tanks purely around town. fuelly average is 33 mpg right now. it goes 700 miles to a tank

-all of the special editions came with titanium window trim, dark blue metallic paint, walnut wood (not the zebrano like most w124s) and black leather
-memory power seats
-headlight wipers/washers
-power windows
-leather
-locking rear diff (ASD)
-power heated mirrors
-heated seats
-6disc cd changer
-center arm rest cell phone hookup (old school!)
-i have a huge folder of receipts for absolutely everything thats ever been done to it or purchased for it
-itll come with a sizeable stash of spare parts - fluids, original stereo bits, original steering wheel, maintenance stuff, etc
-exterior and interior/general appearance is great, with the exception of the few spots noted below

not original bits/things ive added:
-window tint
-conti bluetooth stereo - no cut wires as this unit has ISO connectors which plug directly into the w124, it will come with the factory becker stereo also should you desire to revert back
-new dash and rear speakers, door speakers are original, but these all sound great with the new conti deck
-nardi wood wheel - it will come with the original wheel but the leather isnt in great shape. this came out looking more reddish in the interior pics, but matches the factory wood really well in person

major services done:
-rear end was resealed and freshened up a handful of years ago the first time i owned it, no leaks, diff bushings were also done at this time
-power steering/ASD pump rebuilt about a year ago
-all new suspension and steering components - just installed these prior to sale. i want to to go to its new home in good shape. this includes new control arms, all the steering linkage bits, spring pads, strut bearings, all the rear end links and bushings, etc. my buddy who i sold it to put new struts in its while he had it, so the suspension is all set
-almost new (put in about a year ago) mercedes factory windshield
~1 year old tires, and a brand new front right that was replaced under warranty - midgrade les schwab tires, my intention was to use this set of wheels/tires for winter and get some amg wheels for summer
-new battery ~2 years ago
-recently had a transmission service, pan off w/ filter and fluid change
-rear half of the exhaust was replaced a handful of years ago during the rear end service
-plastic fuel lines replaced 2 years ago, along with all the breather lines and injector overflow lines
-cooling system overhaul last fall - all new major hoses, new tstat, new overflow + sensor
-new engine and trans mounts last year
-new glowplugs a few years ago
...im sure im forgetting something, but this thing has been really well maintained

the not so great:
-has some dings and dents here and there
-front bumper has some clear coat missing on the top edges
-has two quarter sized rust bubbles - one just about the rear bumper, and one just about the plastic cladding on the passenger front door
-trunk lid has a couple quarter/nickel sized spots where the clear coat is cloudy
-hood has some very light clear coat crazing - not visible unless your within a few feet of the hood staring straight down on it
-headliner is starting to near the middle rear half - these (along with just about everything else for the w124) are available new from mercedes for a few hundred $
-the only inoperable thing on the whole car is the front tilt motor for the seat bases - both driver and passenger - is starting to grind. these are serviceable, and there are DIYs online



asking $7400, but open to reasonable offers
a car like this is a bit hard to value, clean w124s arent getting any more common, and this is a rather rare engine and trim level combo.

ive sold a number of vehicles, and a ski boat, online to happy new owners... so im familiar with the process if anyone out of state is interested.

im more than happy to work with you on how to deliver it to where you live, and exchange pictures and video of any blemishes or anything youre curious about so that there arent any surprises.
if you want to fly in and drive it home, im happy to come get you at the airport. id trust this thing to drive anywhere in the country.


car (and myself) are located near portland, or.
feel free to reach out via email - valvecovergasket@gmail.com

i also may come update the post as i remember any more details haha
 
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IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
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Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
Bump for a nice looking W124. I have a '93 2.5 Turbo, and it's still a pleasure to drive. GLWS.
 

ValveCoverGasket

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 26, 2012
Location
pnw
TDI
colorado duramax, 1z vanagon, tdi touareg
thanks! :)


will leave it on tdiclub for a bit longer, then off to CL it goes ha
 

JDSwan87

Black Swamp Thing
Joined
Feb 9, 2014
Location
Michigan near Toledo
TDI
2001 Jetta TDI, 5 speed Lagoon Blue Metallic(sold); 2005 Jetta TDI Wagon auto
I keep looking at the pictures. I'm simply amazed at the LACK of rust. In my neck of the woods, that car would be about 100lbs lighter due to rust...
 

IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
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Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
Many believe that W124s were the last of the "properly built" Mercedes. As my guru says, they were actually designed to be repaired, not disposed of. When new they were very expensive. I bet this car cost over $50K new, in 1995. That would calculate to close to $100K today. The money wasn't in features, it was in build quality. Although rust proofing wasn't anywhere near as good as it is now, these cars held up much better than the ones that followed.

They were also breakthrough cars in many ways. First M-B made of high strength steel, first that focused on optimizing aerodynamics (CD on the Euro models was in the 0.30 range, very impressive if you look at the shape). One of the first (I think the W201 was the first) to use a double firewall to improve crumple zones...lots of Mercedes safety features that we take for granted today, but didn't exist in most cars in the '80s and '90s.
 
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ValveCoverGasket

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 26, 2012
Location
pnw
TDI
colorado duramax, 1z vanagon, tdi touareg
agreed, with all of that!
in fact as i said i think the w212 diesel i had was probably the closest modern car ive been in that feels similar.

but even that has much more complexity and i dont believe is designed to be kept on the road for several decades...


the continued parts support for the older cars - and the fact that many of the systems were meant to be repaired rather than have entire assemblies disposed of and replaced, means you can keep these going for a long time to come.
the power steering/rear end pump rebuild is a great example.

all of the seals and odds and ends for the internals were available, i took the pump apart carefully, and refreshed it without disposal.


 

KITEWAGON

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Joined
Jun 29, 2009
Location
Seacoast, NH
TDI
2014 Touareg Exec, 2014 JSW
This is a beautiful car. I would love to drive it.

My problem with owning something like this is that I just couldn't allow it to be exposed to our excessively salty roads. I know it has good corrosion resistance, but its too much of a classic for me to do that too. So it would need to be stored for much of the year. But speaking of classic this would be eligible for antique plates in just a couple of years. I wish you were closer.

Great pictures. I love the "DIESEL" emblem.
 

0die

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Nov 29, 2012
Location
corpus christi, tx
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1996 Passat wagon B4V
I miss my 124 wagon....1987 300TDT...sold it with about 600K on it and I would buy it back today if I could find it...was well over $50K new in 1987...

not quite as solid as the 123 series but sooooo much nicer....
 

ValveCoverGasket

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 26, 2012
Location
pnw
TDI
colorado duramax, 1z vanagon, tdi touareg
This is a beautiful car. I would love to drive it.

My problem with owning something like this is that I just couldn't allow it to be exposed to our excessively salty roads. I know it has good corrosion resistance, but its too much of a classic for me to do that too. So it would need to be stored for much of the year. But speaking of classic this would be eligible for antique plates in just a couple of years. I wish you were closer.

Great pictures. I love the "DIESEL" emblem.
i know what you mean, its approaching "too nice to daily" status despite the high miles its way too clean to keep parking downtown and especially using year round somewhere with salt

I miss my 124 wagon....1987 300TDT...sold it with about 600K on it and I would buy it back today if I could find it...was well over $50K new in 1987...

not quite as solid as the 123 series but sooooo much nicer....
wow even more rare, and a hell of a lot of miles!
ideally id have had this exact car in a wagon...
 

ValveCoverGasket

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 26, 2012
Location
pnw
TDI
colorado duramax, 1z vanagon, tdi touareg
updated the asking price - still accepting reasonable offers...

we've found a couple vans we're interested in pursuing so a bit more motivated to move this :)
 

ValveCoverGasket

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 26, 2012
Location
pnw
TDI
colorado duramax, 1z vanagon, tdi touareg
another week or two before it goes to BaT (or at least i attempt to put it on BaT ha)
 

ApriliaNut

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 4, 2008
Location
SoCal
TDI
06 pkg 1 Jetta 191k w/Malone Stage 2
Amazing condition....drivers seat looks hardly sat upon.



Interesting what IndigoBlue said about the systems being designed to be repaired rather than disposed of. Didn't know that. I thought all MBZs were designed to be repaired...but I guess "progress" has found its way Stuttghart.



GLWS...
 
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ValveCoverGasket

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 26, 2012
Location
pnw
TDI
colorado duramax, 1z vanagon, tdi touareg
Amazing condition....drivers seat looks hardly sat upon.

Interesting what IndigoBlue said about the systems being designed to be repaired rather than disposed of. Didn't know that. I thought all MBZs were designed to be repaired...but I guess "progress" has found its way Stuttghart.

GLWS...
hah it sure has! though id say thats less to do with the mechanics of things and more the electrification of everything. once you need a complex service tool to do simple resets and learn routines, youre done working on it at home.
i think the w124 is really just before that era began

Looking for a great commuter, is this car still for sale?
it sure is!

apologies for the super delayed response but i havent been on here much over the holidays.

im easier to reach via email if you have any questions

appreciate it :)

a coworker actually sent me that the morning they put it up. im glad people found the pictures nice hah but its clear the 10-20 people whod find this interesting (and follow rare non-e500 w124 values) arent a majority of jalopderp's audience.
though i did feel compelled to jump in and add one clarification comment on there, i didnt end up following up.
 
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