Mercedes-Benz Sedan Range

That’s not a huge mileage for an engine like this, and I wouldn’t expect to see timing chain stretch over that distance. However, it begs the question of how the vehicle has been serviced. Timing chains really should last the life of the car (or, at least, the engine) but if the engine hasn’t been treated to the correct oil changes and general maintenance, the timing chain can be one component that will suffer.

If the car was bought second-hand, it would be worth going through the service history to see if any scheduled servicing was skipped. This could be the root cause of the problem. It’s also important not to confuse a stretch timing chain with a worn chain tensioning system. The tensioner holds the chain tight, taking the slack out of it and allowing for some stretch to be taken up over the years of operation. If it fails or becomes weak, you might start to hear the chain rattling.

According to the official government test, the 2002 C240 should return fuel consumption of 10.8 litres per 100km in city driving and 6.8 litres per 100km on the highway. In reality, of course, most drivers never get anywhere near these figures as they’re not based on real-world driving, rather a laboratory test. They do, however, serve as a comparison between makes and models given the test is identical for each vehicle.

Most owners of these cars seem to report using between eight and nine litres per 100km on a country drive and considerably more than that around the city and suburbs.

These older Mercedes sedans are seriously under-valued given what they represent. The price of a decent house when new, they’re now available for very reasonable sums, and they represent a lot of car for the money. Provided you get a good one. Because a crook one will bankrupt you.

The car you’re looking at is from the later, facelifted W124 series and the reason it’s had a new wiring harness fitted is because this model suffered form a new type of wring M-B was trialling at the time which turned out to literally fall to bits over time. But the replacement harness should not have the same problem, so that’s in this car’s favour.

The kilometres are also pretty low for a car like this, so I’d say that price, with a RWC thrown in, is a pretty sharp deal and represents good buying. On two conditions: That there’s some evidence of a service record that doesn’t have big gaps suggesting skipped maintenance, and that you carefully test drive the car and make sure you can live with its habits. These old Mercs tend to take off in second gear (they’re designed that way) and, with the four-cylinder engine in this example, you won’t want to be in a hurry. Beyond that, however, a good W124 is a true delight.