Up until 1996, Mercedes-Benz built the estate version of the W124, which was referred to as the S124 in internal documents. Most people know it as the W124, though, and the model is the first to be marketed as the E-Class, even though it was not initially offered as such. An example in a rare configuration, a diesel, manual, and wagon that was originally sold in The Netherlands gets a detailing after over a decade in storage.
Mercedes-Benz built two and a half million models of the 124 series over this model's career, including all its body styles, and the Bruno Sacco design has aged beautifully.
This example is a 1991 model year vehicle originally sold in Europe, and it is a 250 TD with a manual gearbox, which makes it a rare configuration in the American market today, not to mention the fact that it was an estate, or T-Modell, as Mercedes-Benz likes to call these.
The owner of this example has passed away, but his car will live again once Larry Kosilla does his magic in his studio. While the vehicle was kept in a storage facility for the last ten years, doing so has not stopped various animals from entering it.
As Larry quickly notes, there are all kinds of spiders under the hood, as well as inside, complete with white mold, rat prints, and other less-than-fortunate signs that critters have been there.
If you have a vehicle that is close to this one when animal contamination is concerned, wearing personal protective equipment is mandatory, not just recommended, as you might touch something that could make you sick.
Returning to the stylish black estate with alloy wheels, you can see that someone once loved this car, as was the case with its 300CD sibling that was featured weeks ago. Yes, they had the same owner, and this example also comes back to the used car market and, hopefully, to the road where it belongs.
With a reasonable investment in its drivetrain, suspension, brakes, and steering, this 1991 Mercedes-Benz 250 TD will once again shine as it did three decades ago. Back then, the T-Modell versions, such as this one, had a self-leveling rear suspension with struts instead of shock absorbers that offered improved comfort for the rear occupants.
Mercedes-Benz even offered a seven-seat version of the S124 chassis, which had a rear-facing bench seat in the luggage compartment that could have been folded to leave a flush storage area when it was not in use.
Until 1994, Mercedes-Benz also offered a retractable cargo net for this body style. Its only downside, when compared to a sedan, coupé, or convertible of the W124 generation, is the higher-mounted rear seat squab (the part that you sit on), which robbed the passengers of a fair bit of headroom in comparison to the other body styles.
With that being written, it is time to watch Larry do his thing.
Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland. Full profile
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