For years, I’ve explored countless junkyards, documenting the automotive relics and forgotten gems within. While writing about these automotive graveyards, I’ve surprisingly never featured a W124 Mercedes-Benz junkyard find – until now. Today, we rectify that with the discovery of an exceptionally well-preserved W124 wagon, located in a salvage yard just outside of Denver.
Recently, I assisted my mother-in-law in selling her meticulously maintained 2004 Honda Accord. This Honda, despite its age, presented itself as if it were fresh off the showroom floor. Remarkably, this Mercedes, a decade older than that pristine Accord, rivals it in condition.
It’s almost unbelievable that interiors of many five-year-old cars don’t hold up as well as this thirty-year-old Mercedes. Sadly, this E-Class wagon is no longer with us in its junkyard state. These photos were taken last August, and the vehicle has since been processed, likely meeting its end at the crusher a few months later.
The critical divergence between a 30-year-old W124 and a 20-year-old Accord lies in upkeep costs. Mercedes-Benz maintenance and repairs tend to be significantly more expensive, often leading to deferred service as these cars change hands multiple times. However, this particular W124 appeared to be in running condition when it arrived at the junkyard. Perhaps title issues or other bureaucratic hurdles prevented it from finding a new owner through more conventional sales channels.
While 140,000 miles might be considered high mileage for some vehicles, like a Daewoo Nubira, for a W124 Mercedes-Benz, it’s often just the beginning. These cars are known for their robust construction and longevity.
Over the years, I’ve documented numerous discarded Mercedes-Benz models with odometers exceeding 300,000 miles. Among these high-mileage heroes, only a couple have been W124s: a 1989 300 E sedan with 347,000 miles and a 1989 300 TE wagon with 311,000 miles.
While not quite reaching the legendary status of a 601,000-mile W201 or the trio of W123 diesels that surpassed 400,000 miles, the W124 has rightfully earned its reputation for exceptional reliability throughout its production run and beyond.
This durability reminds me of a personal anecdote. Friends of mine, both with backgrounds in design, sought my advice on a used vehicle. Their criteria: bulletproof reliability, strong safety ratings, decent fuel economy, and ample cargo space. My immediate suggestion was a decade-old Toyota or Honda minivan. This suggestion was met with disdain, dismissed due to perceived “bad design” of Japanese vehicles and the minivan stigma.
Ultimately, their definition of “good design” limited their choices to European brands, specifically German or Swedish. This narrowed the field to a vehicle modern enough for safety features but not so technologically advanced as to become a maintenance nightmare: a late-production W124 station wagon.
Predictably, they ended up purchasing a W210 4-Matic wagon, lured by its lower price and newer model year compared to comparable W124s. In the five years since, the W210 has cost them significantly more in repairs than several well-maintained W124s would have. The lesson? Providing car-buying advice is often a futile endeavor.
Returning to our junkyard find, 1993 marked the introduction of the E-Class designation by Mercedes-Benz. This 1994 model is therefore among the first to adopt the now-familiar naming convention, placing the class letter before the engine displacement numbers.
Mercedes-Benz is keen to emphasize the “seamless” lineage of the E-Class, tracing its roots back to the 1935 W136.
The emergence of the 1990 Lexus LS 400 forced Daimler-Benz (and later DaimlerChrysler) to make a strategic decision. They had to choose between prioritizing unmatched build quality and pursuing cutting-edge technology and design. Recognizing that they couldn’t compete with Lexus on build-quality-to-price, they wisely chose the latter path. This shift arguably positions the W124 as the last Mercedes-Benz generation truly built for decades of unwavering reliability – a sentiment echoed by European taxi drivers who favored these models for their durability.
The 1994 E-Class wagon offered to American buyers featured a single powertrain: a DOHC 3.2-liter inline-six engine, producing 217 horsepower and 229 lb-ft of torque. Interestingly, you can still purchase a new E-Class wagon with an inline-six engine today, showing the enduring appeal of this engine configuration.
Early W124 models (1986 and 1987) in the American market offered manual transmissions. However, from 1988 onwards, an automatic transmission became the standard and only option.
The original MSRP for this 1994 E-Class wagon was $46,200, equivalent to approximately $99,733 in 2025. This price didn’t include a car phone, although all US-market 1994 E-Classes were pre-wired for phone installation. For comparison, a 1994 Lexus LS 400 was priced at $51,200, or $110,527 adjusted for inflation.
1995 marked the final year of W124 production for the United States. This junkyard find serves as a testament to the enduring quality and timeless design of the Mercedes-Benz W124, even in its final resting place.
