Merc W124 E220 - Made in India

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Sat 27 Aug 2005 20:50
Merc W124 E220 - Made in India - Cardew
About 5 years ago Trade Sales were selling new W124 E220 Mercedes made(or rather assembled) in India for less than half the price of 'regular' E class Mercedes.(about £13k?) At that time the E220 was not imported into UK.

I am told that some of these are now appearing for sale at prices not much cheaper than regular Mercs. Given that there were lots of personal imports from Europe at that time, you would need to be something of an expert to know that these were not the same as a European spec car.

Does anyone have any knowledge of how these cars stood up to the test of time, one assumes they have a harder life in India. Or have most been stolen and shipped out in parts to the Far East
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Sat 27 Aug 2005 23:15
Merc W124 E220 - Made in India - school boy
Can you tell me a web site that's about them , because i'm interested. Thanks.
School boy
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Sat 27 Aug 2005 23:17
Merc W124 E220 - Made in India - Colonel Panic
Same with Vauxhalls, they have lots of right hand drive Opels there for half the price of them here (In the relatively affluent northern cities)
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Sat 27 Aug 2005 23:19
Merc W124 E220 - Made in India - school boy
Are we the only country with them being called vauxhalls?
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Sat 27 Aug 2005 23:51
Merc W124 E220 - Made in India - AlastairW
Are we the only country with them being called vauxhalls?

Yep. Its a history thing. Up to 15ish years ago Opels were sold here in parallel. The Manta was probably the last model sold here iirc.
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Sat 27 Aug 2005 23:57
Merc W124 E220 - Made in India - Colonel Panic
Well, a vauxhall airbag emblem sold for £28+P&P on ebay the other day to a German! so we're the lucky ones.
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Sun 28 Aug 2005 00:24
Merc W124 E220 - Made in India - uk2usa
Equivalent cars in general are not cheaper in India. What are considered average to mid level cars such as Opel, Hyundai etc are probably similar in price, although lower in spec. Luxury cars such as Mercedes Benz are more expensive over there. e.g. 26000 pounds for a base C class; www.hinduonnet.com/2001/05/07/stories/0407403q.htm

In general the Mercedes Benz assembled from CKD kits in countries such as India and Malaysia are not perceived to be as good as the German assembly ones. Many buyers Malaysia prefer used grey imports rather than new local cars for this reason.....
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Sun 28 Aug 2005 15:09
Merc W124 E220 - Made in India - ajit
The indian made w124's were very reliable and of a high quality. Indian factory has the best quality audit for all DC factories. Main problem of the indian made w124 were the tyres -JK radials which were appalling - more owners fitted goodyear nct's instead.

Check the manufacturer plate in the bonnet. Car was only available in black, blue-black, white and silver. Other give away would be the battery if not replaced.

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Sun 28 Aug 2005 17:44
Merc W124 E220 - Made in India - uk2usa
The indian made w124's were very reliable and of a high
quality. Indian factory has the best quality audit for all DC
factories.


Yes, I agree that the MB built in India are not actually inferior, I am sure DC worked very hard to ensure this. However, the PERCEPTION is that they are inferior, and at this level of the market, image is everything.
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