As the years passed, it almost went without saying that Michael Nickl would reach one mileage landmark after another in his W 124. His colleagues joked that he would never sell his 200 D. To begin with, the devoted Mercedes-Benz man aimed to break the 500,000 kilometre mark in his originally owned vehicle. Once he’d done that, his colleagues were already betting on him making it to the million kilometres mark. On one occasion only, it seemed that Michael Nickl might have to bid farewell to his unspectacular dream car.

He had an accident in 2004 when he drove into the back of another car. With the two headlamps, radiator grille and bonnet finding replacements at the local scrapyard, it was just the front bumper that needed buying new. On account of the vehicle’s high mileage, unsuitability for classic-car status and mediocre condition, the insurance company has for years estimated the upper-middleclass saloon to be of almost no value. Nevertheless, just as on day one, the W 124 still benefits from fully comprehensive insurance.