Potential SEC Purchase (W126)
Discussion
I am thinking of an SEC as a daily driver. I've read a lot on this forum about checking all of the electrics work and for rust in the boot (due to ingress at the rear window) and delamination. I have also read that they go through front ball joints regularly. Is there a way of testing whether these are problematic? How much will an independent charge to change these?
Has anyone experience of converting to LPG? I'm not doing huge miles, so may not need to, but if I find the car as addictive as I've read they are, it may be an option.
Thanks for reading
Andy
Has anyone experience of converting to LPG? I'm not doing huge miles, so may not need to, but if I find the car as addictive as I've read they are, it may be an option.
Thanks for reading
Andy
I have one, a 1986 500 SEC with 134,000miles on the clock. I paid £3,750 for it in 2008 and have probably sunk about £4,000 into it since then. And mine was a fairly good one!
Consumable parts are fairly reasonable for a 'S' Class Mercedes-Benz. A complete suspension overall with all new rubber bushes at the front and the rear would probably be about £750; new shocks might add another £400 to that.
The motor really is bullet proof.
Trim is hard to come by and expensive. Most of the interior trim is no longer available, although all of the wood can be had at a price.
Used parts are generally rubbish because these cars last so well that the scrap cars really are knackered.
The bodywork is vulnerable around the edges but susbstantial enough underneath but no more expensive than any other car to repair. I've just put a new wing on mine for £250 (no pattern parts available) and had a total respray for £1,500.
So where has all my money gone? Well, I have done 25,000miles, so there have been a few services. I needed a new exhaust, too, and the genuine article was quite pricey. I have also spent money on trim (new grille, £400), wheels (refurb), tyres (Continentals, £80 a corner) and brakes (discs and pads all round, not horrendous). I have needed a window motor, a cruise control ECU (it is always the ECU), and a new air con condesor fan. No doubt there are myriad other bits and bobs.
And today... my car is probably worth £2,500.
But it is a great daily driver. A great long distance tourer. A great traffic light dragster. It gets lots of compliments in car parks and at petrol stations. It is a delight to run.
Buy the best one you can. If you've got standards, you'll hate a banger. People are asking crazy money for them at the moment, but they don't seem to be selling. I expect £5,000 would get a condition 2 car, probably one advertised at £7,500, and a very satisfactory beast it will be.
Consumable parts are fairly reasonable for a 'S' Class Mercedes-Benz. A complete suspension overall with all new rubber bushes at the front and the rear would probably be about £750; new shocks might add another £400 to that.
The motor really is bullet proof.
Trim is hard to come by and expensive. Most of the interior trim is no longer available, although all of the wood can be had at a price.
Used parts are generally rubbish because these cars last so well that the scrap cars really are knackered.
The bodywork is vulnerable around the edges but susbstantial enough underneath but no more expensive than any other car to repair. I've just put a new wing on mine for £250 (no pattern parts available) and had a total respray for £1,500.
So where has all my money gone? Well, I have done 25,000miles, so there have been a few services. I needed a new exhaust, too, and the genuine article was quite pricey. I have also spent money on trim (new grille, £400), wheels (refurb), tyres (Continentals, £80 a corner) and brakes (discs and pads all round, not horrendous). I have needed a window motor, a cruise control ECU (it is always the ECU), and a new air con condesor fan. No doubt there are myriad other bits and bobs.
And today... my car is probably worth £2,500.
But it is a great daily driver. A great long distance tourer. A great traffic light dragster. It gets lots of compliments in car parks and at petrol stations. It is a delight to run.
Buy the best one you can. If you've got standards, you'll hate a banger. People are asking crazy money for them at the moment, but they don't seem to be selling. I expect £5,000 would get a condition 2 car, probably one advertised at £7,500, and a very satisfactory beast it will be.
r129sl said:
I have one, a 1986 500 SEC with 134,000miles on the clock. I paid £3,750 for it in 2008 and have probably sunk about £4,000 into it since then. And today... my car is probably worth £2,500.
That's not bad - just over £2500 pa in costs.People lose £5k a year depreciation on a repmobile.
You're quids in AND drive something really interesting.
Bargain
rubystone said:
I really think that old Benzes make massive sense. Well built, timeless and classless. Just so long as they haven't been chavved up.
Definitely. My 320 TE station wagon and SL 500 grand tourer are modern cars, with modern brakes, modern suspension, modern safety, but they are built in a way which just is not matched by today's manufacturers. They have everything you need, nothing you don't; they are designed to function, not styled to impress. But you can get an idea of how good they were from their price. In 1986 My 500 SEC was just shy of £50,000; in 1993 my 320 TE was £46,000; and in 1999 my SL 500 was £86,000. Back then money was not quite so cheap nor so readily borrowed. These were really serious cars, affordable only to the few. Today the very best 560 SEC, with low miles, perfect provenance and in as new condition, will cost you a mere £15,000: it is a bargain, a total and utter bargain. Perhaps the only car on sale today that matches the 1980s Mercedes for quality is the Bristol Fighter and we all know how much they cost...
I love the SEC although old mercs can gobble cash.
I bought a fairly "mint" 500sl a few years back, old boy, owned it from new, wated 17k, bashed him down to 12, funny noise on way home, took it to garage, came out £3k lighter. Subsequently spent another 2 over another 2 years and my bro who now has it must have spent 2 or 3 again, so go in eyes open. Lovely cars though!
I bought a fairly "mint" 500sl a few years back, old boy, owned it from new, wated 17k, bashed him down to 12, funny noise on way home, took it to garage, came out £3k lighter. Subsequently spent another 2 over another 2 years and my bro who now has it must have spent 2 or 3 again, so go in eyes open. Lovely cars though!
I'm working my way through them. Still miss my 2.3-16 and its sublime handling and my first C43 for its epic grunt (but not its rusty body). Enjoy the solidity of "Inga" right now and caught myself throwing admiring glances in the direction of a CL55 outside "Dose" in Smithfield yesterday....handsome beast...and did you know 493bhp.....for about 10 grand....note to self - must stop myself from perusing Pistonheads Classifieds....
rubystone said:
I'm working my way through them. Still miss my 2.3-16 and its sublime handling and my first C43 for its epic grunt (but not its rusty body). Enjoy the solidity of "Inga" right now and caught myself throwing admiring glances in the direction of a CL55 outside "Dose" in Smithfield yesterday....handsome beast...and did you know 493bhp.....for about 10 grand....note to self - must stop myself from perusing Pistonheads Classifieds....
CL55 AMG. I thought it was only me. Gorgeous car and so much for the money... I was thinking about updating my fleet and it was on the w215 that I lingered. Must stop dreaming about cars.This is my second Sec they are so addictive to drive at 30mph you just float along the road ,They stick like glue to the road, hit the accelerator and it always puts a smile on my face,
Service history is a must if its got cheap tyres on, they may have skimped on other things get a good one you,ll luv it
Heres mine
Service history is a must if its got cheap tyres on, they may have skimped on other things get a good one you,ll luv it
Heres mine
Edited by samurai on Tuesday 21st September 21:01
What a beauty! Thanks for posting the pictures. I read a great write-up in this month's merc enthusiast magazone which mentions the 560 as being the one to go for, but I'm uncertain on prices as they seem to be everywhere. For instance, Prestige Motors have one for £13k, but advised me against the ones for £4k as they will need £10k worth of work doing to them. Can anyone please enlighten me? By comparison, I have a Silver Shadow II, which can be bought in very nice condition, from c.£12-13k upwards, even though snotters can be found for peanuts. What is the right 'level' for a good, usable, everyday SEC?
Thanks
Andy
Thanks
Andy
ADP68 said:
What a beauty! Thanks for posting the pictures. I read a great write-up in this month's merc enthusiast magazone which mentions the 560 as being the one to go for, but I'm uncertain on prices as they seem to be everywhere. For instance, Prestige Motors have one for £13k, but advised me against the ones for £4k as they will need £10k worth of work doing to them. Can anyone please enlighten me? By comparison, I have a Silver Shadow II, which can be bought in very nice condition, from c.£12-13k upwards, even though snotters can be found for peanuts. What is the right 'level' for a good, usable, everyday SEC?
Thanks
Andy
Prestige Motors would say that my 560 cost me £2000 2 years ago only spent £180 on a full service pack , oil and a pair of air intake scoops . only problem i ever had was when you turned it over the revs would drop and stall £38 for new relay and sorted ,The prices are all over the place you really need to look at as many as you can to compare whats out there i travelled up and down the country being told the car was in exellent condition and talking to them at length on the phone only to drive 400 miles round trip and it was a dog full of rust and electics not working .The cars i looked at ranged from £2500 to 4000 ,Thanks
Andy
[Pic of my 560sec cost 2k sadly it got wrote off ] Now replaced it with the red one
The 560 SEC featured in merc enthuisiast mag is a stunner the one for sale at prestige for 13k must be better than that
Thank you for your help; very kind of you!
The one in Merc Enthusiast mag was sold for £13k and the one they're getting in is going for the same amount. I spoke to the chap at the dealer who said both are low mileage (c.60k) cars from Guernsey (so low mileage but I guess never fully warmed up as the island is so small!).
Thanks once again,
Andy
p.s. what mileage is your red one?
The one in Merc Enthusiast mag was sold for £13k and the one they're getting in is going for the same amount. I spoke to the chap at the dealer who said both are low mileage (c.60k) cars from Guernsey (so low mileage but I guess never fully warmed up as the island is so small!).
Thanks once again,
Andy
p.s. what mileage is your red one?
ADP68 said:
Thank you for your help; very kind of you!
The one in Merc Enthusiast mag was sold for £13k and the one they're getting in is going for the same amount. I spoke to the chap at the dealer who said both are low mileage (c.60k) cars from Guernsey (so low mileage but I guess never fully warmed up as the island is so small!).
Thanks once again,
Andy
p.s. what mileage is your red one?
Samurai, sorry, didn't spot that some of the pix had the original wheels on - very nice car indeed, you must be proud of it.The one in Merc Enthusiast mag was sold for £13k and the one they're getting in is going for the same amount. I spoke to the chap at the dealer who said both are low mileage (c.60k) cars from Guernsey (so low mileage but I guess never fully warmed up as the island is so small!).
Thanks once again,
Andy
p.s. what mileage is your red one?
Re Guernsey cars, my father lives there and has run G Wagens for the past 24 years. I have noticed that all of them have developed valve guide issues from not being warmed up properly and never exceeding 50 mph.
ADP68 said:
Thank you for your help; very kind of you!
The one in Merc Enthusiast mag was sold for £13k and the one they're getting in is going for the same amount. I spoke to the chap at the dealer who said both are low mileage (c.60k) cars from Guernsey (so low mileage but I guess never fully warmed up as the island is so small!).
Thanks once again,
Andy
p.s. what mileage is your red one?
The mileage is 165k bought the car off martyn morroco who restores W123s The one in Merc Enthusiast mag was sold for £13k and the one they're getting in is going for the same amount. I spoke to the chap at the dealer who said both are low mileage (c.60k) cars from Guernsey (so low mileage but I guess never fully warmed up as the island is so small!).
Thanks once again,
Andy
p.s. what mileage is your red one?
[S M Morroco classic mercedes restorations]he also shoehorns the sec V8s into them this was his own sec so the engine is sweet as a nut once it,s fired up you can,t here it you often think is stalled it,s that quite .The engine had been taken out and rebuilt it,s like new so 165k on the speedo / the engines not anywhere near run in a plain and simple V8
I must say again thank you very much for selling me this car Martyn
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