W126 560 SEC - can they do interstella mileage?

[Greenwich Ross]

Hullo,

I've owned a series of old BM's over the years and absolutely loved them. Since then i've been tooling around in some Pork (also very nice) but I do miss the old cars.

So, I might be in the market for an old bahnstormer. Something like this...

'88 560 SEC

I know these cars are meant to be bomb-proof, but do they handle very high mileage? The last BM I owned ran like a dream with over 150,000 on the clock. Are the W126's the same?

Also, if anyone knows of a buying guide for this (e.g. common issues to look for, running costs etc.) or whether it'd be a good idea to get a Mercedes inspection done before buying, let me know! I've never owned a Merc before so it's all new to me.

Cheerio,

R.

[r129sl]

They go on forever if correctly maintained. Maintenance is not particularly heavy but does get skimped. It can be expensive to bring a neglected car back up to good condition. The main evil is rust. Many will have worn suspension componentry by now. New subframe bushes and shockers did wonders for my car. They are very capable cars; mine sees almost daily service, maybe commuting, maybe long distance touring, maybe knocking around town, and it handles it all with aplomb. However, the style is rather old fashioned: soft suspension, plenty of body roll, less flattering of driver error when setting up for corners. It is a high speed cruiser, not a contemporary aggression machine.

That particular car looks like a good car: look see what else the vendor has in his garage. The reason it is not selling is the velours and the colour. Blue-black metallic, nautic blue metallic, astral silver metallic and smoke silver metallic are the most desirable colours, with black or cream leather. However, what the vendor says about the velours is dead right. On most cars with leather, the driver's seat is pretty yucky by now.

[Egbert Nobacon]

They're old cars now and how well they've been maintained over the years is crucial to their longevity.

Find one with a good history, caring owner, lots of preventative maintenance and a nice drive and you'll not go far wrong. Good ones aren't cheap to buy anymore

Don't expect to run one on a shoestring and if your not sure what your looking for get an inspection.

Lots of help at www.mercedes-benz-club.co.uk (good w126 buying guide) but you'll have to join to access or try www.mbclub.co.uk.

[Greenwich Ross]

r129sl said:

That particular car looks like a good car: look see what else the vendor has in his garage.

Well, assuming this is his garage, there is a mint looking DeTomaso Pantera parked in it in one of the shots. Very nice.

There is one thing that caught my eye; as the registration plate is clearly shown in the pictures, I Googled it. What came up was an auction site selling the very same car back in May this year. Now, our man here certainly got it at a bargain price but what concerns me is why he's owned it for such a short period of time? Could there be a major (i.e. very expensive) job waiting to be done on it? Could be he's just turning it around for a quick profit, which is fair enough.

So, with that (and your comments about bodywork) in mind, I'd certainly consider getting an independant inspection done on it. Any recommendations on the Surrey/Kent/south London area?

Cheerio,

Ross.

[Greenwich Ross]

Egbert Nobacon said:

Lots of help at www.mercedes-benz-club.co.uk (good w126 buying guide) but you'll have to join to access or try www.mbclub.co.uk

Cheers, I'll certainly take a peek.

[BobTurner]

We have one in the family with over 200k on it, probably more by now, been a while since I drove it. So, I think you can take that as a yes. Bodywork is a regular maintenance item if kept outside. I may be wrong but I think the gearbox is untouched (save for servicing) and the engine has only had the valve stems done. F plate, came from a main dealer in the 90s, maintained there for a few years and then serviced at an independent. I think the only times it's actually stopped have been due to battery or battery charging faults.

[r129sl]

Greenwich Ross said:

There is one thing that caught my eye; as the registration plate is clearly shown in the pictures, I Googled it. What came up was an auction site selling the very same car back in May this year. Now, our man here certainly got it at a bargain price but what concerns me is why he's owned it for such a short period of time? Could there be a major (i.e. very expensive) job waiting to be done on it? Could be he's just turning it around for a quick profit, which is fair enough.

Nice work, Sherlock. That would put me off, too. Why not ask him?

The car is also on Ebay here: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ABSOLUTELY-STUNNING-MERC... The seller was selling some alloy wheels for De Tomasa at a higher price than this car and he has also sold some other highly priced De Tomaso bits and bobs, but only one other car in four years. Don't think this really tells you anything, though.

[Biglips]

Not owned one, but I looked at a couple before buying my 124. Bodywork is the main failing on these. Check for water ingress where the rear screen meets the parcel shelf. The seal often fails here and is an expensive fix if rust has taken hold. look in the boot under the parcel shelf carefully! Air con units reportedly expensive to fix. Lovely cars and handle the mileage well. Agree with comments regarding replacement of suspension bushes. Cheap to do and highly effective.

[chazola]

did you see this one?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1989-MERCEDES-500-SEC-AU...

Nice V8 and leather & aircon. I'd be tempted if I didn't have two cars to look after already.

[Biglips]

^^ nice example

[Pontoneer]

As with the others , maintenance is key .

I look after my 500SEL daily driver myself and it is still running sweetly whilst now nudging 200K , I also have a 280SE on 134K ( currently SORN ) which drives like new and previously had a W124 300TE-24 which drove like new with 430K on the clock ( until an uninsured driver demolished my garden wall and wrote it off in my drive ! ) .

There is an excellent buyers guide for the W126 series on the German S Klasse Club , pages are translated into English

http://www.s-klasse-club.de/gb/index.html

Also a lot of useful advice from the offical owners' club ( membership £30/year , well worthwhile ) http://www.mercedes-benz-club.co.uk/public/home.ht...

and a useful web forum with lots of discussion http://www.mbclub.co.uk/

[Greenwich Ross]

Still looking...any thoughts on this beast?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1990-Mercedes-Benz-560-S...

Patchy history but a nice interior/exterior combination.

Also, is that an optional steering wheel? All others I've seen seem to have a less curvaceous affair.

[r129sl]

Greenwich Ross said:

Still looking...any thoughts on this beast?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1990-Mercedes-Benz-560-S...

Patchy history but a nice interior/exterior combination.

Also, is that an optional steering wheel? All others I've seen seem to have a less curvaceous affair.

I saw this.

Great colours: 904 solid dark blue over 265 cream beige. Have the lower Sacco panels been repainted to match the body colour? I can't really tell.

Off side headlamp wiper cap is broken. If you're a pedant like me, you'll look on Ebay every day for more than a year until you find one or you'll spring for £130 at the dealer for a new one.

The wheel is not Mercedes and would put me off along with the aftermarket alarm LED or button in the small switch console ahead of the gear selector, but that is nit picking. On the other hand, the wood work looks good, which is a very good sign: it usually splits by the driver's side air vent and the piece around the gear selector is almost always cracked and faded. Seats look pretty good, too.

I wouldn't worry about the pre-1998 history. Whether it missed a service in 1992 makes no difference at all to how it will run today. While all those bills in the last photo look might impressive, there's not much there for 15 years' maintenance.

You'd have to go and see it. You'd be mad to buy one of these blind. Tyres are the give away. Pukka tyres for this car are not expensive: £100 a corner for Michelin or Continental. So there is no excuse for Wing Wangs.