Mercedes 300SE

Ooh, I've wanted one of those for a while, but a change in circumstances means I can't afford one now

Alex

In news: snipped-for-privacy@brightview.com, Mark W decided to enlighten our sheltered souls with a rant as follows

Don't know about specialists, but the W126 isn't a bad car at all.

Things that go wrong - that I know of.

Aircon radiators don't last too long and cost an Überfortune They can rust above / below the rear window, expensive to fix Rust under the seals at the tops of the doors Timing chains on tend to last forever, so if it rattles, walk. Check the auto box is a-ok, and the diff is quiet Front coil springs can snap, cheap enough to replace, but a right pain to do If it's the M103 engine, the waterpumps go, can be hard to tell, but they're a pain to do and £150+ Electric windows can stop working, normally the switch, £22 from MB ABS sensors can play up, normally just cleaning will fix

Good bits

Will last forever if serviced properly The build quality is amazing on them, seriously well built old thing Bits are surprisingly cheap, about the same as for a 190E. GSF and EuroCarParts are great Mercedes still seem to have everything available Body panels cost peanuts, but bumpers aren't cheap

Fuel economy; you'll get 18-20 in town, maybe 25 on a run Classic insurance is mega cheap for 'em I'd guess at it being worth £1200 if it's a bad colour (white / beige / red) with no options or alloys and cloth trim in average condition, £2000 for a nice metallic with leather and alloys, £3000 if it's immaculate, dark blue or black with leather / alloys / loads of toys.

I sold my remarkably shabby 1982 500 SEL for £450.

have a 500 SEC here which was a Hong Kong import - the model they imported to Australia was the 560 SEC - Not a bad car to drive but there has been heaps of repaired stuff and still sorting problems as I think they just drive them in HK without a service - rust is bad in HK also.

Ill refer problems to this group next time as there are not many knowledgeable people in the MB groups.

rm

I run a 1988 300TE as a daily driver and the running costs are OK. Some parts are a bit pricey and after 3 years of heavy use mine's looking worse for wear (cracked windscreen, some rust, broken rear wiper (staying broken) and a boot dent that's staying dented) but they're well worth it. The only issues are if something mechanical goes wrong - I managed to snap a driveshaft in December which was £500 - since these tend to be expensive.

David

I run a 1988 300TE as a daily driver and the running costs are OK. Some parts are a bit pricey and after 3 years of heavy use mine's looking worse for wear (cracked windscreen, some rust, broken rear wiper (staying broken) and a boot dent that's staying dented) but they're well worth it. The only issues are if something mechanical goes wrong - I managed to snap a driveshaft in December which was £500 - since these tend to be expensive.

David

Thanks to those that replied. Doesn't look like the running costs are any worse than the Humber's were (parts maybe a bit dearer, bit easier on the fuel, pity about the car tax).

Think I might take a more serious look this weekend :O)

In news: snipped-for-privacy@brightview.com, Mark W decided to enlighten our sheltered souls with a rant as follows

Do it!

Report back, if you can prise yourself away from the build quality :-)

Had a look - but not a test run yet. Some research to do now - price of new bumper chrome !

Car is not so pretty close up - but appears almost rust free (couple of spots to tackle but nothing serious / right through !)

Interior is cloth, so a little disapointing.

Paintwork is most bizarre - looks like someone has cleaned some panels with a brillo pad at some time - a myriad of tiny tiny scratches that don't go through the paint and are invisible from 6 ft or so.

So - not so pretty, but serviced, low mileage and solid.

Bloody expensive from Mercedes. Look for a breaker.

Sounds like the lacquer coat - probably had some paintwork done and the lacquer has lifted. Not too expensive to fix if the basecoat is sound.

Check with a magnet for filler in those areas, sounds like a cheap repair to me (my Cinq had a couple of areas like this when I had it patched up on the cheap).

We are talking all of one side and some on the other - I first thought that the previous owner had been parking it in a holly bush :o)

I'm talking all of one side on my Cinq, too..... after I slammed it sideways into an armco at 50mph.