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1993 600SEL---good buy?

Hello,

Found one with 87.700 miles for $24.000,?. Very clean and excellent condition. However, I found few glitches such as air-conditioning system inoperating and power steering pump possibly leaking (a refill bottle was discovered in the boot).

What else ought I know about that particular model year and edition?

Thanks, Oliver

PS It was very surprising revelation to see how much have changed between 1993 and 2003! The interior reeks of go-go Eighties!

Reply to
Ennui Society
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I did some research on this recently. Mechanics and dealers told me:

  1. That was a bad year (1992-1994)
  2. A/C is often evaporator (esp in humid climate). Have to pull dash and so on. 21 hours labor plus parts =K repair.
  3. That engine is OK, but expecy to spend much more for repairs ovet the 5.0 V8. Deep pockets required.
  4. Lots of other things can go wrong. One thing that I have found very disturbing is that MB dealers now do not wish to do pre-sales checks. They refuse to do them for any prioce. Why? They say they do not want the liability. OK, so my question is, why not? What are you afraid of? That you will not do a good job? Are you that sure that all MB's will have major problems that will cost so much to repair that I will want to sue you?

My conclusion: If they are afraid of the quailty of a car that they sell, maybe I should be cautious, too.

I guess if you get an incredible and pessismistic mechanic to spend 2-3 hours on it and says it is gold, maybe consider the car if you can afford (wild guess here):

  1. To have the car in the shop (unplanned downtime)
  2. Another backup car
  3. -2K/year for planned maintenance
  4. $-4K/yr average for unplanned repairs.
  5. Expect about K/yr additional depreciation/yr at age 12 onward.

No flames please - this is just my best guess based on about 20 hours of research. Maybe people who have owned them can reply too. Your mileage may vary.

Reply to
QwestNews

Buying this dinosaur turns your bank account over to the gas station and repair shop.

A couple of weeks ago an owner stated (here) that the engine's wiring harness cost $600 - parts only, installation labor additional. His complaint was that the engine was overheating. He stated that the French dealer couldn't diagnose some other problem. Some luxury car!

Reply to
T.G. Lambach

Get an old Rolls-Royce instead. Will cost peanuts in purchase, a fortune in running but should be better if looked after...

DAS

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Reply to
Dori Schmetterling

It's a fabulous car, one of the best Mercedes made. The cost of owning the V12 can be very costly. The tune up parts are expensive. The price is right and the repairs to make everything right are worth it. It was a very good year for the 600SEL, the top luxury car from MB. P.

Reply to
pkmaven

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