Hey everyone, im new to this forum & have a question i believe those on this site will best be able to answer. I've owned a miata for the last 10 yrs & just bought my girl an 88 300sel. Suffice it 2 say i thought it was nice & now i want 1. It needed a new head gasket & water pump so i am also now acquainted w/ the cost of owning a mercedes as well as having to take it 2 a proper MB mechanic. That being said the 560sec i have an opportunity to buy is from the mechanic i took our car to and i trust him. It has 150k miles & just torn the engine down, redone the heads & timing chains & basically doing all the thing this car will need for its age before he sells it. He wants $6500. Now that you have the back round info here is the question: with the car completely gone through as it is, what are maintenace cost yearly, tune ups, check ups & all the added BS that go along w/ buying a high end luxury car that i didnt have to worry about w/ my miata? Is it going to nickle & dime me to death or am i going to be able to, in all likelihood, drive this car for years w/ no issues? I REALLY want it & it seems a great deal i just dont want 2 regret selling a cheap, easy to fix run every day reliable car for a touchy, temperamental, expensive show queen..so please tell me what i should expect. Thank you for taking the time to read & respond to my post! -joe b

 

Really?? I can see what you're saying for sure however the cheapest i've found was $5900, 75k more miles on it, no work done to it what so ever and not even in this state, so i would have shipping costs. I'll get the exact scoop on whats being done to it and post it because i definately want to make an informed decision! Thank you

 

***i figured half a rebuild & the rest gone over & fluids flushed was better than no rebuild. And for only $600 more than the cheapest i've yet found seemed like a good deal...

 

Good to hear regarding regular maintenance! I'm going to look @ the car this week. Will post all work completed and which(is engine being gone over because of some damage) etc. since you are very familiar with this topic what is the cheapest one(that is in good enough shape to purchase) that you've seen??

 

I think that 91 was the last year the W126 chasis was made. I have owned two an 84 500 SEC and an 86 560 SEC. Loved both but the 560 was a better car. I did some of my own maintence like plugs and fluid changes except for the tranny, did any hose, bulb and filter changes and I'm not a gear head. I had H&R lowering springs with new Bilstein shocks put on both, nice mod.
Good luck!

 

Sorry the 560 was an 89 not 86.