Hey Black wolf, how are you? long time no speak!

I will see for that 560, it does seem a bit fishy i think, but i'll see what he says. I tell ya it's hard to get good deals on mercs for a good price.
The 300se seems nice (from the add) it has had 2 previous owners, but they do not have any documentation as to the work that was done.
The diesel seems to be in good shape, one owner, car from florida, there has been some maintenance work done on it and i'm sure he's got the bills to prove it. I think that the floor panels where redone as well (as was mentioined to me by my friend who knows the seller). I just worry abit about a turbo diesel..not so much the turbo part (i like turbo's :-)))) but more for the diesel, i'm just worried that it might act up in winter time, other than that i'm quite interested.thanks again for your replies...ciao
fabs

 

The thing i was thinking about is this. The 560 has had repairs done to it. It has 178 000km on the clock and i wanted to know, can these repairs fall under "normal maintenance" for this car and with these km's? I know it seemed funny that he was doing all these repairs to it, but maybe he was just doing the stuff that needed to be done, normal wear and tear things? let me know.
He sent me an email and he's interested in my car. He has no objection to a mechanical inspection. He's getting the brakes or rotors changed now and if we agree on the trade he will get the handbrake cables and fix the vent module for me. whatcha think?
oh ya, how does the 560 do on gas consumption? is it close to the 6 cyl models?
thanks
fabs

 

Well fab, the average person does not buy Diesels, if they did then more of them would be sold than gas cars.

New modern Diesels (MB 0-60mph in 6.6 seconds) are not slow, burn much cleaner and are as quiet as gas engines. Diesel perception is that they are slow, smelly, noisy, hard to start in the cold and you can't find fuel for them easily. Some of these perceptions art true and the older the Diesel the more true these perceptions are all except for hard to find fuel, that is totally a non issue.

All of my Diesels were more than 20 years old. The MB and Peugeot were both turbos and performed great, the Citroen had a fairly big 4 cyl non turbo at 2.5L but had a 5 speed and was as brisk as the others. Both French cars got 30+ and the SD got 25+freeway. Compare that to a 450 SEL of the day at 15mpg. Many of us Deisel lovers who are "into" Diesels despite some of these real and perceived issues, most people just don't want to deal with some older Diesel issues.

When Rudolph Diesel introduced his new engine (which is an air compressor, no spark plugs) at the Paris Auto Show in 1904, what fuel did it use?

 

Hey II Kings..good question..what did he use? hmm..haha good point. I think my main fear is that i need the car to be reliable and if i have to worry that it won't start in winter, i'll be in trouble! haha..Yaa i know that the 560 is nowhere near as econimial as the diesels, but they too are really nice cars, my only fear about them is the rear adjusting shelf, i hear if that goes it's a real expensive job.
I looked at the engine on my friends new 77 mercedes 300d and my god it looks so simple and easy to work on, it's crazy!!!
I love these old cars, my brother just got a trade a while ago and got himself a 73 280..really nice car and good ride too.
I was looking at pics of an '82 300sd on the net and was surprised to see that it has the same type of body as the late 80's 420 and 560sel's ...coool!!!
well hope to hear from you soon.ciao
fabs

 

100% peanut oil, his thesis was that all cars using his new engine could run on clean burning veggie oils and petro oils would not be needed in the future. He mysteriously disappeared off of a ship around 1910 (oil companies took him out??).

We have come full circle now with Diesels running on used vegatable oil, if I still had mine I would convert it to a Greasecar. Here is a link.

If your main fear is reliability and you don't have deep pockets, Honda and Toyoyta come to mind. Not what you want to hear. IMHO older MB products are way more reliable than the newer ones so if you are going with MB, Blackwolf makes some good points on this. I would reiterate buying a known entity with history from a private seller is will increase the odds of getting a reliable MB.

 

Hey IIKings, peanut oil!!! cool, i got a boat-load of oil here at work..will canola do? hahaha

You're right, that wasn't what i wanted to here..my last 3 cars, inc. the one i have now, were all Japaneese cars, and i think this is all i can take of them! Of the 3, the eagle talon was the most fun to drive, but a nightmere mecanically (very tight engine bay too!!). The suzuki i have now, in my opinion, is very underrated. It's a really good little reliable car...good on gas and easy to work on. The Jap. make good cars, but the problem i have with them is that they are extremely light cars.
As for reliability, i don't mind having to fix stuff on the car, i just don't to have to be cursing every winter morning cause it doesn't wanna start, this was what i meant.....
ciao for now,
fabs

 

What'sup fabchef? I've haven't been on as much since the World Cup is in town and thus, I've been out on the town partying mostly and the other times, working as usual.

As just with any car, diesel or gas or what not, should not act up so much in the winter to a point that it won't start. A diesel usually is a little harder to start in the winter than it is in the summer but it still should start.

A 560SEL on average gets around 15 city driving (That 5.6 will drink gas in the city quicker than a linebacker can drink a bottle of gatorade in the middle of summer after a Super Bowl game.) and 20+ on the highway (Obtained these highway numbers up to 75-80 mph.)
And that rear adjusting suspension is crazy expensive when it goes, but the key is to make sure it's in good shape in the first place. Especially with cars up north, the lines might have started to corroded, the valve might have started to seep, small repairs, but can lead to other things. The 560 uses springs back there that is softer than any other W126 variety so that the self leveling system can do it's job easy. That's why when it goes, you get that super sag.

the W126 American body style ran from 1981-1991. Not many other car makes can get away with one design for a decade. It's timeless. (1980-1992 worldwide.)

As far as Honda and Toyota being the "poster boys of reliablity", show me a Honda or Toyota that has close to 200,000 miles on one engine and worth buying or even still on the road that runs perfect, looks good, and still turn heads even at an upscale place. By them miles, most people are looking to junk the average car, but many Mercedes are still being bought and kept as daily drivers even with "very high" miles on the clock. I don't see too many Honda/Toyotas with 200K 300K 500K badges on the grill. Of course, and car, from the Yugo to the Rolls-Royce, if it was not maintained right, it will be a money pit in trying to fix it. And Mercedes is no different. That goes for any machine, even a lawn mower. It just that Mercedes tend to last a lot longer and hold up a lot longer and still be worth something a lot longer than these "poster boy reliable" cars. When I take my car to a mechanic and he see 220,000 miles on the clock, tow things they always say. "This car is in nice shape for an 1989." and "220,000? This car is just warming up." With most cars it's "It's not worth fixing." or "How did you get it to last that long!." or "It's only a matter of time before it's time. Better get ready to but a new one."

 

Oh yeah, the 1987 BMW is nice and reliable too. Starts up everytime without hesistation rain, sleet, snow, cold, hot, Texas summer hot, warm, on a hill or not, it will start. That M30 engine is said to be one of the most durable engines ever made. Had to give a shout out to the BMW too. I own it for a reason.

 

Hey Blackwolf..how are you? ya it must be crazy madness there in Germany right now...i've been watching most of the games and it's pretty exciting. Our "little Italy" is also banana's these days, all the Italian flags are out! hot women...it's crazy. So both our teams will be facing off next. Who do you think will win?

For the 560, i will be calling up a close friend of my fiancee who is a mercedes mechanic. I will ask him to check out the car ffor me. At least this way i won't be getting the shaft! Question....if the rear shelf suspension does fail, and if i don't wanna get it fixed, could i just put on stiffer suspension? will this work? I know that the 560 drinks quite a bit and it will be a big difference compared to my suzuki, but when i look at it, or pics of it, i'm just in Awe, at how breautiful the car is, even after all these years! it's a real mean german machine! It's like the impalass of Germany..haha

As for the Japanees cars, i tell you, you're so right, i'm sure after those miles done, the car is ready to fall apart..oh well..hope to hear from you soon.ciao
fabs

 

It's crazy madness for real and Germany lost to Italy!! Oh well. I guess the party will slow down a bit around here. Now it's time to go to Berlin for it all if I have time, which I doubt I will, but ya never know. Congrats for Italy. Maybe Italy will square off against France this year. That will make a good game.

And trust me, the W126 will never go out of style. But remember back when the 560SEL and even now, them buyers didn't give a hoot about gas. It was just a small trade in for reliabilty, style and comfort, and prestige. Can't forget prestige.

Back to the World Cup for a moment, I was really hoping for Germany to win, but things got a little complicated when France beat Brazil. I was really hoping to see Brazil and Germany square off, but when Brazil lost I had a feeling deep down that Germany was on it's last game against Italy.
It was a good game though I wonder how in the heesies they score two goals back to back like that.