I looked at 1987 560SEL today. Cosmetically it is is 9/10 condition. It has 160K miles. After a test drive I have some concerns
1) it cranks 2-3 seconds longer than a new car before starting (~5 seconds total). Is that normal?
2) Ride seemed 'bouncy' (not severe) Is that an indication of some expense repairs needed in the rear suspension?
3) It has a noticable wheel shake at 70+ mph. I suppose it could just be a wheel out of balance but are there other reasons? For example bent spindle? It also pulled to the right a little bit, but braked straight.
4) The airbag was replaced in '97 (sticker in glovebox). Carfax doesn't report any accidents. Any suggestions on how I can determine why? Probably a minor accident, right?
5) The dash lights don't work. Is it going to be difficult to get the dash apart fo find out why (after checking the fuse first of course).
6) Anything else I should check before buying (specific for that model)?

The asking price is ~$3800. The car is a one owner that was traded in and now being sold by a dealer. The carfax report also shows that the car had frequent maintanance.

I plan to do the maintanance and repairs myself so labor costs are not a concern. But having to buy a bunch of expensive parts right away would be a bummer.

Any reason to spend an extra $2-3K for a '90 or '91 with the same number of miles?

Sorry for the flood of questions. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
~Dave

 

I always loved the way 560's looked.

If you are going to drive this car every day, it is probably not the best idea to get it now.
but if its a weekend project, a toy on the side then have someone look at it, mechanic maybe.
If the rear end is a lbit bouncy, the shocks may be on their way out, find out how much they cost.
Wheel vibrating a bit is probably balancing, unless the rim is bent or tire is bad.

Airbag replacement, check under the hood, see if the factory stamping is in place, nothing bent or out of shape.

Pooling to the side could be either bad tire, low pressure in one of the tires, loose steering components or front end components or just bad alignment. Person could have hit a pot hole hard and wacked the alignment out of shape, which is why the car is pulling and vibrating.

All this is not too major, but it can add up in the end and as you know MB prices are not cheap, even if you do all the work.

Good luck

 

The 5 second crank is not really normal. A good 560SEL starts right up in almost less than a second.
Also the 560SEL comes with an automatic air adjust rear suspension and make sure you it is not on it's way out the door or have any leaks. But like tbilisi79 said, you can never go wrong with getting a mechanic to look at it.
Of course make sure or know what electrical/vacum components are or are not working, such as windows, door locks, sunroof, air conditioner, and the other little knick knacks.
Oh yeah, remember that the Mercedes prior early 90s may have or may not have been converted to R-134 refrigerent. Most or all W126s came with R-12 that now cost $25-$35 a can when it comes time for a recharge.
But overall, the car most likely give you satisfying reliability well and beyond 300,000 miles. with proper normal regualr maintenence. Sorry for the mispellings.

1989 MBZ 560SEL owner.

 

Oh yeah, the dash to get to the lights is not hard at all to remove. A pair of instrument panel pulling hooks might be handy in that type of job and of course a couple of screw drivers.