Good afternoon- A local seller has a 1991 560SEL available for an asking price of $5490/obo. Car shows 89k miles, new Michelin tires, and a new state inspection. Interior is very clean, leather has no rips, body appears complete and paint is shiny. If I contact the seller and inspect the vehicle more thoroughly, what questions should I ask about typical 560 problem areas? Is there anything in particular I should note? Without knowing about the owner history or title history (assuming it's clean) does this seem like a fair price for a last model year 560?

 

you might have quite a findo n your hands or an over priced money pit. The paint on these cars last a long time and even the toads of the bunch have very shiny paint sometimes.

What you might want to ask and cheeck is first the hydromatic suspension. Make sure there is no leaks at all. At that price, there should be none and it should be working correctly. Check under the hood and make sure there is fluid in the suspension resevoir. It the big plastic bottle near the power steering pump. If that bottle is empty or that suspension is not working right, level or leaking, either walk away or have them lower the price a few grand as that is about how much it will cost you replace a bad hydromatic suspension. and the change is just for your troubles.
Another thing is at that price, the AC should blow ice cold. This is also a good time to ask if it's been converted or not as it can give you an idea of what to expect when it's time to recharge. If it's R-12 that thing should blow cold, ice like. Converted, it should blow at least cool. This should bring up whether or not it needs a recharge as many r-12 equipped AC units end up not being recharged these days as the price of R-12 scares some people, which may lead to an AC leak. After spending 5.5 grand for this car, last thing you'll want to do is spend another 3-4 grand chasing down a leaking AC problem.
Of course you should check all electronics (seats (front/back), heaters, sunroof, windows, radio, horn switch, all console buttons. All should work. If not, it is your discression to walk or not depending on your style. Window regulators sometimes goes especially rears but if one is not rolling up or down, you can negotiate a deduction in sales price.
Next thing as you turn the key to the on position, all the "christmas" lights on the dash should come on and all should go off when you start the engine. The engine should start right up and idle nice and smooth. the oil pressure guage should be steady and peaked, economy guage should be resting in the black or just about. If any of these things is wrong or it's not idle smooth, or irratic oil guage, stumbling, hesitation, dont pay more than 2500 for it as there could be anything from a simple vacuum line to major work and stuff that you dont want to surprise you. But at that low miles, I dont see that being too much of an issue since usually an middle reading economy guage at idle tends to point to valve seals on higher mileage vehichles. idle should be between 1000 and 500 (650-750 is the aim.) 1500 idle can be idle control valave or more commonly the overload protection relay which sometimes cause the ABS light to come on. All right, if everything is clear to this point, press on the brake. None of the on dash light should come on. If the ABS light is on, it's up to you whether or not you want to run or not. The little yellow light bulb indicator is a small issue just meaning there is a lamp out somewhere or improper bulb. This is a very small worry. SRS light illuminated means that the Airbag system been worked on and improper reset or this car have been wrecked and improperly reset. Dont take your chances with that price if the SRS, Tranny light, ABS, or any red light illuminates besides the parking brake assuming that it's on.
All right, if everything is still good. Now is a good time for a test drive but before you go, it may be a good time to check a few things under the hood. Leaks, should be pretty clean, the engine shouldnt look like it's in an earthquake at it runs. A small steady (tick tick or the likes) sound is normal Benz operation. But a loud clanging, rattling, is not, especially at the front portion of the valve cover as you should run away about now. Coolant, it should not be blue. Blue is bad. Blue is good for most cars but not this one as this one requires anti-corrosive antifreeze or you'll have water pump, internal rust, thermostat and radiator problems real soon and will make the few extra dollars for the proper stuff look like a better deal. It should be yellow and should not smell of exhaust not should there be coolant on the oil dip stick. If the oil looks like a chocolate milkshake or other non-oil out the bottle look, then run away from this or dont spend no more than 1000 or 2 if ya feeling nice. If all is well then hit the road. The car should go into gear nice and smooth and should not hear any clunking or other weird odd noises. The steering should be tight but smooth and not much whining or protest from the power steering pump. The brake pedal should not drop to the floor at the slightest touch either. In drive the engine should still idle smoothly. Drive off and pay attention to noises when you go over bumps. Rattling is usually loose or worn bushings, the car should drive straight or pulling to one side could be a number of things from the tires to tie rods. The car should accelerate without protest, but remember these cars start in second gear and suppose to so it may seem a little sluggish off the line, but the more you push the pedal the more it should go without feeling like it';s losing power. (Note: if you floor it and hit the kickdown switch, it will go into first gear and haul. You might get a glare from the owner if they ride with you because this two ton beast can move if you push the button.) The shifts should be good and most of the time barely noticable especially when down shifting or cming to a stop. The tranny should shift at proper points without slipping or high reving. In cold, the tranny may not swift as quickly as it normally would as this is the car's way of warming the tranny up.but in any case should be smooth with no clunking. If everything is cool after the test drive then more than likely you have a good buy. To be extra sure you can get a mechanic to take a peek at it before you buy and do a compression check and other things but if compression is off at 89 thousand miles then just walk away from this car.
And another thing to keep in mind is that like most modern luxury cars and non luxury cars, this thing recommends you get the timing chain check/replaced at 100,000 miles. On many cars people ignore this until it just breaks. On this car, Jaguars, the 300 3.5 V-6, and others, letting the timing chain break can mean good bye to your engine.