Hello everybody, I live in Los Angeles, CA, USA. I want to buy a 560SEL. Can someone tell me about the car? can i get some info... such as the gas mileage good or bad? maintance fee... and comments please. I seem to find a lot 560SEL out on the market w/ really HIGH mileages. Wonder if there is some low mileage out there. And I heard the (auto level???) suspension/spring coil on the back needs to be replace for almost every car, and I heard it is VERY expensive$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.....wonder if i could get some comments before i think about buying this kind of car......thank you very much!

 

I almost bought a 560SEL in Bakersfield in 2003 with only 32000 miles, but lost it to a local buyer. They are rare. I helped my sister in law buy a 1991 560SEL in 2002 with 120K miles. Great car which was owned my a corporation. They had replaced the steering block and front end joints, so it had a very tight front end. Unfortunately the transmission went after a few months (I suspect it was a control issue which forced the trans to tear itself up rather than the trans wearing out ...... my point being that it was likely a once off). Generally you are buying a car with low initial cost, but must plan on higher maintenance costs accordingly.

My advice is as follows:
1) Gain as much history as possible on the car (i.e. how was it driven, what work was done on it, carfax, do some detective work on wear, etc.)
2) A high mileage car may be OK, if it has had work done on it and kept up (a 150K with lots of replacement may be better than a 100K with no fixes).
3) Plan on spending money each year on keeping this car up. It you work on it yourself, great, if you bring it to a dealer, fine too, but more expensive....either way it is better to keep the car up to good condition, so you need to factor this into your financial plans.

By the way, I was looking for a 1991 560SEL after my sis'n-law bought one, but eventually bought a 1995S600. I love my car, but the 560SEL is a classic and much more stylish.

PJM