Thinking of buying a MB W115

quenching

I've found what seems to be a good Mercedes W115 200/8, petrol, 4spd manual, 1975. Has had a huge amount refurbishment work done, about €10k I'm told. Haven't actually seen the car yet but I'm told its near perfect except for a slight problem with selecting reverse gear when warmed up, when cold reverse is selected without problem but can be hard to get when the car has been driven for a while. The seller says its probably that the connecting rod from the clutch pedal is a bit short, the clutch and master cylinder have been replaced. I know very little about this so any advice is appreciated.

Any other issues to be aware of, the carb has been refurbished, I believe these can be troublesome. Is this likely to be a useable daily driver?

What's a good estimate of price for an excellent condition 1975, 2L petrol, with a claimed 15k miles - unproven.

3ps

I sold a mint LHD diesel one of these about 2 years ago for 6000.

2.0 manual isn't likely to be overly exciting.

I drove mine for 9 months and put 10,000kms on it without issue

MercMad

I would imagine the problem is most likely to be the clutch itself. The gearboxes are bulletproof and if there was a rod or lever too short it would affect other gears aswell.

I agree that 6k would be the max, but it would REALLY want to have perfect bodywork and interior with no issues whatsoever.

Also does it have power steeing ? This would be a must for daily use.

The 2.0 engine on carbs is not very fuel efficient but its not a killer either ! The carbs do have issues so make sure you drive it from cold and let it warm up. A long test drive is essential.

quenching

Thanks gents for the replies, this is the car in question:

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C66253

Planning to go see it at the weekend so we'll see, I asked about power steering as I agree for daily use its essential.

PaulK_CCI

quenching wrote: »

...an excellent condition 1975, 2L petrol, with a claimed 15k miles - unproven.

These cars are superb daily drivers, but this 15k miles claim would be totally ludicrous in my mind. The gauge only has 5 digits, so it could be 115, 215, 315 or 415k miles:

In the add the seller states:
(2) Mot certs to prove it did 120 miles in 3 years garage cert stating refurb at 14968 mls in 2006.
>>>So all the seller knows is, that over the last 3 years it did just 120 miles per year.... It could have done in excess of 300,000 miles between 1975 and 2006 for all we know!

From my experience the 114/115 series are so rugged and solid, they maintain their precense exceptionally well. I have seen cars that had run 250k km's, and were kept so well by the owner (garaged all their lives and well kept), it looked as if it had done only 50k!!!

And the he continues:
(3) It underwent a total, no expense spared- recomissioning in 2006 costing Stg 7600. This included

(A) A total strip down respray (B) Stg 1000 spent on interior.
>>>Really, a car that would have done just 15k miles from new and would have been kept indoors in storage (and believe me, I have seen many, many genuine low mileage cars, and cars that claim to be low-mileage), would have never needed a 'recommissioning' costing 7,600 with a complete respray and an interior, unless it was very badly kept or stored. Especially an interior would have had to look like brand new, unless a family of racoons would have lived in it for 30 years!!

Whenever a car has an ultra low mileage, one always has to be carefull to make sure the car is properly 'recommissioned', and if that hasn't happened, to at least budget for this: since generally a car that has not seen a lot of action for years and years, will need an extensive mechanical overhaul, as water pump, gaskets, seals, injectors, fuel hoses, brake hoses, coolant system, fuel systems, brakes, etc etc etc, will need overhauling or replacing.
Also wheel bearings and CV-joints generally contain grease or oil that has turned rock hard, destroying the units after the 1st 100 mile run (seen that, done that, will be watching out for it on all ultra low milers going through my hands!).

That said, a nicely restored, but above all well maintained W115 is a serious candidate for a reliable, reasonably comfortable daily workhorse...So if all the claimed work was performed to a high standard, it would not be a bad candidate...

MercMad

I agree completely with what Paul has said above.

The car is certainly worth a look, but sometimes cars that have had little use over the years can be more trouble than high milers that are used regularly.

I would also get somebody with experience to check it out, someone you trust or someone independent.

quenching

Thanks Paul, a lot of good points there. Still waiting on the seller to get back to me so I'll have a chat with him and see what turns up. I have a mechanic who can check it out and wouldn't dram of buying without his say so.

I'll update with any further info as I get it.

artic

quenching wrote: »

Thanks Paul, a lot of good points there. Still waiting on the seller to get back to me so I'll have a chat with him and see what turns up. I have a mechanic who can check it out and wouldn't dram of buying without his say so.

I'll update with any further info as I get it.

Did you purchase ?

quenching

No, too many things just didn't add up so decided to give it a miss. May have been genuine but wasn't worth the risk.

artic

quenching wrote: »

No, too many things just didn't add up so decided to give it a miss. May have been genuine but wasn't worth the risk.

I think you are better off if you had any doubts, I am looking for a W114 /W115 RHD saloon if i can get one ,but it is so hard to find a good one.Like you i have walked away from one or two.