W126 Anything to watch out for

johnos1984

I'm just wondering if people can advise what I should watch out for on the W126 mid 80's models.

I'm going to look at a 280SE with high mileage, although I'm told they will last the pace without any worries.

I know about rust inside the boot under the rear window but is there anything else which I should be keeping an eye out for.

I'm really only familiar with BL stuff but I'm starting to fancy a change as everything I've viewed of late has been a rusty heap :mad:

Bigus

Later 300 SE is better bet than 280 SE what year you looking at ?

johnos1984

1985, I may as well post a link as its on Donedeal

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/vintagecars/2000855

Spoke to the seller, seems like a nice sort and was very straight up about the car but would prefer be well prepared as to what I'm looking at

Ali Babba

I saw that one too, nice enough looking car but the 300 is a nicer car. Things to watch out for are the bonnet hinges, they have a habit of breaking and in turn break the windscreen, so watch out for that. The gearboxes do give trouble too but only as a result of neglect at high mileages. The do rust but not very badly, wings and rear wheelarches mostly. Probably one of the best cars ever built by Mercedes-Benz.

unkel

Ali Babba wrote: »

Probably one of the best cars ever built by Mercedes-Benz.

+1

My favourite saloon of all time. Would you not go for a V8 engined one though? An 82/83 500SE(L) would cost you more to tax intially but be on the classic tax soon

johnos1984

unkel wrote: »

+1

My favourite saloon of all time. Would you not go for a V8 engined one though? An 82/83 500SE(L) would cost you more to tax intially but be on the classic tax soon

I looked at 2 V8 ones. One was priced too high the other one had a very rattely engine and optimistically low mileage given the condition the rest of the car was in.

This one just popped up for sale but it needs a water pump change as the current one is leaking. I'm not overly worried about the power, its just for tipping around in really on the weekends

bijapos

A great car, I had a few that I drove to Africa years ago, a great cruiser. I agree with Bigus though, if you want a 6 cylinder the 300 is a lot better. post 87 are the best cars. The V8s are nice but fuel consumption is a lot more on them.

Check the rear diff that it isn't noisy or clunking, if there is a lot of play in the steering (happens when wider tyres are put on them) then this might be expensive to fix, the parts are cheap but its not easy to put in.

The automatic should change smoothly in ALL gear changes, any repair on this will be expensive.

They don't really rust, the post 85 models are even better, but when they do rust it usually means accident damage. The C pillars need to be checked as well for rust. Your car has chrome on the wheelarches, check these for rust as well. check the exhaust for rust too, including the manifold, and more so if the car was ever used as a taxi. Any water or dampness in the boot? then leave it, it can mean the rear window seal is gone.

Check all the electric goodies, they can be a pain to fix.

If the car has rear levelling suspension check it isn't sagging, It only works properly when the car is moving. if its sagging a bit when stood still its not too bad a sign as the rear suspension is deliberately a bit weaker than the normal one. If its isn't working properly it can be a small matter of fine tuning it, but it can also be knackered which is expensive. If you accelerate hard and the car goes down on its haunches ( ie the nose rises quickly) that could mean trouble too.

The door brackets tend to go too meaning the door can stick open, the parts are again cheap but they aren't the handiest to replace.

the vast majority of parts are cheap, there are plenty of breakers around and they are gaining in popularity in places like Germany as a classic so parts on the net can be cheap. The car is though a bit complicated and labour can be expensive.

8~)

Rust got mentioned already - check also the sills all along but especially towards the front near the jacking points and also have a good poke around under the front wheelarches at the bulkhead and inner wings; the underseal can hide a lot. Goes without saying there will likely be some rust in the front wings above the bumper, but that's just cosmetic. Also the bumper chrome can rust from inside out and is expensive to replace. Cracked or perished door and window seals are worth lokking out for too, though replacements are available.

Mechanically, as others have stated - pretty good. The M110 280 engine is said to be quite noisy... compared to the Merc 4cyl engines and later 6cyl cars I think I'd agree.

Ali Babba

I can get new spurious wings for around 120 euros and wheelarch repair sections for around 60 euros a side too and lots of other bit if anyones interested p.m. me. I can also get most parts for the 123 series too including rear quarter panels and back panels, front wings, bonnets, sills and door skins at very reasonable prices.

johnos1984

So rust is the biggest issue.

To summarize all the seller said: the mileage is 275k, the water pump is weeping, the boot does get moist, there is a small patch of rust, the sunroof is the only item not working and keeps blowing fuses if you try, the engine is tad loud due to tappets or something, tax out.

Front suspension fully rebuilt, timing chain included but no need to fit as it is noisey tappets that the issue is body work sound but bubbling under the rear window on the inside.

I have to keep asking but am I mad or what is it worth? Its not a prime example I know that

unkel

johnos1984 wrote: »

Its not a prime example I know that

Maybe not, but it's very cheap and has a long NCT. And not in need of any major repairs. How wrong can you go?

Not sure how much more life the engine will have in her, but hey, just move on to another project if or when it dies?

johnos1984

unkel wrote: »

Maybe not, but it's very cheap and has a long NCT. And not in need of any major repairs. How wrong can you go?

Not sure how much more life the engine will have in her, but hey, just move on to another project if or when it dies?

Thats pretty much everything I'm thinking right there

The seller was pretty honest and was very happy to talk about the car and its minor faults which is often a good sign in my opinion

I've looked at so much crap all winter, not all of which was posted up to spare your sanity but I've just grown tired of RUST and cars not being quiet as described

I've realised in many cases the phrase "needs small amount of work to make perfect" means "total rebuild to make road worthy" and "good condition for age" can often mean "even the scrapman won't take it off me due to lack of steel left"

bijapos

johnos1984 wrote: »

So rust is the biggest issue.

To summarize all the seller said: the mileage is 275k, the water pump is weeping,

Not a good sign, check for possible past overheating in the rad water.

the boot does get moist,

Could be water seeping from the rear window seal and a possibility of hidden rust.

the sunroof is the only item not working and keeps blowing fuses if you try,

The car is black. This has the diadvantage that the roof heats up a lot, there is a mat behind the sunroof that tends to expand due to high heat over the years, just cut the bit off that thats blocking the sunroof. You have to remove the ceiling cloth for this.

the engine is tad loud due to tappets or something, tax out.

Front suspension fully rebuilt, timing chain included but no need to fit as it is noisey tappets that the issue is body work sound but bubbling under the rear window on the inside.

Very bad sign, with the damp boot you probably have a worn seal on the underside of the rear window, probably rust everywhere around there.

I have to keep asking but am I mad or what is it worth? Its not a prime example I know that

You can buy it with the intention of it not lasting more than a summer or two, if that and then stripping it for selling parts if you have the space.

Remember the tax is €1200 pa, or €668 for 6 months which is a lot for a car that has a lot of issues. You might be better off paying €2000 for a better S-Class or a bit more for a good SEC or maybe look at a W116. I personally think its a lot of money for a car with a lot of faults.

Btw fair play to the seller for pointing all the faults out, wish there were more sellers like him.

johnos1984

bijapos wrote: »

Btw fair play to the seller for pointing all the faults out, wish there were more sellers like him.

I sent him a detailed email asking for the information and explained my time had been wasted before and that I'd rather not waste both our time if the car wasn't for me and he was actually pretty happy with that and understood where I was coming from.

There is rust on the roof of the boot underneath the parcel shelf. Its a common fault due to the seals going in the rear window. He says its just surface rust but obviously I'll have to inspect it properly to be sure its not too bad. There is flexibility on the price to compensate for this.

The car will only be used for the summer months and will be in dry storage for the rest of the year so I'll only be taxing it for 3 months hence it becomes more acceptable. I'd prefer something older than 30 years but then the initial purchase cost rises accordingly.

He seems to know the car throughout so I'm hoping the weeping pump was picked up before it became an issue. How would I check for overheating other than the usual HGF checks?

I think with a bit off the price its a fair car for fair money. Its not a show stopper but should be fine for use for low mileage during the summer. Hell if it all goes to **** I can strip a few parts including the leather interior and scrap the rest.

Bigus

Leaky damp boot is standard.

Sunroof you can sort yourself with grease wd40 and patience

Any rust on an irish 85 will only be surface and Not ROT so fire away and buy it.

Tappety noise on that old twin cam is standard too , but they do have a spanner adjustment so might be diy job.

Even in uk ones nearer 30 years old are fetching premiums now.

It'll be 30 before you know it..

johnos1984

Bigus wrote: »

Leaky damp boot is standard.

Sunroof you can sort yourself with grease wd40 and patience

Any rust on an irish 85 will only be surface and Not ROT so fire away and buy it.

Tappety noise on that old twin cam is standard too , but they do have a spanner adjustment so might be diy job.

Even in uk ones nearer 30 years old are fetching premiums now.

It'll be 30 before you know it..

I think it Practical Classics that said recently their value is only going one way.

TBH none of the problems seem terminal to me but it will need its original wheels back on

8~)

W126 values will never be lower. The cars are at their lowest point now; too old to be of mainstream interest and too young to be classic, even taking into account that some just slip into the vintage tax bracket.

That said, I'd rather get a decentish one that's been used regularly over one that's been standing around a while. I have one that's been standing around and it would need brake calipers an exhaust and a lot of water leak tracing and interior cleaning before it could become even close to being presentable. Realistically, I will probably break it.

Here's another one I have seen advertised a few times in the last few months lot and the asking price has become more realistic in that time:
http://www.gumtree.ie/dublin/15/72207915.html
http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/vintagecars/1986489

I'd love it... love the colour and the TZ... reg. But I have enough on at present.

unkel

looks very nice but the lack of NCT (it isn't mentioned so one has to assume there is none) is a minefield, very possibly leaving the car worthless if it fails

johnos1984

Well to end the story I called at lunch time to let the guy know what time I'd be there this evening.

Drove up to Dublin, went to his house and nobody was there.

Tried to calll him a few time but no answers. Checked with a neighbour and I was at the right place but the guy or car wasn't to be seen.:mad:

mike65

Jebus H Crisps that the sort of thing that does my head in. Did he have your number? He could have at least let you know if he did.

johnos1984

mike65 wrote: »

Jebus H Crisps that the sort of thing that does my head in. Did he have your number? He could have at least let you know if he did.

He had my number, he had my email and he had arranged all of this.

I'm mystified as to what happened and very pissed off.

Its the end of a long long list of cars that have turned out to be rubbish or sellers that have turned out to be less than reliable. Finding what you want at the right price has its pitfalls and I'm currently finding myself in every one of them this time around

I'll find the one yet though

phelixoflaherty

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/mercedes-benz/s-class-w126-1979/?section=bad

johnos1984

phelixoflaherty wrote: »

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/carbycar/mercedes-benz/s-class-w126-1979/?section=bad

I'd trust people in the know more than HJ when it comes to a near 30 year old car

phelixoflaherty

Just thought you'd find more info

johnos1984

phelixoflaherty wrote: »

Just thought you'd find more info

Apologies appreciate the link but just pissed at the Mercs for the minute