I am considering buying a 1968 280s (w108). The car is beautiful and drove great. Cruised smoothly at 75mph. The owner wouldn't come down from his $8000 asking price. I know it is a bit steep, but I prefer to deal with a local car and there aren't too many around my area this nice. I agreed to his price pending inspection and assuming the inspection didn't show repairs greater than $500.

I had the car inspected yesterday by a local Mercedes mechanic with good reviews. He said this car is in great shape and that he rarely sees them in this good of condition. No rust or body issues. 67,000 original miles.

I knew that the a/c needed a recharge, the brake booster may need replacing and the zenith dual carb had a small leak. However, I was told these repairs are extremely expensive:

Brake booster: $1000 for the part plus labor
Carburetor: has a leak, might can be rebuilt (no guarantee); a new carburetor cost $3000
A/C: couple hundred bucks for R134 recharge/convert from r12 – then check for leaks
Heater fan: needs replacing, $400 for part plus labor

Some other issues he noticed that can wait for now:

Head Gasket leaking
Fuel pump housing gasket leak
Heater control knob broken
Front crank seal leak

After hearing his prices, I told the owner I couldnt go through with the sale with the price he was asking. I planned to get back with him sometime this week about a possible counteroffer. I checked on some of the part prices and they seem outrageous. The mechanic didnt even mention possibly switching to a Weber carb. I found a conversion kit for less than a grand:

Mercedes Benz 220 230 250 280 Weber carb conversion kit | eBay

Also, I found new brake boosters for less than $250:

Brake Power Booster | AutoZone.com

Family Car - Auto Parts and Accessories Catalog - Mercedes Benz 280s A1_cardone Brake Booster

Assuming these parts will work for the car, the prices are not too bad (at least not bad enough to scare me away from the purchase). What do yall think?

Also, the mechanic said to not use the car as a daily driver. He said this is a car to put it in a garage, drive it every other Saturday and give it to your kid in 30 years. I put less than 4000 miles a year on a car and have backup transportation if need be, so I think this can be a daily driver with no problem. Any experience with w108s as daily drivers?

Thanks