May be looking at a '91 350SDL
 

I came across a 350SDL with 218K and they're asking 6950 for it. I know the model has a reputation of being a rod bender and having bad heads. From all the photos I've seen it's in great shape. The owner said it doesn't burn any oil and has no blowby. I'm leary of the 603 engine but it seems like a good price for the car for the condition its supposed to be in. I've heard the bad heads have a casting number 14. Is the 14 part of the head part number? I had the owner get the number and it was P603 016 17 01.
What do you guys think?

It has the updated #17 head, so, you are probably OK in that regard.

You already know the deal with the rods. There is no way to know if that specific engine will ever bend a rod, or whether it will go to 500K with no issues.

If it bends a rod, you are looking at between $6K and $8K to fix it.

350s came with the -17- head.

If a PPI including compression and leak-down tests checks out, go for it. Rod problems usually occur well before 218K miles.

Sixto
95 S420
87 300SDL

That's something I would hope it would never do and is the only thing that scares me about the car. Let's say if it did, I would drop a 617 in it.
How's the price sound?
The owner is aware that his model has the reputation of being a rod bender but it isn't the reason why he's selling it.
Is this model OK for running WVO?

Should do fine with WVO.

Price seems reasonable but price varies widely by region. A running 350SDL with cold AC in this area would be on craigslist for 15 minutes.

Sixto
95 S420
87 300SDL

I don't think you would be happy with a 617 in it. Plus, it's not really setup for that. I believe that you would need to swap the trans as well.

If the worst happened, you could seek out a 3L 603 from the '86-'87 SDL. You would transfer your existing head to the older engine. The cost would be not more than $2K.

The price seems about right for a vehicle with the mileage as indicated. With fewer miles, they typically run well above $10K.

lietuvai, Most likely if this car was gong to bend the rods it would have done so already, well before this mileage. I guarentee you'll love the 603 over the 617. Just about everyone else who's made the jump agrees.

Thanks
David

You guys worry to much, if the car is in good shape buy it and enjoy. The 603 even the 3.5 is a fine engine.

sorry
 

i missed the price.

tom w

Tom, it's $6950.

well
 

thanks brian. of course now i see it.

i have a 90 350sdl. mine was bought with a lot of problems with the engine. we are sorting through them. what a sweet ride when it is running. i hesitate to recommend buying one. the engine seems too problematic. if you do buy it i recommend taking off the cross over pipe and cleaning it out. it typically fills with "tar". has this one had work done on the engine, and the head? it seems like ones that have had a lot of highway miles fare better than the ones driven in the city alot... like mine.

i dont know what to say about the price.

tom w

walgamuth, Come the 20th I'll be going to school right by you. I'm going to Wabash College. Just now noticed your location, anyways, back to your regularly scheduled programming.

Thanks
David

I would buy it. $7K is not a bad price for the 350. I also concur with others posting replies about dropping in the 617 engine. Don't even bother. Everyone talks about how reliable that engine is and how nothing compares to it for reliability. I used to subscribe to that - until I realized that it's all relative. My dad has a '91 300E with 290,000 miles on it and the engine runs like a champ. My 300 SDL has 222,000 miles. My point being that the non-617 engines will also last forever. There may be be more repair issues, but how many other vehicles last that long? I would never go back to a 617 engine. It's just too nice have a more powerful, quiet and refined engine.

It sounds like the rest of the car is in good condition. If the interior is in good shape, any $$ you would spend restoring that could be saved for the (unlikely) event of engine trouble. I am very partial to the interiors in the 1989+ 126s. I like the folded leather on the door panels and the seats are a quantum leap in comfort and appearance. They look like a much more modern vehicle - not a 70s throwback. I am actually converting my interior to match the later 126s.

A last item. That car very likely has a passenger side airbag. I wish I could provide that protection to my wife when she rides in the car. I love my car, but if I could do it over, I would have bought a 350 SDL, problems notwithstanding.

ccooper, you said it just as I would have...

Thanks
David

P.S.
I'm still wrestling trying to get that wiring harness out of the junked 500. I have 2.5 weeks till I move away to college and I wanted this done before that. I may put it off though till next year when I'll see the car again.

Sounds like it'd be worthwhile. I'll see if I can take a look at it this weekend.
Thanks guys!

I'm going down this afternoon to look at it. It's going to be about a 3 hr drive to go see it. I hope it'll be worth it. Maybe I'll come back with it. :confused:
Watch my signature. ;)

I'm on the edge of my seat here! :dancefool

Hey DJ, what did you think of the car? You must not have bought it as I noticed that he just lowered the price another $200 to $6750. I am going to be in that part of Washington next week and was thinking about stopping to check it out...but I don't think its the right car for me. Anyway I would be interested in hearing your report.

Perry

The car had lots of cosmetic issues.
It seemed to run really good and had almost no blowby at idle. I pulled the oil cap for that. No mess.
The guy claimed it was never in an accident but then why would the front sheetmetal have evidence of paint work? The hood, passenger fender and door were repainted. The sellers stories about the car seemed a bit fishy to me also. I passed after just spending less than 5 minutes looking at the car.
I was very dissapointed. I'm never going out of my area to look at a car again.

I’m sorry to hear it was a bum deal for you. I think you were very smart to pass it up, though and, I presume, to avoid the temptation to buy it because you invested the time in driving out there. I notice a lot of people in the group discuss the virtues of having a strong engine. I don’t dispute that, but I also think the condition of the rest of the car is important. In this case, you could have spent a lot of money for everything but the engine.

While I love my car, if I had it to do over, I would have waited to find a car that didn’t have the cosmetic issues (unbeknownst to me at the time – I thought the strong engine was sufficient). Here is a breakdown of major expenses I incurred:

A/C Rebuild: $2,000
Reupholstering: $2,000 ($1500 for new front seat covers, springs, etc)
Front End Rebuild: $1,000
Repaint: $1,800 (discounted from $4,000 thanks to connections)

As you see, in addition to the $5,500 I paid for the ’86 SDL, I also threw in over $6,500 more. Fortunately, I haven’t thrown in good money after bad since I plan to keep the car for the long term and these improvements do much to make it like new.

Consider spending $10,000 for a pristine 350 SDL and allocating $5,000 for mishaps. For that $15,000 you could get a low end Camry or Ford Taurus. Buying a W126 is not a bargain in absolute terms: if you’re looking for that, buy a Hyundai or Nissan Sentra. If you want a luxurious and dignified car for a bargain, then the W126 is an excellent choice – provided you are willing to pay more initially for a pristine one.

Keep an eye out for that pristine SDL, whether it’s the 300 or the 350. I guarantee you’ll be very pleased to own one of these very fine vehicles. I am, problems notwithstanding.

I'm in a very similar situation with this one. The purchase price was $7,200. It had 125K on the clock (estimated......long story), and I've put another $4K into it over the last 18 months. Nothing major. The a/c is fine and the front end needed a few odds and ends. The paint is just about perfect (8.5 repaint by PO) and the interior is quite good.

But, tires, wheels, relays, combination switch, upper control arms, tie rods, rear springs, rear subframe bushings, new stereo head unit, rear differential mount, Euro headlamps, clear markers, wood shifter, replacement PBU, transmission flush, driver's seat spring............. It gets you up to $4K. :o

I don't believe that paying $10K gets you much more than a pristine body and interior. The vehicle won't magically avoid all of the things that I have done to this one. Unless the PO has done quite a bit of these items, a $10K vehicle will require all of the same repairs due to its age.

Agreed - absolutely, which is why I suggested the extra $5,000. I didn't include a lot of the "nickel and dime" things I added/replaced, such as the euro headlights, the addition of the illuminated sunroof switch, the rear subframe bushings, differential mount, engine mounts, etc.

The benefit to the pristine used automobile (at whatever price) is there is no need to sink money into fixing cosmetic things. In my example, I spent about $4,000 on things such as paint and new upholstry, which would not have been required otherwise. $5,500 + $4,000 = $9,500. It adds up fast, making my generous purchase price of of $10,000 for a '91 350SDL make a lot more sense. Instead, it's possible to sink money into issues that are universal to these cars, such as refurbishing the suspension.

I've never read anywhere on this group about someone who enjoyed changing out the cosmetic things. No one said, "I really liked changing out my seat springs. Maybe next week I'll restore the leather on the driver's seat bolster!" I see people getting a lot more enjoyment out of changing subframe mounts, tweaking the ALDA on a diesel, renewing the steering, and other maintenance and performance issues. Speaking for myself, I only did the cosmetic work because I wanted the car to look decent; it wasn't because I enjoyed it as part of my hobby. Believe me, I found no pleasure in breaking all those friggin' plastic trim pieces. :mad:

Bottom line: the pristine car will spare you a lot of cosmetic restoration and is much more cost-effective than purchasing a cheaper car in average condition. It may even spare or defer more expensive items such as air conditioning. It probably won't preclude the need to replace the things that wear down with age and time, such as suspension and steering components. It will not save you from having to buy the Euro lights or reclining back seat, if you're so inclined. Why reinvent the wheel?

Seems more than one of us has a similar story. I purchased mine back in 1997 at a dealer auction in Los Angeles at a price of $6,900, as I got in a bidding war with another dealer who wanted it for his wife he later told me. It was a 2 owner SDL, 1st on a 4 yr MBZ lease, 2nd bought it as a Certified MBZ w/ warranty. It was always in Southern California, and in awesome condition inside and out, and ran perfect. That being said, the first month I spent OVER $3000 on miscellaneous items and service that had been neglected by the second owner. Then there was the head issue this year, and the a/c seems to need the evaporator replaced. The point is, unless you get ALL the books and records and even then you'll most likely have to put at least $1000 to get it upto date service wise, so consider that when looking at the sales price.

Service records were also an issue on that car. Nothing was available before 101K miles. The fact that the guy denied any accidents and seeing there was paint work turned me off on the spot. Here's the thing that really lost all my confidence in the seller. He said he was an insurance adjuster. :eek:

It may not have been in an "Accident", but might have had the clearcoat problem many older cars have problems with, and the panels were simply repainted. Its easy enough to see if they were replaced by looking at the VIN numbers that are on all major body panels of the car.

You guys are making me feel warm all over...
 

I have a '91 350SDL in my garage with 147k on it. I drove it for two weeks after purchase then garaged it to drive my gasser wagon.

The SDL needs very little and I just haven't had time to mess with it. It has records going back to about 60k, PERFECT interior (two sets of floor mats!)where everything works as it should, great orginal paint that I just clayed and waxed, brand new tires and battery, no blow by or valve tapping. I put Mobil1 truck/suv oil in it, flushed radiator of "green stuff" to put in MB coolant and am waiting to replace either headlight doors or upgrade to euros. PO has replacement headlight doors but is an eye doctor traveling from Wal Mart to Wal Mart and is very hard to get up with.

I just want to underline everything said about the 603 for smoothness, quiet power and economy. You will see the wagon in the FOR SALE section very soon and I'll be asking/posting for help on tweaking the SDL. GREAT cars!

RP

If the clearcoat was going the roof would have been the first to go. The driver's side wasn't repainted. I didn't spend enough time to check vin#'s. The car disappointed me too easily, it was not worth wasting any more time on it.
Where would have I found the vin#'s anyway? Are they on any older MB models?

the vin should
 

be on a metal tag on the inside of the drivers roof post so it can be read through the windshield from outside.

tom w

Aw comon! I know about that one!
Are there vin#'s on the individual sheetmetal?

There's a tag on each door below the striker. There's a tag on the trunk lid visible on the inside lower edge when the lid is up. Along the bottom edges of the front and rear bumpers. The front one might be in the ribs. I haven't found ones on the hood and fenders.

Sixto
95 S420
87 300SDL