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  #16  
Old 01-20-2016, 07:02 PM
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Thanks for the input, I'm not going to worry much about the #14 head. I have spoken to the seller and gotten some pictures of the underside of the car. It looks immaculate and according to him everything works including the power antenna. He says the fuel and brake lines have been redone and the tank flushed out. He also said the transmission and coolant had been serviced a little while back. According to carfax the mileage is original. Really I'm looking for an sdl that is in near new car shape, and would like to avoid anything over 150k miles. After speaking with him he has dropped his price to $14,500, do you still think this is too much for the car? I have seen some others in this price range but they were not as nice as this one. I like the car a lot but don't want to get ripped off paying too much.

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  #17  
Old 01-20-2016, 09:56 PM
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Beautiful car but high price. Unlikely you'd be able to recover much in case of accident—might be worth a chat with your insurance agent.

I would definitely want the low mileage to be substantiated. However, low miles or not the car is 30 years old and as regards rubber things–seals, o-rings, bushings, gaskets–age is as or more important than miles. Unless the seller has documented proof that the rubber has been entirely replaced, you will want to add considerable repair costs to the purchase price.

Jeremy
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  #18  
Old 01-20-2016, 11:08 PM
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I'd give serious thought to what else $14,500 buys before committing. My mind drifts to 05-06 CDI and W140 SD with Metrics Motors long block...

Sixto
83 300SD
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  #19  
Old 01-21-2016, 02:56 PM
Diesel Preferred
 
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#14 head: if it fails, try to find a used head, they can be found anywhere from $500 to $1000 or more. The #14 head on my '87 wagon failed (cracked) and started mixing coolant into the oil, which I caught with oil analysis. Found a #20 head for cheap cheap, but it was no good. Rather upset me, as I spent a few hundred dollars at the machine shop having them pressure test it and then install new valve guides. Found a #17 head and installed that and no problems.
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'87 124.193 (300TD) "White Whale", ~392k miles, 3.5l IP fitted
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  #20  
Old 01-21-2016, 08:15 PM
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I agree with Sixto (again), I like the classic nature of the 126, but if it's going to be a driver I'd spend the money on a modern Mercedes with 150% of the fuel mileage, better handling, better A/C, windows that move faster than a snail, 0-60 faster than a Citroen CV-4, ... they're nice to look at but it will cost maintenance just like any other old car and just aren't that practical for a daily driver.
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  #21  
Old 01-21-2016, 10:00 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by babymog View Post
I agree with Sixto (again), I like the classic nature of the 126, but if it's going to be a driver I'd spend the money on a modern Mercedes with 150% of the fuel mileage, better handling, better A/C, windows that move faster than a snail, 0-60 faster than a Citroen CV-4, ... they're nice to look at but it will cost maintenance just like any other old car and just aren't that practical for a daily driver.
All Good points, however anything will be an improvement from my current DD which is a custom 82 chevy pickup with a diesel swap, its fun but lacking the comforts of a Mercedes Benz, and custom means having to fab parts when something breaks. I gave a lot of thought to an 05 cdi, but decided I would rather have a very nice 300sdl instead, its much nicer looking imo, less electronics, and while any old car will need maintenance I do it all myself and mid 2000's Mercedes are not exactly cheap to fix either. The w126 and other chassis from that time period also represent the height of Mercedes build quality.
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  #22  
Old 01-22-2016, 01:40 AM
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The seller, if he is on this forum, will be very happy to see what you wrote. $$$. Personally, I would run to the hill.
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  #23  
Old 01-22-2016, 12:27 PM
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I understand the desire to have a 126 diesel, especially a very nice one. Unfortunately as others have mentioned, if you get t-boned 3months after buying it, ... good luck getting more than 1/3 of the purchase price unless you have appraisals and documentation that was submitted to and agreed to by the insurance company (also documented). Even then, if you are in a fault state (or hit in a fault state), I don't know how you will force the at-fault driver's insurance to pay more than they value the car, your value agreement is with your carrier.

Next is the fact that it's an old car, even if a nice one. Once you begin to drive it daily, it will become a daily driver (my agreed-value policy doesn't allow this). That means several things including the need to find parts quickly when you have a problem. These parts are already disappearing from Mercedes' parts departments, and getting more scarce as the used parts are from worn-out cars, which are also disappearing from u-pull yards (and long gone from most full-service yards).

Just on age and infrequent use you might be days away from a rusted fuel tank, a failure of a $700 radiator, that #14 head might have been overheated at some point, how often was the brake fluid changed? Many things just get old.

If you're looking at depreciation newer vs. this car, this car's value (which I don't feel is as high as the asking price, but that's opinion) is mostly in the condition and miles. You will be changing that, so it will likely depreciate as fast as (or faster than) a 5-year-old diesel.

Buy it if it's for occasional use and you have a daily, otherwise spend the same money on something more practical (or at least more modern).

Best of luck either way, it is a good looking ride.
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  #24  
Old 01-22-2016, 03:29 PM
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thanks for the advice, all good points. While the car would be my dd, it would be a good weather only dd and would be garaged. If we get snow I have another car I can use. Im going to see if he will come down anymore on the price, meanwhile I have a lead on a very nice 300d that I can get for 6k, but I do prefer the w126 and om603.
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  #25  
Old 01-23-2016, 02:21 PM
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smoke gets in your eyes
 
Join Date: Jun 2000
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More options:

- buy a $5000 86-87 SDL and *you* spend $10K getting it up to your specs. It won't have low miles but these cars don't mind racking miles and you'll have replaced the aged mechanicals anyway.

- buy a 90-91 SDL and swap in a 3.0 short block. It'll have seats that are (to me) more comfortable to begin with and don't degrade as quickly or to the same extent as pre-88 seats. You might find a deal on a relatively low miles car or one in great shape other than burning a quart of oil per fuel fill.

Sixto
83 300SD

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