I'm thinking about selling one of my three Volvos and buying another mercedes. I would like to get a 560 SEC, but I'm not sure If I wan't to spend the amount required for a pristine one. I would not mind a SEL. I think that I would be interested in either the 560, or the 420 motor. I was also wondering about the 6.9 SEL though, as it seems like kind of an interesting car. This car would not be my only car, but I wan't somewhat reliable and easy to work on . Would that rule out the 6.9?

How much money do you have to keep your potential purchase on the road?

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'90 300SE 298k
-300K and it gets put into retirement.
'80 300D 255k Purchased new by family in 1980.

Had a:
1973 220 (gas)
1980 300SD
1992 400E

I do most of my own work, so that is not a huge issue, other then buying parts.

Good point, I will have to look out for rust. I really do not want to do any body work though.

Any 6.9 or 6.3 will cost a fortune to keep in good shape for reliable daily use. Not to mention good examples are not cheap. But sure you can buy rolling trash for $5k all day long.

I'd go for the 560SEC. The M117 motor is pretty straight forward and it is still a W126. Parts are cheap and they are simple to fix.

I am sure $8k+/- would get a good driver SEC.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Hmm, I haven't seen a 6.9 to examine yet. I looked at a SEC yesterday, and it had a problem with rear window allignment. Is this a common problem? I would be surprised to see an issue like this on a quality car. Thanks for any information.

Which rear window? If its one of the power ones it may just be off the track. 20 year old cars are not going to be perfect.

If you do look at a W116 look for rust. Those things rust like crazy, go over the car with a fine tooth comb. Frankly I would expect to find rust, unless it was a desert or CA car for most its life.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200