1985 500SEL - @ a crossroads- need advice
 

Some of you may have read some of my posts of where I have been considering a silver 1985 Mercedes 500SEL. First of all- I think the car is way overpriced at $5,500. Equipped with the driver airbag option- it has 152K miles and is in good condition, but it is far from pristine. It has a small dent on the lower "C" pillar and rear side of the the trunk panel (above the taillamps) seems to be pressed in more than the passenger side- which is actually flush with the quarter panel. Carfax report is good. Shows all it well- no major accidents- car had 99K in 1993. Being a southern car- it is 100% rust free and the paint appears to be original. The car has a very nice passenger cabin- and everything looks to be in near perfect condition. Upon inspection of the under carriage- it too is rust free, but noted some oil seepage. The rear differential had some slight seepage- no drips, but it was damp. There was also some sort of a "vent" hose draped down by the rear axle- it looked like it had been damp at the opening- is this supposed to be there and what is it? Under the engine- around the oil pan gasket- it is a little dark looking, as if that gasket is seeping as well. My main concern is that up from the oil pan- on the driver side- there appears to be a heavier leak- but not yet dripping. Now, the car has been setting for about a year. This car lot (specializes in European cars) does not move a lot of cars- mainly because they are overpriced, but they build track cars as well- so that is where they get most of their business. Another negative, is that there are no service records with the car and the last date of timing chain change is unknown. :(

Now if I do decide I really may purchase this car, I will definitely have it inspected by a reputable mechanic. Seller seems firm on the price. I just hate to pay $5500 for this car, only to have problems down the road....

Has anyone else ever paid more for a Mercedes that you thought it was worth in the beginning?

I do not know whether or not to forget about this car and keep searching, or go ahead and pay the $5500, if the PPI is O.K. :confused:

There is the 87 420SEL, but the owner is shady on the details. For some reason, it has been setting for a while, but stated to still run good- perhaps has a lot of cars. :confused:

What did 84-85 500SEL owners pay for their 500SEL's when they bought them?

Thanks folks!

You are right...It is overpriced.
I have a '88 420SEL for sale with fewer miles, and I am asking for less.
Not only is mine newer, but it has more HP (184 vs. 201) also. Yeah...mine needs the roof and trunk lid painted...but still....compared to the 500SEL you're looking at, mine would be a bargain.
Let me know if you end up buying it anyway... I will have to re-evaluate my asking price if you do. ;)

-Larry

Thanks.

Does anyone have any knowledge about the hose down by the rear axle that I was alluding to?

I will probably have it checked out by a reputable mechanic if I decide I am serious about the purchase, but want to gather as much information as possible before doing so. I guess my main concern is that minor oil seepage/leakage up by the oil pan, but my old 1990 Lexus LS400 also had this appearance and it NEVER dropped below the "full" line on the oil stick between changes, so this may not be a big deal.

He keep assuring me not to fret about the timing chain on the 500, because it has a "dual" chain and he has never heard of one breaking on these, unlike the 380, but I am not familiar with Mercedes cars.

Thanks again for the advice.

I would guess it is the hose that leads from the gas tank fill compartment. It is a drain hose that drains overfill onto the ground :eek: instead of down the side of the car (I am sure it is really to drain water away from that compartment when it rains or when the car is washed).

Guess that is possible. Thanks.

Well, I am pretty sure I will at least go and drive the car and have it inspected at a local shop.

I just am very hesitant about paying $5500 for a 20 year old Mercedes, even if it is in very good shape with 152K.

Still looking around, so will have to wait and see.

I'm pretty sure it's a gray market car. You may want to take that into consideration as well.

Other more knowledgeable folks will know more about this than I do.

Hello. What makes you think it is a gray market car?

It has the large bumpers, and MPH speedometer.

:D 86560SEL,

You seem to have waay more patience than I'll ever have. Just spent the last 30 minutes checking out your old threads... you've been at this for several months!!

Tell you what, to end your thorough search, I'll sell you my '84 Euro 500SEL for $2,500. Once you add another $2,000 ($500 for the front leather seats, $500 for the rear suspension, $150 for an excellent detail job on the entire car, $500 - $800 on a timing chain replacement), you'll be having an excellent machine! How's that? You can't beat the value, considering the low miles and over $20,000 spent on maintenance and repairs over the life of the car (yeah, I have all the receipts, even including the one that shows the shipment agreement for its importation from Germany). You'll get a car with new brakes all around, new ABS module, master cylinder, water pump, transmission, etc. :rolleyes: Plus you get that powerful Euro engine. Nothing beats that!! :D And besides, nothing's better than buying a car from a fellow forum member. Much better than eBay or a dealer lot. ;)

1990 560sel
 

My neighbor has a 1990 560SEL he wants to sell for about the same price.
It is taupe with parch interior. Nice shape. Let me know if you want his email address. North Atlanta is not too far from East Tenn.

Ya see... Told ya it was overpriced :D

As far as it being a Euro...See if it has hydropneumatics shocks up front. If it does, do a search here on them, and then start putting money aside for the day when you have to replace/repair them.

Do a search for fellow member fz500SEL and check out his signature....

If you do end up buying it, let us know.... and take some pics! :)

I've never heard of a Euro W126 with hydroneumatics up front. They were only available for the rear as far as I know.

Thanks for the additional replies. I really do not think it is a Euro model. I do not see anything that suggests that. I have the VIN #- can someone read that and be able to tell me just from that?

I agree, I think that $5500 is too much, but when I look at 90s Honda Accords, Toyota Camrys priced at least that and more- it does not seem so bad. Also- it seems to be in excellent shape, so for those saying $5500 is too much- is that too much even if the car is in excellent condition & in perfect working order? If I had the assurance of buying this car @ this price- knowing that I would not have any problems with it for at least a year- I would be more comfortable paying that for it. About the timing chain- I phoned one of our local Mercedes repair/sales specialists to get an estimate of a timing chain replacement on one a 85' 500SEL. I have been told here that it is a $1000+ replacement, but I was quoted the price of $493.00 - which includes parts and labor of the chain and tensioner on this car. I have to call another shop tomorrow, as they are checking the price of this for me.

My other main concern is the minor (seeping) oil leak coming down from the front part of the oil pan. It is not dripping, there are no leak spots under the car, but it has a damp look to it. Someone said here it was $1500 to repair? That is why I have not purchased it yet. If I recall when I talked to him last- I think he said it had some clunking with the front suspension, but was planning on having this repaired. Perhaps bad bushings/struts.

The car was moved inside the garage today, as were a few other cars that were also out on the lot. The hood was raised, so perhaps they were changing the oil or something- or detailing it.

I searched traderonline.com for 1984-1985 500SEL's. Prices ranged from $1200 to $25000. The $25000 had high miles- I have no idea what they thought they had. The average price was $3000-$4500. NONE where really close to me. The closest ones were 5-7 hours away from here. One was $2995 and the other was $3995.

In addition- the NADA price on these cars seems too high-
low retail - $6550
average retail - $8700
high retail - $11700

:confused:

Yes.

All US Spec VINs start with WDB followed by letters of the alphabet then numbers and alphabets mixed. Euro Spec cars have VINs that start with either WDB following by the chassis number and then a sequence of alphanumeric characters or the VIN starts with just the chassis number followed by the alphanumeric characters. Confused yet? Just post the VIN and I'll tell you if it is a Euro Spec car or not.

Those Camry's and Accords are still NEWER with better safety features and things like that. Whether we admit it or not, they are worth more than the gas V8 Benz you're looking at. $5,500 is too much to pay for a 500SEL that's in good shape. I paid $4,700 for my 300SD because there simply wasn't any in good shape and with as low miles as mine had to be found anywhere when I purchased it. The 300SD is much harder to find in excellent condition than the 500SEL, at least when I got mine. Also, at this point in time you can obtain many 500SELs in great shape for a lower price. BUT, if you're fine with paying $5,500 then by all means go ahead and buy it.

Believe me,you WILL spend money on this car in the first year. Guaranteed. At least $1,000. Before I get deep into this, do you have any maintenance records on this car? Because, normally in the first year you will spend money getting the car up to speed on maintenance items. My 300SD, which was in excellent shape when I purchased it, ended up needing two repairs in the first year (alternator and master cylinder) but I did a lot of parts replacements as part of maintenance. I don't think you can easily get away with not spending any money on this car in the first year.

Your price quote on the timing chain makes sense. $1,000 is way too much to pay for that job. Regarding the oil leak, you really have to get a PPI in order to determine what it is. It could just be a minor leak, or an old leak that was fixed but the traces of the leakage were never washed off. You never know. You can only tell from a PPI as performed by someone who knows these cars very well. And you mentioned some clunking in the front suspension: all these tiny issues and you say the car is in excellent condition? Good condition maybe, but excellent? You really need to get a PPI done before you even know if it is something you want to buy. And oh, regarding those NADA figures, they aren't true market value figures. Condition is what sells these cars. We all know they are million-mile machines :D so the prices they fetch depend on condition not what NADA says.

Well it is a 21 year old W126 with out a service history on a used car lot. It does have expensive issues and will probably cost you money. The oil leak is the least of your problems. 20 year old stuff will leak, a lot usually. I bet the power steering return lines are shot.

How about the suspension? Figure $1,500 their to rebuild the front end and do some work to the rear.

Brakes? I bet they are close to due. Figure a few hundred their.

The radiator and all of the hoses are probably original.

Flex discs?

If the engine mounts are close to original they are shot.

Tranns could blow, all bets are off at 20 years.

Just buy any old car expecting to put money into it. You have to want an old MB and be willing to put up with old car stuff to own one.

Just re-read your original post, so it has no service records!! I'd be walking right now if I were you.