1986 420sel purchase
 

Thinking of buying a 1986 420 sel as a daily driver asking price with new tires 1500.Owner claims 95k on the car and says he had it in fla for years garaged kept and now wants to sell.He says still runs great I was just wondering if it would be worth buying as funds are low these days and if I can get it under a grand maybe it would be worth it.Any imput would help Thanks

If the mileage is correct & has new tires... I'd pay $1K for it.

If your funds are low, you're sure not going to like feeding that car.
Values on W126 cars have cratered in the last few years, so even nice ones are not much more than the doggy ones.

Jim

Have a PPI (pre-purchase inspection) performed by a MB-trained tech who is familiar with that vintage MB automobile so you're aware of any pending major repairs. Otherwise you may pay several times the initial cost resolving neglected maintenance issues. Fuel cost may be more than expected too.

Agreed that a PPI is a good tool.

However, when a PPI starts to approach a significant percentage of the purchase price, as in this case, I go with my gut and roll the dice.

Jim

420 purchase....
 

i bought mine (1987 420sel) in 2004.....paid 500.00 for it....have put work into it like rebuilding the front end....valve job.....timing rails....chain....

i will say this, the 4.2 V-8 is a great engine.....it is still my daily driver and it went from austin to ft hood, tx (150 miles daily (6 days a week) (for 1 yr) without issues...

this model if taken care of is strong as an ox and very reliable...

my thoughts

lyle

Thanks guys supposedly it only has less than 100k.I havent gotten to look at it yet.But will this weekend

VDO odometers love to stop working, do not count on it be accurate without records. If the trip meter is at all zero, then you know the odo is not working.

Heck, just test drive it and check to see if the odo turns.

mileage....
 

will say one more thing....i agree that the vdo odometers do go out but i will confess that 250k or more is very possible with this 4.2 litre v8

fuel costs, maint can be high too.
did have one loved her, but my wallet is limited deep, every time I pop 20 bucks in the tank didnt get me to many smiles though.
i stay with oil burners.

I have a 420SEL. Its a good car. Nice car overall..

The only downsides are 1) depending on mileage, engine work might be needed (i.e chain guides/tensioner/chain) 2) fuel costs.

This 420SEL averages about 15mpg.