I just found out that my wifes 1986 420 sel has a bad piston( number 2). My mech says it is not worth fixing (4-8 grand). The rest of the car is in great shape, new pirelli p-6000 tires. no rips or tears in the interior, body has a couple of dings but thats it. I do not want to fix it and my mech says he does'nt know what I can do with it. I live in So Cal if anyones knows of a good Mb salvage yard or if someone wants to give me a little cash for it . thanks in advance. it has 188,000 miles on it.

Thought about finding a used engine? Might be possible in Mercedes-soaked Southern California.

Anyone know more?

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John Shellenberg
1998 C230 "Black Betty" 240K

http://img31.exs.cx/img31/4050/tophat6.gif

I would suspect this engine can be rebuilt for less than $4k.

The biggest expense in auto ownership is not maintenance and repair, but rather depreciation.

The value of a well cared for 420 SEL, even with your mileage, has to be around $7k-$8k, so I can't imagine it wouldn't be worth it.

There is a very well regarded Mercedes mechanic in Southern California that many participants on this site take their cars to, including myself. His shop is in Tarzana, off of Encino Blvd. at the 101 freeway. He may or may not be close to you, but I live in Diamond Bar and drive 51 miles each way. I personally know of guys driving down from areas as far as Big Bear, Bakersfield, etc. to have their car serviced by Enrique. There is even a guy with a 600SEL who has his car trucked down from Montana!

He is in his middle to late fifties, and has worked for Mercedes dealers since he was 18 years old in Spain (his birthplace), South America, South Africa, and at two dealerships here in So. Cal. (Beverly Hills and Thousand Oaks) before opening up his own shop about 10 years ago. His knowledge and skill great is so great, that I'd place him as one of the top Mercedes technicians in North America. He's that good. And his labor rate is ridiculously cheap @ $60 / hour, which is the same rate that the knuckleheads at Pep Boys charge.

I'd have him take a look at the car, and if he can fix it for the right price, then see if he or another Mercedes shop owner would buy it from you.

If you do a search on Mr. MB Motors, or Enrique, you will find many posts that reference him. Here is one post:

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?threadid=38339&perpage=15&highlight=enrique&pagenumber=1

Just my $.02.... (and another $0.98 would buy you a cup of coffee).

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Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

swap the engine if it's not worth fixing, but like it was mentioned earlier, take it to someone who knows what they are doing, see what they will say, but whatever you do don't junk that car.

xp

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1985 190E 2.3L - a constant project.

Just to inject a little humour, I will tell you a short story.

When my wife went to college, her parents bought her a beater car for commuting.
One friday afternoon she arrived home & told her father, her car was making a funny noise.
After a quick preliminary diagnosis, her father told her, he suspected that she had lost a piston!
To this my wife replied, " well, if I can borrow your car, I could re-trace my route and possibly find it again ".

P.S. She still doesn't know anything about cars today.

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2007 C 230 Sport.

I've decited to give it to chairity , maybe someone can enjoy it as much as we did. Louis

i hope it's the car you gave to charity!!!