w108 or just burn my cash?

[billhard]

There is a 280sel 4.5 for sale near me. Owner says:

very little rust
no records
original paint
good to fair interior
$2K in extra parts
runs and drives well enough to be a daily ride

He is asking $1500. so I am not expecting much. I am going to look at it in an hour or so any words of caution?

[alabbasi]

All old cars are going to be expensive and you should expect to spend money regardless of what you buy. If you're looking for a W108 project then this sounds as good as any.

[billhard]

Ok I looked....

Runs great =not running, rodents have turned engine compartment into a condo. Looks like the only thing eaten so far was plug wires and 1 vacuum line.

No rust = a lot of rust in engine compartment, very corroded looking heads. cancer in body.

Nice paint = one fender total bondo, not painted with rust coming through that doesn't line up with door.

Lots of extra parts = a couple of small bags of stuff in trunk which he could not identify. But I did find under a lot of other junk in the trunk nice condition wood trim pieces.

The interior was ok, here are some pics, I knew for $1500 it wouldn't be pretty but he had my hopes up. Think I will pass but if anyone here is interested PM me and I will pass along sellers phone. I bet he would take $1000 or less.

[billhard]

PS Unimog is also for sale, no price or details.

[D&W]

you can buy much better for a little more money I think. you made the right choice

[Aquaticedge]

Squiggle dog has a nice diesel for sale if that is something your lookin for

[strelnik]

Originally Posted by billhard

PS Unimog is also for sale, no price or details.

Is it a OM636 diesel or a M 180 6 cyl gasser like the fintail 220Sb?

[billhard]

Originally Posted by strelnik

Is it a OM636 diesel or a M 180 6 cyl gasser like the fintail 220Sb?

Sorry I didn't look that close.

[daw_two]

Originally Posted by D&W

you can buy much better for a little more money I think. you made the right choice

I would tend to concur.

[meltedpanda]

$1000 is too much in my opinion. Good move on your part

[Tony H]

Perhaps this one is more to your liking:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Mercedes-Benz-200-Series-280-SE-Mercedes-Benz-280-SE-Parts-Project-NO-RESERVE-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem3cb402fcdaQQitemZ260718132442QQptZUSQ5fCarsQ5fTrucks

[Tomguy]

Gotta love this Mac user's way of resizing an image - take a screenshot of the image!

[berfinroy]

Do not buy any Mercedes sedan "project car" unless you are a financial masochist. Several excellent 108/109 cars appear on Ebay and elsewhere every year. Keep watch and hold out for one of those...and you'll probably still have to spend some money on it to make it right.

[D&W]

Originally Posted by berfinroy

Do not buy any Mercedes sedan "project car" unless you are a financial masochist. Several excellent 108/109 cars appear on Ebay and elsewhere every year. Keep watch and hold out for one of those...and you'll probably still have to spend some money on it to make it right.

Agreed, I bought what I consider to be a great condition car and have still spent thousands on it. Granted I have to pay for labor but all in all, a non working merc that needs 'restoration' would be easy to spend 20k+ making it look fantastic. chrome, interiors, panels, rust, non-op engine all cost LOTS to fix

[suginami]

Originally Posted by D&W

Agreed, I bought what I consider to be a great condition car and have still spent thousands on it. Granted I have to pay for labor but all in all, a non working merc that needs 'restoration' would be easy to spend 20k+ making it look fantastic. chrome, interiors, panels, rust, non-op engine all cost LOTS to fix

Me too. I bought my 280SE 4.5 in great condition. All of the previous owners fixed everything that needed attention, and yet I've still spent about $3,000 on it.