Needed: Reality-Check or Encouragement?

[barnumlives]

the first mercedes i owned (1976 300d w/110k) came to me in the early 90's long before the brotherhood of shared information mb forums the internet now provide.

even though i was used to paying import part/service prices (vw, peugeot) it didn't take long to realize i could maybe afford mb parts OR services but not both.

luckily there was an old german mechanic here who needed a helper in exchange for discounts on my parts and supervising me as i worked on my own car.

nowadays guides and advice from these forums can be nearly the equivalent of learning at the german master's knee.

once you catch up with any overdue maintenance and emergency repairs like the coolant leak you'll begin preventing the breakdowns dealing with the car on your terms/timetable/budget.

finally, if space/finances permit, study the market by watching for nice cars like yours. you may discover a chance to trade up or snag a nice parts car.

good luck!

[Carpenterman]

I always tell myself that I am building CHARACTER, both in myself and my car, as I learn to work on/with these supremely engineered machines.

[bwostosh]

Originally Posted by mbbuff

Especially if they've received only nominal, as needed maintenance, are going to need to have everything looked at, sooner rather than later. As said above, prioritize and start picking away at it. When done, establish a sound scheduled inspection/maintenance program and you'll stay on top of everything with a very minimal risk of on road failures. These things really are very rugged and reliable when properly maintained.

Perfect advice... above

One summer I did a mechanical on my 220SEb and touched every part from radiator cap to gas cap(new rubber gasket),
Tire to tire, things like rear axle boot, shifter bushings, all soft parts.
It ran excellent with routine maintenance, no leaks no parts for about 5 years.
Then my guarantee ran out. 5 yrs 50,000miles.

It took about 450 hours of my free labor, equals cheap transportation.