1970 280SE purchase advice appreciated - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

1oldman3123 · #1 01-20-2009, 06:11 AM

I am considering this car as a second car. It has approximately. 160K mile on it. It is fairly clean, paint and body look good, the leather seats are good, dash has cracks but over all the interior is okay for the age. The current owner (apparently it has had several) does admit to problems with the mechanical FI and using "a little" oil. The car does start and run good but will stall occasionally after coming to a stop but restarts w/o any trouble. I believe the guy has "tinkered" with the FI adjustments and contributed to the problem. I have always worked on my own vehicles starting nearly 40 years ago with a Honda S90 motorcycle. What would I be getting into here? Anyone hazard a guess at a reasonable price? His starting asking price is $3500 but haven't begun haggling yet! Any help would be greatly appreciated.

liondancer · #2 01-20-2009, 12:52 PM

I would give 1000$ for this car max. Multiple owners always scare me. Did you do a thorough rust check?

POS · #3 01-20-2009, 03:52 PM

$3500???? Dude's crazy. You can find a well-cared for one with 100k for $4000. If you're looking for something along those lines, then start searching Craigslist and the like. The old sedans are a tough sell, the old coupes a little easier but not by much - in other words, as a Buyer you can dictate the terms. Skip that one, find a good one for the same price.

noel.brownell · #4 01-21-2009, 08:36 AM

I look all the time on craigslist and see them in great shape for as low as $2500 all day. Be patient and it will pay off. If not you will be working on your car every weekend for months.

mak · #5 01-21-2009, 08:56 AM

280se 108 models are lovely cars. do follow the forum advise to get a good one and enjoy it.

meltedpanda · #6 01-21-2009, 03:36 PM

yea spend some time looking, at $3500 better be perfect, complete with service history

wolf_walker · #7 01-21-2009, 03:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by noel.brownell

you will be working on your car every weekend for months.

Wait, you aren't supposed to work on 35+ year old cars every weekend?

meltedpanda · #8 01-21-2009, 09:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wolf_walker

Wait, you aren't supposed to work on 35+ year old cars every weekend?

yes , of course you are, my idea of a perfect weekend, but lets not confuse the poor guy

liondancer · #9 01-21-2009, 11:02 PM

I would expect some upgraded or updated work done for $3500.

wolf_walker · #10 01-22-2009, 01:23 AM

I'm still pretty astounded at how cheap these cars are. The catch being the only people that ever seem to be selling them are the one's that haven't spent the money to fix them yet, as like any other particular type of car, they all end up needing about the same stuff after awhile. I wonder when the supply of un-fixed cheap ones is going to get skinny.
I've been looking the last month or so for a good friend of mine a w123 diesel wagon, which was a fairly easy thing to get hold of back when I was a diesel driver myself five or six years ago. And despite the boatloads of them sold here, there seem to be two types available now. $1500 ragged worn out rust buckets(which go from $3500 "nice cars" to $1000 "lot of good parts" cars when you go look at them) or $6000 truly nice semi-restored examples that somebody bought cheap awhile back and fixed up.
The old niche car market is so funny to watch over time.

Anyway, buy em while you can gents.

mbgingerbread · #11 01-23-2009, 09:20 PM

Hi Oldman;
From one old man to another: take your time looking for a vintage Mercedes. There is a wealth of information, however, on, in and around this forum.
The one thing I look for is an untouched version which has been left alone more or less . People who bought these cars when they were new had to be better off than the average car owner in that time period. The service was expensive and the parts availability was limited mostly to the dealer. If you find an older model 280se which looks like it might be down on it's luck but hasn't lost that look of the pedigree then sometimes the mileage isn't that important. I would love to find a dealer-maintained car from day one with high mileage than one which has had hit or miss service over the years. Be prepared to spend time and $ to keep this cat running.
The first page of the vintage forum will give you a pretty good breakdown of what to look for. Otherwise, I like to study a car for awhile and get a 'Zen thing' going before I buy. After all, you and this new, classic looking Benz will spend time together. I would further advise that you take care to understand that mechanically speaking the 280se is not a PeopleWagen (VW).. and you will need to be a good mechanic in order to keep your car going. On the other hand, the joy of owning and working on a car which was meant to be worked on is a great experience.
Good luck.

mercmad6.3 · #12 01-24-2009, 08:42 AM

After all this time I now know what needs doing,first of all your prospective car should have current service history. No service documents for the last 12 months and if you know little about cars in general,Keep looking.
Receipts for work done 2 years ago are worthless ,if it's leaker or a smoker theres at least $1000 to fix. Front end overhaul DONE PROPERLY is at least $4000 . Shocks are expensive, all suspension rubbers after 40 years are normally worn out. How is the interior? MBtex ? is it worn? if it is, that is not a good sign. I have lost count of the mercs I have seen over the years for sale where the seller claims the car OJNLY has 60,000 etc etc .Most times an examination usually reveals a milage probably closer to 360,000 miles.
Buy the best you can afford,it's cheaper in the long run and don't worry about body style (coupe,cabrio etc etc ) it's the mercedes experience you are after.
http://www.classiccarsforsale.co.uk/classic-car-page.php/carno/37529

1oldman3123 · #13 01-31-2009, 11:06 PM

Thanks to every one for their advice on the car. It was sort of spur of the moment when the better half and I saw it setting out with the for sale sign. I may have mentioned that we had considered an older 'benz about 10 years ago but found that it had been wrecked. I will keep looking and checking craigslist, etc.

Thanks again very much appreciated!

todds · #14 02-04-2009, 10:10 AM

Hey, an S90! I've got one in the garage that my dad bought new in 65, there's something like 3000 miles on it. We've changed tires and batteries over the years and driven it here and there. I drove it for a whole summer to work about 10 years ago. People loved that bike wherever I went.

You'll find similar love for an old Benz if you find a good one. They're great cars and actually very easy to live with if they've been taken care of.