About 6 years ago I found a 1991 560SEC, black on beige. It had about 94,000 miles on it with LOTS of records. It's pretty illuminating to go through them- the damn antenna motor probably went out 5 times alone. The car had been repainted, but it was done very very well through an SF Bay Area dealership- doorjambs, inside the engine compartment, under wiring harnesses even (from teal to black, and the lower cladding went black too, so it looked pretty badass- that was never a stock look, but it felt stock.) Anyway, with those records, low mileage and how clean it was, I paid a premium for it but felt I'd found a good car.

Then the journey began. First, hydraulic compensators fixed the unusually stiff highway ride. It needed new tires all around. Then I lost reverse. (Now, maybe those in the forum know if this is actually a cheap fix or not, but I ended up getting talked into a rebuilt unit.) Then window switches, seemingly all at once, then the headliner fell in. The A/C was half there, then not there at all. Then the heat went nuts (solenoid valves or something up under the dash) Steering box needed a reseal. I bit the bullet and the shop went after the A/C, new evaporator, Freeze 12 conversion, replacing leaking lines and fittings. It was costing a fortune. The ASR would cut the throttle if you tried to punch it- exactly when you needed full throttle (you get good at recycling the ignition while at highway speeds). This was when I still lived in northern california. Funny the seatbelt presenters always worked fine. But after all that, the A/C still didn't work. Needless to say I can't recommend that shop in Oakland.

I moved to LA- to Pasadena after all that (hot), and had to do something about the A/C. I got a recommendation for a shop that just did climate control, and wow- what a difference. The expertise in LA, particularly the Valley, is impressive. They went through all the expansion valves, took it back to R12 (didn't realize you could do that and that it was better for the car anyway). Anyway, I tallied up the expenses over 5 years and it was over $12,000. But there were other issues as well. Things that spending money wouldn't have fixed anyway. It wasn't a tight car- must have been hit. It wasn't easy to spot in the records but the hints were there if you looked. Most annoying was that folks seemed to have gone through the interior a bunch of times, and it never quite fit together again. It rattled and squeaked more than I thought it should have. Which was tough to spot with a car who's interior looks flawless- and when you're in the glow of the impulsive feeling that you've finally found the right car.

So what is the moral of the story? Personally I think even copious records are only of marginal help. I think that things that are soft on a car, on any car (seals, adhesives, gaskets, rubber bellows) just start to go around the 100k+ mark, and I wonder if the 225,000 mile cars are sometimes a better bet- someone is *running* this thing, keeping it going, keeping after it instead of deferring the early time bombs. But if there is any way you can determine if a car has been, uh- messed with, like lame stereo installations, or cell phone antennas going up through the headliners, if it's been hit- that's what I would stay well away from.

On the other hand, there were wonderful things about the car. Yes- the pedal throw is odd for being so firm and long, but when you push it down firmly, how delightful to feel the tonnage move out effortlessly. It had a fantastic ride.With all four windows down it was unlike any other car on the road. The interior is one of the best I've ever seen, still loks fresh after all these years- the seats alone are gorgeous and great for long runs, even the rear seats- they are not the same seats as the stock seats in the sedans (although I understand they were an option). It was a great touring car, a solid long distance runner. A car for glamorous nights out.

In the end, I decided I needed four doors for the practicality, and the 12mpg wasn't fun this past year at $5 per gallon. So it's gone, but not for long. I want my s-class mojo back again. I'm looking for a late ('90,'91) 300SEL.