Anybody have any idea about pitfalls of 560SEL ownership? I don't care about gas mileage, that's a non issue to me at this point. Only thing I can of right away that might be model specific problem would be the rear suspension with the gas spheres right? Anyone have an idea on repair costs for that aspect of it?

- Peter.

__________________
2021 Chevrolet Spark
Formerly...
2000 GMC Sonoma
1981 240D 4spd stick. 347000 miles. Deceased Feb 14 2021
2002 Kia Rio. Worst crap on four wheels
1981 240D 4spd stick. 389000 miles.
1984 123 200
1979 116 280S
1972 Cadillac Sedan DeVille
1971 108 280S

My 560SEL has had literally everything done to it that you'd need on a 560SEL in the last few years. Most of it was preventative, and the total is probably somewhere in the neighborhood of $10,000 worth of stuff spent in 2 years. You name it, its been done and documented short of rebuilding the drivetrain (which only has 78k). If you want the nitty gritty I can look into the numbers associated with the repairs when I get home.

The biggie is the timing chain stuff, which should be out of the way around 100k. If you're looking at a car close to or North of those miles, look for that juicy service item. Once you get near the 150k-200k mark depending on maintenance the heads will probably need to be gone through. Transmissions tend to get issues at about that time frame as well. The rear SLS has accumulators (balls) that are the main problem.

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1985 500SL Euro w/ AMG bits 130k
1984 300SD Turbodiesel 192k
1980 240D Stick China 188k
2001 CLK55 AMG 101k
2007 S600 Biturbo 149k Overheated Project, IT'S ALIVE!!!

560SEL/C buyers guide written by Jim B.

http://www.mbcoupes.com/buyersguide/buyersguide.htm

Enjoy

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1982 300GD Carmine Red (DB3535) Cabriolet Parting Out
1990 300SEL Smoke Silver (Parting out)
1991 350SDL Blackberry Metallic (481)

"The thing is Bob, its not that I'm lazy...its that I just don't care."

the 560SEL is a very nice car but do not expect maintenance to be inexpensive. it seems a classic mercedes benz is always needing something. and yes to the timing chain and suspension issues. other than that, it is perhaps the most amazing car ever built. it is quiet, handles like a dream, stops on a dime, last of the big bodied mercedes benzes.

Depends on what you want to do with the car. Tyler buys and sells cars and seems to have a lot of money, so his figures are gonna be higher than most. It is an "S" class so it won't be cheap but all mechanical things need two of three things: 1)Time 2)Knowledge 3)Money
If you have alot of the first two then it'll be a cheap car. BTW I totally disagree with the "the most expensive mercedes you can buy is a cheap one" logic. I've bought and held onto a few Mercedes and the one that cost the most when I bought it also cost me the most period. My friend just bought a 420SEL for $1500- it has less than 100K miles and was dirty. Now it's clean and he could easily get twice the $.
BTW not all 560SEL's have the SLS, and if they do the most common ailment is the sphere's and they can be had for cheap if bought used.

The ignition control module almost never goes out but when it does replacements for the 5.6 are about $2,300.

If you but one of these cars then start shopping for a spare module on Ebay or at wrecking yards as it would be better to buy one for $50 bucks now and hang on to it than to have to fork out the real price when you really need one.

I did not realize that. How can one tell if a car has that or not?

- Peter.

__________________
2021 Chevrolet Spark
Formerly...
2000 GMC Sonoma
1981 240D 4spd stick. 347000 miles. Deceased Feb 14 2021
2002 Kia Rio. Worst crap on four wheels
1981 240D 4spd stick. 389000 miles.
1984 123 200
1979 116 280S
1972 Cadillac Sedan DeVille
1971 108 280S

This also holds true for other S Class MBs such as the SDL. Some people (many times college students) seem to buy them expecting them to be budget minded cars simply because they are diesel MBs. Which has never been true about SDLs, much less SDs, or SELs.

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'06 E320 CDI
'17 Corvette Stingray Vert

If you're planning to do the work yourself, they are pretty inexpensive to maintain and quite simple.
1)Spheres cost a couple of hundred dollars but are simple to put on.
2)Flushing fluids is pretty straight forward
3)Parts are readily available through aftermarket wholesalers and junk yards
4) Make sure you budget for the timing chain, tensioner and upper guide rails if they have not been done.

Watch out for noisy lifters, overheating, slipping transmissions, smokey engines and pretty much everything that you would normally be watching out for and you should be OK.

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With best regards

Al

If you're in the mood for an adventure, there was one on craigslist in STL today asking price $750, they claim it only needs a battery?!

If I could afford to put gas in one of these beasts, I'd love to have one, my 86 420SEL was one hell of a highway car. I drive about 100 miles a day between my commute and work driving, so I'd go broke filling the tank.

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2002 Ford ZX2
2 x 2013 Honda Civics

What's a realistic budget for that now? Are the prices in JimB's guide still valid? I've read it several times and it's quite informative but it was written some time ago.

- Peter.

__________________
2021 Chevrolet Spark
Formerly...
2000 GMC Sonoma
1981 240D 4spd stick. 347000 miles. Deceased Feb 14 2021
2002 Kia Rio. Worst crap on four wheels
1981 240D 4spd stick. 389000 miles.
1984 123 200
1979 116 280S
1972 Cadillac Sedan DeVille
1971 108 280S

I paid $600 for parts and labor by having a friend who's a trained mechanic do it as a side job.

This included the following parts:
Chain
Chain Tensioner
Chain Tensioner Rail
The 3 other upper guide rails
Valve cover gaskets
Oilers

I would guess that it's about twice that amount at a shop as they will of course have a higher labor and parts mark up.

__________________
With best regards

Al

Well, even at a shop that doesn't sound all that bad.

- Peter.

__________________
2021 Chevrolet Spark
Formerly...
2000 GMC Sonoma
1981 240D 4spd stick. 347000 miles. Deceased Feb 14 2021
2002 Kia Rio. Worst crap on four wheels
1981 240D 4spd stick. 389000 miles.
1984 123 200
1979 116 280S
1972 Cadillac Sedan DeVille
1971 108 280S

FYI real MB chains are continuous chain, no master link so ya gotta pull apart the front end to swap. Someaftermarket chains are worthless from what I hear.

I'm a numbers guy, Peter. So the first Q out for me is; how much do you want/have to spend on it's initial purchase price?

From there, I would have to guide you to looking for complete projects under $2,000 to fully maintained 560SELs pushing the $8K to $10K dollar range.

If it were me, I would be looking like a hawk for one in the entire So. Cal. perhaps Palm Springs area.

It just depends on what caliber a car you want, and want to pay for...

__________________
'06 E320 CDI
'17 Corvette Stingray Vert