1987 420SEL for $2995- good deal??- also MPG question - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

86560SEL · #1 07-30-2004, 11:38 PM

There is a local 1987 420SEL for sale for $2995 OBO. It has 178K miles. I have not seen it in person, nor have I driven it, but I am wondering initially- does this seem like a good deal? The car is gold and the paint still appears to gleam. It has new tires, CD player, 100% rust free and supposed to run good. What typical trouble spots do these cars have? They also state that this car gets 23MPG (does not specify city or highway). Does this seem about right? I really want a 81-85 300SD, but I really like the styling on this car and it seems like a good deal to me. Thanks in advance for any information.

86560SEL · #2 07-31-2004, 12:01 AM

Here is a photograph of the car if it will work:

slownrusty1 · #3 07-31-2004, 12:15 AM

I guarantee that there is no way that a 420SEL is going to get 23mpg in the city, so that has to be a highway rating.

My '95 E320 gets around 25-26mpg on the hwy and dips to about 20mpg in town and that is with two less cylinders and 1000cc less displacement.

Car looks pretty nice from the pic.

You need to see in in the skin to really properly assess the car and of course drive it.

Check eBay and autotrader.com to see what kind of money these cars are getting.

Regards - Yasin

wbain5280 · #4 07-31-2004, 12:35 AM

Timing chain and chain guides. Radiator inlet becomes brittle with age due to heat. The ball joints and the guide rod mount.

The rubber breaks, water gets in and destroys the joint.

Try a search on 420sel.

The 300SD will suffer the same problems.

Rust.

afmcorp · #5 07-31-2004, 03:43 AM

well i paid 3700 for my 87 w/ 128k. my 87 is gold also.

you don't know who owned it or it's service history so 2995 probably is about right. you might start at 2500 due to miles. considering mine had 128 and yours at 178 the difference is 2 years of driving at 25k per year. before setting your limit you gotta see the car. if the leather is shot probably the interior is worn out and i only point that out because if you're wanting to drive it you don't want to be embarassed by things like interior. which i point out is what you will be seeing all the time.

depending on who has owned it you probably face, center vent job, rails and chain, stem seals, brakes and front end work not to mention all the little piddling items that may need attention.

but don't let that scare you. if you are your own wrench then you're just talking parts and time. spare time is cheap and if you can get some good prices parts really aren't that bad.

good luck

86560SEL · #6 07-31-2004, 04:14 PM

Thanks for the replies. What do you mean by "center vent job"?

Quote:

Originally posted by afmcorp
well i paid 3700 for my 87 w/ 128k. my 87 is gold also.

you don't know who owned it or it's service history so 2995 probably is about right. you might start at 2500 due to miles. considering mine had 128 and yours at 178 the difference is 2 years of driving at 25k per year. before setting your limit you gotta see the car. if the leather is shot probably the interior is worn out and i only point that out because if you're wanting to drive it you don't want to be embarassed by things like interior. which i point out is what you will be seeing all the time.

depending on who has owned it you probably face, center vent job, rails and chain, stem seals, brakes and front end work not to mention all the little piddling items that may need attention.

but don't let that scare you. if you are your own wrench then you're just talking parts and time. spare time is cheap and if you can get some good prices parts really aren't that bad.

good luck

jriewer · #7 07-31-2004, 05:01 PM

Your best bet is to take this car to a indie benz shop and get an expert's opinion on what this car needs. I bought an 87 420 sel in the SF bay area where we have a mild climate so the body looked good. Heres what was wrong with the car :

lower Ball joints
upper control arms
rear sway bars
front and rear shocks
guide rods
idle arm bushings
engine mounts
steering wheel damper
shift linkage bushings
front brakes
L, R and center tie rods
new spark plugs
new fuel injectors
timing chain, tensioner and guide rods
A/C system recharged
antenna not working
replace original becker radio
drivers side door lock not working
new water pump
replace various bulbs
re-dye leather seats
one tire mismatched
O2 sensor
Im sure there is other things Im forgetting.

Most of these repairs are due to worn out parts.
My mechanic's estimate was over $8,000. to get the car road worthy.
I did it for about $ 2200 in parts and paid $2500 for the car.
Unless you see service records that show R/R of parts through the years, you can bet there is lots of work that needs to be done on the car.
And I doubt that this car gets 23mpg even on highway driving. I get 20 highway and about 15 city.

afmcorp · #8 07-31-2004, 05:17 PM

jriewer makes my point. a mechanic quoted like 8k but was doable for 2200 in parts cause i'm sure jriewer did alot of his own work. so if he gets all this done his car is almost good as new and he has about 5k invested. and i would say that his 5k car is likely way better than any 5k car on a lot or in the newpaper. cause any used car you buy that is 17-18 yrs old is going to need work. and in my opinion benz's even more so because of all the systems involved.

center vent job is when the only AC you get is coming out of the defroster vents. this means the center pod is gone and needs to be replaced. along with 4 others.

get this guy down to 2200 or 2300 and it might be a good thing. again depending on you and what else is wrong.

jriewer has another good point. if you're not your own best mechanic get someone not involved to take a look and give you his opinion.