Very true. Then again I'd probably be happy in anything MB + V8....at least until I tried a bigger V8.

__________________
-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

J.M., first off you want to have a PPI done by a MB-trained tech ... if you can find one experienced with a V-12 W140 car. Then you want to make sure you have deep pockets -- for replacement parts and gas. You no doubt have heard the adage "there's nothing more expensive than a cheap MB automobile". If money is no object and you really want this car ... go for it ... you only go around once. Personally I'd opt for a CL500.

__________________
Fred Hoelzle

If you can do your own maintenance on it then I’d get it. Some would have you not get it not knowing how to do their own work. I've done all the work on my V12 thus far and have no regrets at all. I wanted it, prayed for it, and got it so why cry about it now. It cost about the same to fix a S500 but you pay double for the parts, your fixing it yourself so no labor cost which saves you that much money. If you know this going in then there should not be a problem on the cost of fixing it, plus once it's fixed you shouldn’t have to work on that part again hopefully. Plus the price of owning a V12 is priceless.

Owning an old V12 6 liter Mercedes is like marrying a diva at her 70. The status is priceless too .

__________________
1996 E320 since 1/16/08, 171K miles as of Feb 2011

---------------------------------------------------------
1989 300CE - R.I.P. Dec 29 2007
Other MBs (sold): 1992 300E-24 - 1979 350SLC - 1984 230E - 1990 300CE

Go ahead- DO IT!

__________________
"It's normal for these things to empty your wallet and break your heart in the process."
2012 SLK 350
1987 420 SEL

Wow, 19 responses. Thanks to everyone who offered an opinion. Now for the scoring:

buy it 6
don't buy it 7
maybe buy it 5

In the end, a cooler, less emotional, and much smarter (than me) mind prevailed. That mind belongs to my spouse of 24 years. The discussion went something like this:

Me: I'm going to look at a 600SEL, price is dirt cheap, I think the owner just wants it gone.

Spouse: We have 5 cars already, why do you want this one.

Me: Because it's a v12 and v12's are really cool.

Spouse: What's a v12?

Me: You know how our e320's have 6 cylinders. (She has seen them both with the heads removed)

Spouse: yes

Me: This car has 12 cylinders for one motor.

Spouse: Why don't you just bolt the two that we have together, then you'd have a 12.

Me: Good thought but then one of the cars would not have a motor.

Spouse: That's OK, we'd still have 4 that do. Besides, where will you put a 6th car?

Me: I'll figure something out.

Spouse: I'm sure your second wife would let you park it in the yard.

Me: Maybe I could rent some storage space somewhere.

Spouse: Should I check you for fever? Anyway, I thought you wanted one of those Porsche 50 Mercedes E's?

Me: I do, but I'd probably have to spend 20 something to get one I'd be happy with.

Spouse: I don't mind if you spend 20 something, you just can't do a 20 something.

Me: I knew there was a reason I married you.

Spouse: Why don't you just pass on this one and get what you really want.


A rough back of the napkin estimate revealed $4K to $5k in parts and outsourced paint work to bring this car up to snuff, and that didn't include contingencies for the skeletons under the hood. I passed on the car. The owner sold it to a wholesaler for less than $4K. I'm still looking for a silver or charcoal 94 E500 with a gray or parchment interior.

Thanks again to all who offered an opinion.

J. M. van Swaay

My first wife did not let me get a Mercedes SL.

My second wife let me get TWO Mercedes SL's.

This, standing on its own, was a BIG improvement.

__________________
86 560SL
With homebrew first gear start!
85 380SL
Daily Driver Project

http://juliepalooza.8m.com/sl/mercedes.htm

She buys shoes and clothes and I by clothes and cars, so it works out. She doesn’t tell me how to spend my $ and I don’t tell her how to spend hers.

I'd love to have one if I (1) had the mechanical skills to work on it, and (2) had a lot more free cash.
Good luck.

__________________
" We have nothing to fear but the main stream media itself . . . ."- Adapted from Franklin D Roosevelt for the 21st century

OBK #55

1998 Lincoln Continental - Sold
Max 1984 300TD 285,000 miles - Sold
The Dee8gonator 1987 560SEC 196,000 miles - Sold
Orgasmatron - 2006 CLS500 90,000 miles
2002 C320 Wagon 122,000 miles
2016 AMG GTS 12,000 miles

Smart kids are going to have field day adding aftermarket ECU's to these V12's . . .

:-) neil

Hopefully I am smart enough to do this. I have done a ton of motor swaps and custom EFI in the past. This is going to be my first Mercedes project though. I have a beautiful 95 S600 in the garage that runs but has multiple ECM codes and two non functioning ETA's. Rather than dish out a ludicrous $3,000 for two throttle bodies and still having to replace god knows what ECM and harness wise, I decided to use a pair of common throttle bodies and Megasquirt fuel injection. The project will be commencing shortly. Wish me luck.

I'm confident you'll get this running, and prove that the "open-source" community is wonderful at things like this.

:-) neil

dont be pussy bro, v12 is joy, its headache to keep up with but hey grow a pair of nuts and whip that thing

I know this is an older thread... But I'm curious how much are 92 sel 600's going for? I have one and I have been debating back and forth with myself if i should sell it. I bought mine about 2 years ago for 10,000 dollars. It came with all the records as well as the records I kept having it. A while back people have been telling me it has severly droped in price.

Can anyone give me an idea, how much I can reasonably get for a 92 sel 600? With records and some new stuff I have invested into it. I believe mileage is at like 155,000 Runs great.

__________________



1992 SEL 600..... 143,000 miles

yea you really don't want this car. now just send me the sellers info and i'll go ahead and take it off his hands so you will no longer be tempted to ruin your life. i assume this won't be your daily driver. hell for 3k park in the driveway and just sit in it. good luck