I am very interested in buying a 560 SEL and have a question about one I just drove today. It is an '86 with only 96,000 miles on it. It has been sitting for the most part over the last two years. I noticed when I drove it that the transmission would not downshift after flooring it and hitting the kickdown switch. In other words, traveling at about 40 mph, with the pedal to the medal, the engine would just loaf along at about 1800 RPM in 4th gear. The funny thing is, if I punched it from a dead stop, it would rev up to redline before upshifting, but would not kickdown to 1st out of the hole like I believe it's supposed to. When I manually shifted into 'B' it would go into 1st, but not if I simply floored it.

Does anyone know what this could be? I was thinking maybe the TV cable to the transmission is broken. Does this sound like a simple fix or a major problem for that transmission? I've never owned one, but always wanted to. Below is a laundry list of other things I noticed, thanks to reading a lot of very informative posts on this website.

1. A/C clutch engages, but no cold pipes (needs freon)
2. Timing chain has never been done (scary)
3. A small bit of rust on the left front fender (about the size of a thumb)
4. Seat memory doesn't seem to activate either front seat when held down (does it do this if not yet programmed?)
5. Power Antenna doesn't work
6. Front Dome Light burnt out
7. Rear seats aren't equipped with recline or heat (I thought they all had it)

The engine purrs and the interior is impeccably well maintained, plus it's black with grey leather--just what I want.

He is asking $9000. I made him a lowball offer of $5500 because of the tranny. Let me know what you guys think!

-Josh