Help a beginner!

[attybrian]

New to the group, and looking for expertise. Am considering buying the following from a friend: 1973 MB 280SEL 4.5. It is yellow with leather interior, power windows and sunroof. It has 100,000 miles, and he has all of the original paperwork. It runs strong and has a straight body, although the paint is a little faded and chipped. Is this a good MB? Any specific concerns? What is a good price. Again, glad to be among fans of the MB! Brian

[kpb]

Welcome attybrian. Hey, is this jas2wa's car? His is listed in the Cars for Sale forum, dated 9/1/04. If you get a 108 this forum will prove to be invaluable, I know from experience

Does the putative purchase have functioning heat/defrost sliders? They are plentiful but a bit of a PITA to replace -- time consuming more than anything else. Check front subframe mounts and the flex disc at the front of the driveshaft. Original rubber hoses and the like will be past their prime and should be replaced if not done yet. You will receive lots of input on this and you can run a search for various threads to learn more about particular components which may be mentioned to you as troublesome spots.

And, oh yeh, before everybody else shouts it out -- R-U-S-T

My own ride I bought in Dec. 03, with 45K mis. Main things so far: Replaced the flex disc; rebuilt the front calipers; replaced injector seals; new plug wires (and tune-up); oil change; fresh air filter; flushed cooling system; replaced heater levers; converted to euro headlamps with driving lights replacing the faux-fogs; new window regulator in RF door; freed-up frozen LR door; repalced tranny gasket and filter; replaced PS filter; put in a working Becker AM/FM/cassette, and have just generally puttered with it quite a bit. Mine has been rock-solid reliable as my daily driver and the body is amazingly sturdy for an Ohio car. I still have rubber brake hoses and front subframe mounts to do. Paid $2750.

kpb

[300SDog]

Off the cuff, I'd say the 108 is the last of the true Old World Mercedes Benz with deluxe appointments and superb coachwork throughout.

Kingpin suspension makes it track like it's on rails. Not as nimble as later ball-joint suspensions, but feels like the car is carved from one chunk of iron. Perfect for 60 mile daily commutes and racking up highway miles.

And if that's original paint the dullness can be buffed out easily with polishing compound to completely restore the finish as new. Major mistake is repainting "faded" old MB paint instead of buffing it out.

And you've gotta figure that documented paperwork maybe an inch thick adds about $200 to the value of the car, especially among hobbyists who will scope those service records with a fine tooth comb.

[MikeTangas]

If it has been maintained well, especially if there are records to back up the maintenance, 100K miles is probably equivalent to 35K miles on many other cars. The engine on this car should easily go 300-400K, with a little top end work around 200-250K.

I love mine and drive it ever chance I get. Have no qualms about hopping in a rolling to Las Vegas when I am in California.