Prices & where to buy 500SE W126?

[Roygarth]

I'm thinking of buying a mint late 80's 500SE (W126). Not many around so difficult to get an idea of prices. What should I pay for a mint good service history example.

Apart Pistonheads and Autorader who are the specialists delaing in these.

Thanks in advance.
Piers

 

[MPG]

Both of the sites you mention are ok as is www.carandclassic.co.uk Either way you could be in for a wait as a good one rarely crops up these days. You'll also find your selection is quite limited if you want to stick to the SE models as the majority of these cars (especially with the 500 & 560 V8 engines) were in long wheelbase SEL guise.

The odd low mileage, one owner advert does appear from time to time, usually requesting a somewhat optimistic 12-15k or higher. The fact is that no matter how nice, even pristine versions of these cars struggle to make more than 5-6k (and that's usually reserved for a highly specified 560 SEL with electric reclining rear seats!).

This one looks worth a look - link here. If you want to know what to look out for, you'll find a few W126 owners on here only too happy to help. Find a good one & you'll be able to appreciate Mercedes build quality & engineering at its very best.

 

[Roger Jones]

I wish I hadn't lost a list of recent prices from the MB CLub Gazette small ads in a system crash. Anyway, if I recall correctly, they can range from £1000 to £5000. Add between £1000 and £5000 to the top end if you look to specialist dealers. I would be surprised if you couldn't find a good one from a private vendor for £3000, although you may have to be patient because of the relative scarcity of the 500 SE. The vast majority are comfortably under £5000.

The specialist dealers are always in the Gazette and Mercedes Enthusiast. Perhaps they do earn some -- but not all -- of their price premium, but the non-specialist dealer earns even less in my experience. Dealer or not, budget £200 or so for a pre-purchase inspection by someone who knows the model intimately. One of the first things he will look for is corrosion at the base of the back window, visible from within the boot and looking up at the line of circular holes, even if nothing is apparent outside.

There is excellent buying advice and model history at:

Mercedes-Benz S-Klasse Club e.V.

The buying advice is also duplicated on the MB Club site, where there's also advice on corrosion.

I've had a 300 SE for four years; it has now done nearly 150k and I'm very happy with it. I find the performance perfectly adequate for a car of its type (I also have a 300E twin turbo, so know what real performance is). I've spent more on it than many would have done because I always approach these things as investment in long-term ownership: I keep my cars a long time. I got the head gasket fixed, although many would have tolerated it. The front wings are now beginning to go; I have a pair ready from eBay. Otherwise it has been pretty much trouble free. Whatever the engine size, they are great cars.

Best of luck and ask again if you need more.

 

[Roygarth]

Thanks guys!

Was planning to see the car you mention MPG, from what you both say £6K is top money but if it's really nice....anyway worth a look to start the buying process.

Spoke to vendors (he seemed straight - famous last words!) who told me 2 elderly owners reams of invoices from 1 main dealer and then 1 specialist. Mint apart from paint on wheels dull ie need re-painting and front screen lots of small chips.

A few further questions:
- Which part of the front wings rust..where to look?
- At 90k miles are there ancilleries items that might be about to go/might need replacing that I can look for in service record?
- Bearing in mind Prestige are established Merc dealers would you still insist on PPI
- Can you recommend someone to do a PPI?

Piers

 

[MPG]

Hi Piers,

With respect to the front wings, they tend to blister just in front of the wheels. Once blistering is apparent the best option is just to replace the wing. Originals are still available from MB for about 230 each. Third party parts are a false economy as they rarely fit correctly. Also remember to take a look around the lower join of the rear screen as a design fault means water can pool there eventually leading to the rear parcel shelf rotting through.
Addtional cosmetic items to check are the bumper chromes as they can rot from the inside out - tell tale blisters will be the warning here. Also look at the window surrounds. Contrary to popular belief they're not chrome, but anodised aluminium. As such, if they've got a cloudy finish, your only option is to either accept it or replace them ! No end of metal polish will make a jot of difference.
With regard to the engine, it really is a very robust piece of engineering. However, you may want to check if the timing chain & tensioners have been replaced and also if there's any hint of white smoke in the exhaust thats a good sign the valve guide oil seals need replacing. Obviously if the car you look at has invoices backing up this wrok then you're looking at a very cherished example indeed.
Only other areas I'd always look at would be the quality of the rubber vacuum lines (vacuum's control everything on this car) & if you have any electrical niggles it may be as easy as simply replacing all of the fuses as the originals were rather notorious for not being the best. Also take a look at the condition of the ATF - if it hasn't been changed recently then get that done - including draining the torque convertor & changing the filter. Bit of a messy job, but even MB won't charge you over 150 for the privilige.

 

[jaymanek]

Hi Piers, not sure if you are one of the chaps that emailed me this morning but I have a really nice ex club members car in at the moment... its so nice that I have had moments where ive taken the advert off as I wanted to keep it.
However I only have 5 garages which are all taken...

Its a 420 but i think the price is good and its as immaculate as you will get... loads spent on it.. you can read up on it on my ebay or piston heads advert.

 

[C240Sport97]

Its a 420 but i think the price is good and its as immaculate as you will get... loads spent on it.. you can read up on it on my ebay or piston heads advert.

very tempting ....

 

[219]

I bought my 500SEL about 10 months ago and have covered 16,000 trouble free miles in it so far . I looked around at a few different cars ( also considered a W140 but was put off by tales of unreliability ) and saw quite a few absolute dogs at asking prices much higher than the one I ended up buying .

My car , eventually bought from a fellow MBOC member , cost me £1300 - it did have a string of previous owners ( including the 2nd previous to me being a funeral company who had it most of its life ) but was in very nice condition and had FMBSH up to just under 100K and indy stamps after that to 140K with me buying it at 148K . There was a bit of 'negotiation' prior to the sale as the car had been on SORN for about 6 months , due to the seller having bought a newer vehicle , and part of the agreement was that a new MOT would be provided : when the car went for its MOT it turned out the two centre exhaust sections needed replacement , so in the end we split the difference of the £400 (discounted) cost - otherwise the car would only have cost me £1100 .

Since then , I have replaced all the brakes ( discs,pads,hbrake shoes,sensors ) at a cost of just under £200 and put on two tyres (£150) , the other two tyres will be replaced before the winter , I fixed the broken sunroof wind deflector using the hinge from a W124 sunroof at no cost , replaced a few lights in the centre console and rebuilt the base of the drivers seat (which had collapsed on one side due to broken springs - common fault ) using a passenger seat base which cost me £15 from a scrapyard . I have also fitted a towbar ( £140 from Watling engineers ) and installed a fairly extensive stereo system which has loaded up the back end with amplifiers/CD changers/electronic crossover/subwoofers - all mounted on MDF sheet - so that the car now sits very low at the back end , hence I have purchased genuine MB uprated rear springs to give an extra 200Kg load capacity at the back ( £200 ) and plan to fit these the next dry day . I have also serviced the car a couple of times ( the M117 takes 8 litres of oil at a change - GULP !) I've resoldered the boards inside the OVP relay , idle control unit and bulb monitoring/light control modules partly as precautuonary measures and partly to try to cure the intermittent high idle which occasionally still happens ( always idles at 600/700 on startup but sometimes will idle at 1000 once warmed up , even if restarted ) I plan to clean and relube the linkage to see if that makes any difference . Up to last week the bulb failure warning light was on despite all bulbs being OK , but now the fault has cleared itself ( no the warning light hasn't failed ) . Just lately , the cruise control has stopped working , haven't had time to investigate yet , but will sort that out . Lastly the R12 aircon does not work - can't have been regassed since year 2000 and will need conversion to R134a at some point .

The car is not concours , nor even 'mint' , but is a good tidy , solid , substantially rust free example which is mechanically sound . The pre-facelift mushroom leather is not original to the car and the front seats are 'tired' with the leather looking pretty scruffy - the front seats are electric but don't have the electrically adjustable headrests , even though the switches are there on the doors and relays click underneath , the seats have heating pads in them with connectors dangling underneath but the car never had heated seats so these do nothing ; I do have the electric reclining rear seat - hopefully , I will find a post facelift mushroom leather interior at some point to swap in - it would be nice to get all the wiring/relays etc to get the heaters working and maybe ortho too !
A couple of bits of the burr walnut wood on the dash was peeling from the aluminium backing ( another common problem ) I glued them back but one of the pieces is scratched as well so keeping my eye out for a car with BW .

Here are a few pictures

 

[219]

 

[Sorry Pete]

I'll echo the advice already given, and can vouch for the link to the German website given in post 3. If you're going for mint, I wouldn't bother with one without FSH if only for peace of mind. Leather in an S class I feel is a must. Exhausts are pricey.

Look out for wear on the driver's seat bolster; it's a good indication as to general condition and whether it's been looked after.

The odometer numbers should line-up, if not, it's likely to have been clocked. These cars were built to last and wear their mileage well.

Check the jacking points for corrosion by pulling-off the dust covers. Originals were painted in body colour here and should be clean- undercoat/mastik/hammerite/red-oxide here means it's been repaired/bodged.

Check the steering lock to lock and listen for rumbles and creaking while in motion, could be ball joints (cheap) or power steering pump (not cheap).

Wheel arch lips front and rear; check for bubbles. Enthusiasts keep these clean; bench test is to feel under the lip for accumulated debris.

Check the join between the lower body cladding and the body - bubbles can start here too.

I might get lambasted for this, but the mint ones I've seen have clear rear reversing lenses. Cloudy ones tend not to be, but again, is just an indication of what to look for.

Also check for original wheels. I've seen ads where w124 wheels have been substitued on w126 cars. They are 15 hole flat fronted alloys, and the holes are ovaloid, not rectangular (check previous poster's pics). 8-hole alloys were an option.

Check for milkiness on the corners of the rear screen, another sign of possible water ingress.

Good luck with the hunt, and also get an inspection done by an expert on the model.
I'd consider the mercland car, it does look very tempting!

I can point you to this thread: http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/spotted-ebay/70164-28k-miles-1991-500se.html though the car is now not on the dealer's website, some more info on asking prices.

 

[MPG]

Personally I think the W126 looks better on the 15 hole than the 8 hole alloys - they always look like an afterthought on a W126 to me. I'd also echo Pontoneers comments that you'll need to change your centre console bulbs - I recently replaced all of mine. It looks scary but only took me about 20 minutes.

Incidentally, here's a picture of my interior. You'll see that the W126 Generation 2 (released in 1986) had an interior revision in 1989. Pontoneer has the early style & this snap is of the later style.

 

[Roger Jones]

PPI

I'd have it done, even if buying from a reputable specialist dealer. If anything costly is found, it can be negotiated into the price; if nothing of consequence is found, it would be £200 well spent anyway, you would have a good comfortable feeling about the car, and would be in touch with someone to turn to as things arise in future. The fee charged does vary of course. And if any vendor doesn't like the idea of a PPI, walk away.

As for those who can do it, keep calling out and someone from Norfolk will probably pop up with a suggestion. If you join the MB Club, you'll be able to contact the W126 captain (who took me for a ride in his car before I bought mine) and also identify specialists in your area as sources of not only cars but also PPI. Apart from normal club benefits and the monthly Gazette, there's also the quarterly MB Classic magazine free of charge, and it's superb -- so good as to be collectable.

Lots of good advice above. MPG is dead right about the window brightwork. It is very costly to replace new and seems scarce among breakers, if my experience is anything to go by.

Keep at the research and do report back when you've found the right one.

Ah, one more thing. I was hit recently by the ignition barrel failing. It's a tricky repair/replacement, and if anything goes wrong (e.g. key breaking in lock) it is a pig of a job. So, make sure that there's no need to fiddle the key at all. When it fails, it goes very quickly.

 

[mercmush]

Hello

I've owned 4 different w126 models since 1995. They are great cars but expensive to run. I've had a first generation 500SEC and then 3 later models a 560SEL that I regret selling, a 500SEL that was an absolute dog & a 1992 K reg 500SE that I've still got.

If you want a mint one be patient as all the replies have said. The front wings have rust where they meet the front indicators but are quite easily replaced. Rust on the rear wheelarches is also common & I would imagine is a very costly repair. The fr & rear bumper chrome is often crap & again very expensive to replace.

A professional inspection is vital as the things that I would look for if I bought another would be 1) rust 2) water ingress anywhere ( boot, spare tyre area, under all carpets ) & 3) corrosion & leaks under the car eg exhaust, pipes, hoses, engine.

An easy way to see the real condition of a w126 is to get on your hands & knees and look under all 4 doors properly, the doors are really thick so you're going to get water hanging around there eg after washing which over the years will lead to rust. Three of my w126s had rust to varying degrees under the doors, my current car didn't have any when I bought it 5 years ago but the rear doors both have a tiny amount that appeared over the past year. Another easy check is to check the 4 jacking points by removing the little plastic flaps, if it's really gungy and rusty in there then chances are the rest of the car will have hidden problems ie corrosion waiting to eat into your wallet and sanity.

If you don't want to spend money on a professional inspection then I would ask to see a mountain of paperwork & that means a hell of a lot more than just a fully stamped service book. I would want to see literally thousands of pounds spent on maintaining the car as the years have passed by. Money for items like tyres, tracking, ATF, brake fluid changes. coolant, wiper blades, regassing the air con, conversion of the a/c to R134a from R12, brake calipers & pads, filters, timing chain, V-belts, new front wings, waxoyl, new discs & pads, shoes for the handbrake, fuel pump relay, brake pad wear sensors, steering track rods etc etc. If someone has bothered to cough up for everything as they've mollycoddled their Benz then it's a good sign.

There are also many toys and most if not all should work: heated seats, electric seats, sunroof, e/windows & sunroof, self-levelling suspension, a/c, cruise control, headlamp wash/wipe, electric headrests, fr fogs, headlamp warning buzzer, courtesy lights, puddle lights underneath the door, electric steering column, memory seats, rear electric blind.... I had the options booklet for a w126 when I was a schoolboy & it even covered things like a fridge in the boot, rear curtains, individual rear SEC style heated seats and so on but like I said most of it should still work.

One last thing is to climb in the boot and check underneath the rear window ( a w126 Achilles heel ). My current MB is fantastic there but going back in time my SEC was a disaster there. A sagging headlining is also bad news IMHO.

Anything else that might cross your mind let me know. Good luck.

 

[The Boss]

I really love this thread.. the w126s... still have such amazing presence...

still a car to be admired eh!