Daily driver 500SEL W126
Value for money - I paid £1300 , for that I got a large , safe , comfortable and totally reliable car - so 5 out of 5 for that !
Fuel economy - 18-20 mpg , 24 on a run - not bad for a 5 litre V8
Running costs excluding depreciation and fuel - the cost of servicing and maintenance, reliability, tyre wear and spares, tax and insurance? Depreciation zero ; in fact the car will be statrting to APPRECIATE soon - maintenance cheap and easy as I do it myself : have only replaced two ABS sensors outside of routine consumable items like oils , filters , discs pads etc ( have changed oil twice , am about to do again ; replaced all discs , pads , shoes when I got the car , will change pads again soon ) replaced rear tyres last year , just replaced fronts on Friday . In short have had 20,000 trouble free miles in 18 months ownership , have spent no more than £1K on maintenance : 5 out of 5 in my book .
Handling - sticks to the road, corners well etc : not that far behind my 190E 5 out of 5 for the size of car
Ride and comfort - interior finish, refinement? 5 out of 5 What more can I say ?
Style - does it stand out in the crowd or say something about you that you like Understated , conservative , classy , tasteful 5 out of 5
Performance - power and torque? More than adequate 5 out of 5
Feel good/ envy factor - does it make you feel good owning/driving it? All Mercedes have this in abundance 5 out of 5
280SE W126 project car
Value for money - is the car, for what you get, a fair price to buy? Paid £100 for it , can't get much better value than that 5 out of 5
Fuel economy - is it reasonable for the type of car? Expect it to be about the same as the 500 , having run other cars with the same engine so 3 out of 5
Running costs excluding depreciation and fuel - the cost of servicing and maintenance, reliability, tyre wear and spares, tax and insurance? Again , zero depreciation , will only go up in value - too early to tell for the rest but expect no different from the 500
Handling - sticks to the road, corners well etc Six cylinder car will be that bit more nimble than the V8 , but does not have the same reserve of power and torque to push it through bends
Ride and comfort - interior finish, refinement? More basic than the 500 4 out of 5
Style - does it stand out in the crowd or say something about you that you like? As above
Performance - power and torque? Goes decently , but no ball of fire 3 out of 5
Feel good/ envy factor - does it make you feel good owning/driving it? As above
1957 219 W105 Ponton
Value for money - is the car, for what you get, a fair price to buy? Paid £100 for it back in 1982 , was my daily driver for 10 years then used sparingly for a further 5 years , now worth many times what I paid - value 10 out of 5
Fuel economy - is it reasonable for the type of car? 20 mpg or so , probably OK for a 1950's car designed when petrol was likely something like 6d a gallon !
Running costs excluding depreciation and fuel - the cost of servicing and maintenance, reliability, tyre wear and spares, tax and insurance? Depreciation - what's that ? Maintenance is simplicity and cheap , parts still readily available - only job I had done in a garage was getting new ring gear heat shrunk onto the flywheel , done at same time as clutch replacement since everything was apart - car currently awaiting restoration as I am collecting the various parts required . When running maintenance was 5 out of 5
Handling - sticks to the road, corners well etc By 1950's standards , excellent 5 out of 5
Ride and comfort - interior finish, refinement? Isolates from the road like nothing today does , even more comfortable than the S Class , full length Webasto roof perfect on summer days 10 out of 5
Style - does it stand out in the crowd or say something about you that you like? Unique , individual , classy car ( there are a couple of other 219's in the UK , but mine is the only one with a sunroof ) ; I used it to tow a box trailer into an exhibition stand at the SECC some years ago , my showoff boss also drove his brand new 911 into the hall - there was immediately a crowd all round my car clamouring for a look and no-one was looking at the 911 - when my boss remarked on this I had to reply ' Oh , that happens all the time , John ' - thing was , IT DID ! ; it was nothing unusual to come back to the car to find people lookimg at it , with questions to ask , frequently with offers to buy , name my price etc , it was my first car bought with my own money and I'll never part with it , will go to my son or daughter . So 50 out of 5
Performance - power and torque? Only 85 bhp , but a 1950's 2.2 litre car that , even in the late 80's when I last had it on the road could still cruise all day at an indicated 160 kph ? Pretty good in my book . 5 out of 5
Feel good/ envy factor - does it make you feel good owning/driving it? Smile factor unequalled by anything else on the road : 10 out of 5
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