Think I may take a punt on this.....

[dronnieboy]

1986 MERCEDES 420 SEC AUTO WHITE | eBay

S it all looks OK to me.....What do I really need to be looking for when viewing this. I've had old cars and 123s before, but realise these are slightly more complicated....Is there anything that if I see I should walk away from straight away? I'm prepared for maintenance, but I will be using as my everyday driver so needs to work! Thanks in advance, Mat.

 

[Watchcame430]

Looks in great shape. Lovely in white too.

 

[neilrr]

Looks like the pix were taken in the summer.

 

[Scott_F]

It looks very presentable but I'd be worried about that shiny paintwork hiding a lot of rust problems.

And I'd also be wary of using a 27 year-old gas-guzzler as a daily driver. Running costs will be high so forget his sales talk about it being an "investment".

 

[dronnieboy]

Luckily all my fuel is sorted out through work so petrol isn't a problem. I just need it to be reliable

 

[horatio]

I don't see why it couldn't be reliable if you were prepared to splash a bit of cash and put in some elbow grease.

I would take a magnet and feel around the bodywork for filler (as Scott F says about rust under the shiny paint), look under the rear screen for rot, tell them to keep it cold before you turn up- check for smoke on start-up, the trans from cold. Check the electric as I expect the rear windows for example could be pricey to fix. Etc. Usual car stuff.

Very cool car.

 

[bob6600]

Looks like a lovely car! Never seen one in white before.

 

[mct_cars]

Looks really nice - if it is, buy it, probably for less than £2k as it's been on sale for a while.

The 420 will never be a collectors car, but at that money, that's not why you would buy it - stick a set of original alloys on and waft about in style!

Ooh, and look at the dodgy wide body BMW E30 conversion in the background!

 

[ianrandom]

It's a very nice looking car, but.. The rear windscreen shows delamination and that means water ingress. It doesn't necessarily mean rust under the window seal but to be honest it would be a bit unusual if it wasn't rusty there. To be safe you'd have to allow a grand for that repair.

You have to inspect it before you buy, by opening the boot, putting your head in and shining a torch upwards into the circular holes in the panel there. Any rust visible at all means its started
It doesn't mean its rusty elsewhere necessarily, they are solid cars but do have foibles like any other car. The usual cosmetic places look fine. Other places to check would be where the front drain tubes exit by the front suspension mounts. Common rust place there. And boot floor etc, that's an easy enough fix though.
The wheel arches often need doing. Feel the lips with your fingers. The bumper chromes should be blemish free all around or £££.

Have a look at it though, its quite expensive so I'd expect it to be nearly perfect. If not, deduct the grand or walk away, its a buyers market for these at the moment, plenty to choose from.

The 420 is a lovely motor, some say underpowered but I think that's by modern standards. The SEC is a lot lighter than the SE & SEL so that makes it livelier. The power is available throughout much of the rev range pretty much as there is nice torque, so it makes it a lovely car to drive.
The economy is very good unless around town, awful in town but I suppose for its size still not too bad. On long open road trips its the car to be in, not far off 30mpg which is incredible.
The timing chain or at least the plastic guides and tensioner must be done or have been done, they fail at this age, instant dead engine & motor swap needed, not worth the ££££ to fix. Budget at least £500 if there isn't evidence this has been done.

Trans should engage quickly esp in reverse. If much of a delay into reverse it means its tired. Also check shifts for slippage esp 3rd to 4th. The trans are solid on these too but don't last as long as the motors, 250k on the trans is possible if looked after. A rebuild if it was needed is about a grand.
If its got air con make sure its working. Sometimes its an expensive fix. Sunroof should tilt and slide smoothly and quietly.

Again this doesn't make it a bad car, you just need to factor it in to the price. It might have none of the issues mentioned, mine was £900 and surprisingly everything worked but rotten under the rear screen. It's been great apart from idle speed issues.

Good luck, hope it works out for you.

 

[ianrandom]

Ps they are very easy to work on and plenty of parts around, uber reliable if the maintenance is good.

 

[dronnieboy]

Brilliant, thanks for all your replies just need to get a viewing aranged when not sleeting/snowing!! Just out of interest, would you say a 300se is too underpowered as one of those is on my radar too.

 

[Scott_F]

Brilliant, thanks for all your replies just need to get a viewing aranged when not sleeting/snowing!! Just out of interest, would you say a 300se is too underpowered as one of those is on my radar too.

A 300SE will have all the power you need to waft you along quietly in a manner that befits a sedate 25 year-old cruiser.

 

[millo777]

It seems to have w140 alloys which imo aren't really doing a lot for the look of the car. some period correct 15 hole or maybe some AMG wheels would make it look much better. Other than that it looks great.

 

[ianrandom]

Brilliant, thanks for all your replies just need to get a viewing aranged when not sleeting/snowing!! Just out of interest, would you say a 300se is too underpowered as one of those is on my radar too.

300 has a lovely straight six, silky smooth and also a nice drive. No slouch but not a traffic light racer either.

 

[mct_cars]

Brilliant, thanks for all your replies just need to get a viewing aranged when not sleeting/snowing!! Just out of interest, would you say a 300se is too underpowered as one of those is on my radar too.

3.0 has a lot less torque than the V8's and needs to be revved to get the best out of it. You also won't get much better MPG out of it (think 0-5MPG more) It is a nice smooth engine though and certainly not "under" powered.