W126 Advice

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Apr 23, 2019
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Location
Derbyshire
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190D 2.5
Hi everyone, I've been active on the 190 owners forum for about 2 years and i've been very happy with my 190. However, I'm moving jobs and my commuting mileage is going to reduce dramatically so I've been thinking about adding a W126 to my fleet. I've narrowed my search to either a 500se or 560sel and I'm looking for something comfortable and good at mile munching. From what I've seen the W126 and these engines in particular seem best for that job, however there's a lot of conflicting info regarding the SE vs SEL on the web and was wondering which one is generally considered to be the best. I'm leaning towards the 560SEL, as it's got more power, probably more stable at autobahn speeds due to its LWB and got more sophisticated suspension. What do W126 owners think?
 
The w126 is a long car in swb and very long in lwb (sel) form, I’ve had a 560sel and currently own a 300se. You will stick out of parking spaces.

I think the v8 is better suited to cruising than the i6, but 500 vs 560, there’s not a lot in it performance wise.

I would buy on condition now, both are in short supply in good condition at a reasonable price.

If I’m right the only extra 560 complication suspension wise over the 500 is sls, expensive to repair if the shocks give up. Sls is an option on any w126, full hydraulic is also an option on 560 I think and I suspect can be expensive to repair if not working.

560 has bespoke front wings (wider arch) to accommodate the wider tyres (rare size now).

What I would say is that a w126 won’t be as nimble a drive or as modern a steer as a 190, old fashioned suspension and a relatively un aerodynamic body see to that. If you want a comfy old school cruiser what about a w124 320 5 speed auto?

I love my w126, it’s an occasion to drive , if you find a good example of either you’ll be pleased.

On balance I’d take the swb 500 as they look better and go almost as well.
 
Thanks for your input, I've discounted W124s just because I find them ugly to look at which is a shame because they are fantastic cars. It seems like the W126 is more of a comfy cruiser than the 190 and I imagine the W126 is far happier around 100 and beyond (on autobahns officer) compared to my 190.

A 500 SWB seems a better option than I orginally considered it to be, but from what I've gathered good examples of them coupling that being without a cream interior (sorry people with a cream interior) seem even rarer than the 560sel, plus the added poke might be nice. It seems that they both have their advantages and disadvantages from what you've said.

Does the extended wheelbase of the SEL make it easier to put things like baby seats in the back? Also, I've had a quick look at tyre sizes, can you fit other tyre sizes like 225/60/15 that don't rub?
 
The SE has the same wheelbase as an SEC and will feel a little more sporty. The SEL provides a smoother ride because of the extra length. The 560SEL came with rear self leveling as standard with full SLS available as an option. 500SEL could be optioned with either rear SLS or full SLS. You'll know if your car has SLS if you see a round cam driven pump bolted to the front of the engine.

The 560SEL's also had some extra features like burl wood as standard, reclining and heated rear seats, heated front seats and town and country horns.

The 5.0 M117 engine is a lively engine and in my mind feels snappier at lower speeds with the 560 building up more like a freight train. Both should have plenty of power.

I've owned a succession of W126's including several 560SEL's (still own a 1990 560SEL, 1988 560SEC, 1986 500SEC and a couple of parts cars). I tend to prefer the SEL version as I like the proportions better with the longer rear doors and keep the shorter wheelbase with the coupe. Any W126 will accommodate a baby seat. Standard wheel tire size for a 560SEL is 215/65R15. I have a set of 8x16 ET11 Lorenser LO's on my SEC which are 225/55R16's and there's plenty of space. I'm pretty sure that I can fit my 10x17 AMG (OZ racing) on any W126 and they won't rub.

What does fuel cost in England these days? I ask because the 560 motor does not have variable valve timing and is partial to premium. They come with a 23 (US) gallon tank and I've never gotten more than 240 miles without filling up.

Try to find a G plate or later car as they updated the interior to make it more aesthetically pleasing and added some additional sound proofing in response to the new Lexus LS400 which had just released.
 
Not in any way wishing to knock what the previous poster added as he has a lot of useful info there but:

An sec has a shorter wheelbase than a saloon, around 3 inches in fact.

Baby seats beware, the rear seatbelts are too short and there’s no isofix so make sure your seats fit, but leg room is plentiful.

Another interesting point is that, in my experience, wider wheels and tyres do nothing at all for the cars handling. My car came with lorisners fitted with 225 tyres, and it was very very vague to drive, the tyres were Bridgestone and not Chinese ditch finders. A set of original alloys made it much better, but of course the larger wheels did look good. That’s as much down to personal choice though and other factors could have effected my cars handling as well.
 
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Al, thanks for the heads up regarding the sound insulation, I like a quiet car. Fuel cost doesn't matter as my commute will be a 10 minute bicycle ride for the next few years. I'm expecting around 10 UK mpg overall factoring in my trips to Germany, I imagine the mpg drops quite heavily at speed. Thanks for the rest of the information too, very useful.

CCAALLVVIINN, I'll see what I can do with the seat, worst case scenario is that I get another.

With the wider tyres, decent tyres in the OEM size are pretty much impossible to get as you said. I don't want to change the wheels, hopefully a small change in width/profile doesn't impact the car that much. From what I've gathered less than a 2% change in dimensions is normally okay so hopefully there's a few sizes within that criteria.
 
Here’s my tuppence worth: I’ve had all three w126 variants and for the body style the SEC is clearly the best looking and the best investment. It is also the most problematic and the most prone to rust especially under the doors and under the rear screen. It is also prone to water ingress in the boot and in the footwells, front and rear. It is also the worst for the headlining sagging. Despite all these expensive faults it is still a magnificent car.

The SE is hopeless for rear legroom for such a long car. If you regularly carry folk around in the rear then make sure they’re not tall or they will regret it. However if you don’t want to ferry anyone around in the back then it can be argued as being the pick of the bunch and is a very good looking car and in 265 bhp form is not that far behind a full fat 300 bhp 560. A 265 bhp 500SE is also a lot lighter than a 560 and you can really tell when you’re driving that at least 150 kg is missing. Perhaps more if the 560 is laden with lots of optional extras.

The SELs are magnificent for rear leagroom and the 560 SEL is my personal favourite of the entire range. Later ones got even more equipment as standard to meet the considerable threat of the BMW 735iL & 750iL and even though it is the heaviest model its engine does a great job of compensating for its (by then) ageing design and dynamics. I have 3 kids and when they were younger it was a piece of cake to take the family out in any SEL. The child seats fitted in and out without any drama and I did not have any issues with the seatbelts. Also the boot on any w126 is huge and puts the boot of any w220/221/222 to shame. In actual fact I fitted amps and speakers in the boot and there was still ample space for pushchairs and coolboxes etc. Happy days!

With regards to equipment I would avoid the hydropneumatic suspension like the plague (not the self-levelling rear suspension which I found to be trouble free and cheap to fix/maintain). The electric rear blind is also a royal pain in the backside. The facelifted cars are better and are easily recognised by the map pockets on the rear seats no longer being nets.

The anodised aluminium deteriorates badly and the front and rear bumper chrome is viciously expensive to replace. I would also recommend that if you buy a w126 that you carry a full set of spare belts in the (wonderfully massive) boot as well as a new fuel pump relay and an ignition control module.

I agree with the comments about other alloys, they will corrupt the ride. I have had AMG and Lorinser alloys in the past but the factory size alloys easily gave the best ride especially with expensive tyres.

The 500 went through the most changes with regards to bhp, they started with 240 then dropped to 231 ( when MB applied the Energy Efficiency Programme ) then back up to 245 before finishing in style with 265. Obviously I would recommend the 265 option as the best by a mile. On the motorway I would get just over 400 miles on a full tank (90 litres for a UK car) and performance on my 265 bhp 500SE was very similar to my 300 bhp 560SEL. I used to fit Bosch Super 4 spark plugs which were great along with annual servicing no matter what my year's mileage had been (I've always run a VW alongside my S class so I never used to rack up many miles on the latter).

As has already been mentioned by on condition otherwise you will have a huge car with huge bills that will only be fit for parts or scrapping. That rusty bumper chrome, sagging headlining, peeling wood trim, rusty jacking points, rust under the doors, rust under the rear window, water in the footwells etc etc will all finish you off...

If you have experience of a modern Mercedes then I think you will find the simplicity of a w126 an absolute delight.
Buy this book from Amazon, it's a cracker and Good luck.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mercedes-B...08332&s=books&sr=1-1-fkmr0&tag=amazon0e9db-21
 
I would get just over 400 miles on a full tank (90 litres for a UK car) and performance on my 265 bhp 500SE was very similar to my 300 bhp 560SEL

Interesting, I don't think I could get more than 230 miles from a full tank out in my 560SEL even if I dropped it out of an airplane.
 
90 ltrs divided by 4.54 Gal is 19.82 gal

400 miles divided by 19.82 is 20.18 miles per Gallon , Perfectly obtainable if driven sensibly i've had a 380 / 420 and 500 se sel and sec they all did around 25mpg but i never drove them particularly hard as its not really what the car is about.
 

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