280 SE Advice

[paulbarras]

Hi all,

I just received photos of the 280 SE I am considering as my first car. The car's mechanical condition appears to be superb, with a recent engine replacement and most of the mechanical bits kept in good condition, if not replaced. The car itself has not put on much mileage during the previous few years. The owner, who bought it new, assures me that no major work needs to be done with the car. Are there particular areas to watch out for? The car is also on it's original transmission, and the owner tells me if shifts well enough. Should that be an area of concern?

The car has been well-maintained by an enthusiast, and there are only a few minor issues which affect the value of the car. First, the rear seat leather has cracked. Second, the owner has installed a set of modifications to ensure a clean voltage supply, involving some modifications to the interior. He has managed to put in the gauges from a 190E 2.3-16 into the center console. While the work looks good, this might affect the aesthetic value somewhat. Lastly, he has put an 8 inch sub-woofer into the car, and assures me of it's great quality. Part of me wants to ask for the original Becker Mexico deck, but I know that'll probably sound pretty awful, in addition to being useless at playing CDs. The asking price for the car is also rather high, but it looks to be in as close to pristine condition as is humanly possible with a 28 year old car. He's asking for $6500 for the car. In light of the maintenance work he's undertaken and the modifications, is this a reasonable price? The W116s in poor shape only fetch about half that, and in decent condition, seem to be around a thousand less. The heart wants to pull the trigger, but the head is thinking twice.

Thanks in advance.

[Denis]

Well paulbarras

This car certainly looks good. And as a non-smoker, I can PERFECTLY understand throwing the ashtray out and fitting some gauges in there. The whole job looks quite decent and I do not consider this defacing the car but customising it. As to the clean voltage supply, presumably for audio, that is also a custom installation for QUALITY sound - very justified especially if the audio sounds good - does it ?


The real thing to look for on a W116 is rust - on a white car, that should be easy enough.

Personally, I would never pay 6500USD for a 137hp near two ton car but if the low power along with relatively high fuel consumption doesn't bother you, it might be worth it to you. I would shop around before deciding as I suspect that the car is not going to sell very quickly.

Good luck !

Denis

Paris, France

It's your call

[paulbarras]

Thanks for the expert advice, Denis.

On a side note, the car is currently covered under California's strict emmissions laws. However, in a few years' time, it will become emissions exempt. This means that I should be able to fit a cat bypass and European parts to the engine to somewhat mitigate the power defecit. The next engine job is likely to be an expensive replacement of parts.

I'll ask for a more reasonable price, because at the moment, it seems rather high to me, regardless of the condition for an old car like that.

By the way, what is that switch next to the gearshift for? My knowledge of Mercedes Hieroglyphics isn't sufficiently advanced to figure that out.

I do wonder, however, how the chrome is kept in such good condition. Any tips on that?

[OzBenzHead]

I do wonder, however, how the chrome is kept in such good condition. Any tips on that?

Paul: Looks good!

Chrome: Firstly, it's good quality plating on a copper base - as is all good chromework.  Cheaper chromework is cheaper because there is no copper base - and the coating is thinner, too.

Secondly: How to keep it in top condition?  Clean it with a German product called Autosol - there's nothing quite like it.  Once cleaned, wax it like the rest of the car.  Some of the brightwork, however, is not chrome, but is anodised aluminium, and can be a bugger to keep in good condition.  Many of us are still experimenting with clapped-out anodising, but no firm conclusions seem to have been reached yet.  People talk of polishing with Dremel tools, re-anodising, using products such as Zoopseal (http://www.zoops.com/zoopseal.asp) or PPC Polished Alloy Resto Kit (http://www.ppc.au.com/), chrome-plating it ...

[robgee]

Hi Paul that control next to the gearleaver looks to be a speaker balance control that controls the balance between front and rear speakers for the radio/cd etc.
Regards,
Rob.

[Andrew280SEL]

Hello there paulbarras

To be honest if you have the cash, mate you should snap it up! Thats my opinion, but ive lived in Tasmania all my life and have not seen many w116's. So pristine cars like that really grab my attention. But, as Denis said, shop around. If there is a car of that standard or near enough, for much less, then I guess that would be the go.

P.s: Except for the front bumper and headlight stylings, that car is nearly identical to mine in almost every way. Only that one has better paint than mine (same color, but mine has gravel rash in a few places). The colors and interior styling are the exact same. Only, again, mine isnt quite that high standard.

[116.025]

Hi Paulbarras,

Indeed, it looks like you've found a nice one.  I would definitely see if he would negotiate the price, seeing as how the rear seat isn't stunning.  Restuff/Reupholstery isn't cheap.  I wouldn't hesitate to see if he still has the original radio and would throw it in with the car.  Being I think the only US chap to comment so far, I must tell you one area to check: Climate control(since I think this was mostly put on US cars).  Make absolutely sure all functions of the system work properly, and that it switches heat on and off like it should, and that the A/C works.  Two big weaknesses of this system:  The push buttons in the console (roughly $70 USD I think) and the servo ($200 USD to $600 USD depending on supplier and if Aluminum body upgrade).  Also check to ensure the center vents open and close at the proper times, this implies a vacuum element failure if not.  Regardless of what the owner says, check the climate control system.  They're wonderful when fully functional, but a huge pain if they're malfunctioning.

Looks like a nice car, though, I wish my euro 280SE looked that nice!