A few thoughts, 8 weeks experience in looking at W116's in Australia.

Started by carl888, 25 June 2006, 07:53 AM

carl888

Hello All,

Well, I've looked at 12 cars so far, from a 1976 280 SE to a 1979 450 SEL 6.9.  I don't know what it is about these cars however every car I've seen has been utter rubbish!  Rusty, poorly maintained and abused. I've had the most blatant lies told to my face from the sellers too.  Like the fellow who had three different brands of tyres on his 450 SE and then said it would have no problem passing a roadworthy.  The 280 SE with oil so thick and black on the dipstick it could not have possibly been changed in years yet the owner said his mechanics changed it 400 kms ago.  Anyway, it seems most of these cars are owned by people who expect them to run on forever with no maintenance.  Still, I'm persevering and I know the right car will come up one day and I'm not in a hurry either which makes it easy.  Maybe my standards are just too lofty for a car that is at least 26 years old.....?

I must say, the pre (ADR27??) cars are pretty sprightly.  I drove an early 1976 280 SE with D-Jetronic and you can really feel the extra torque over the K-Jet models with the air pump and EGR.  I noticed that the pre-pollution 280 has an engine oil cooler whereas a pollution model does without.  Interestingly, that D-Jet 280 didn't feel much slower than a late 450 SEL.  I wonder if you can get back a little of this lost torque and power from the 0.8 drop in CR by tweaking the ignition advance curve and run 95 or 98 octane?  I bet you could, as it's worked with every other car I've owned.  I'd still like a nice 450 SE or SEL or a 6.9 if it was decent as you don't seem to pay much more for them (Except the 6.9) and the equipment levels are much higher.


Anyway, that's my rant over, I feel better now.

Regards,

Carl.


Seb450SEL

   Keep looking till you find the one, I did the same thing recently in Melbourne and am so glad that I didn't buy any of the ones I looked at before I saw mine. They are out there.
   Listen to the car not the person selling it, you sound like you know what you are looking for. The person selling mine didn't know a thing about the car, which was good because it gave me bargaining power. "Rust in bumper bar, that will cost me a fortune..($25 from pick a part) Missing off idle, that knows what that is? (Wrong spark plugs, $25 from auto-barn). Through this I shaved a grand off the asking price for a car which has not gone through .25 a liter of oil and has been to falls creek and down the coast a few times as well as being a daily driver.
    I was looking for about 3 months only for a late, Aus spec, 450 SEL.
   Good luck and if you need advice on parts places and mechanics in melbourne, I have just got them all worked out my self so give us a yell.

Cheers,
Seb

P.S
A well tuned late V8 will be a lot more fun than a six, the six may have felt quick because of the 1st gear in the 4 speed?. If your looking for a daily driver, the 450 will be bad on fuel but the 6.9 will require your dad to own B.P, but it would be a bit of fun.. Look for rust next to the fuse box on the fire wall behind the sound proofing, and in the same place on the side as it is common. And get a good color combo as you are living with it every day, My humble view anyway.

robgee

Seb that's great advice i took two months of bargaining to get my 450 it was originally on ebay and didn't reach the reserve I had been to inspect the car and it was in immaculate condition bodily and interior wise but it just didn't have the pickup it shoud have when I drove it so I left it alone then some 6 weeks later I called the guy back and Low and behold it was still for sale so I took a punt and offered $3500.00 for it not bad considering he wanted $6500.00.This was with a roadworthy aswell but it was still down on power so after I had my mechanic look at it it proved to be a blocked injector and not something major.I've now put 4000klm on the car and it hasn't missed a beat here's hoping this love affair continues.
Rob

carl888

Hi Rob, Seb & Styria,

Thanks for the notes.  Seb, the 280 I drove was a pre pollution car, it started in 2nd and felt very sprightly, but remember, I'm sure most of these cars are not up to spec so unless they are all sorted, it's not a fair comparison.  Thanks for the offer of your car Styria, feel free to send me some pics if you like as well as a bit of history if that's possible.

Regards,

Carl.


cipha

You may not find a 'newer' 450SE than this one.

http://www.drive.com.au/used_cars/mercedes-benz/450/sydney/detail.aspx?id=2838586&pg=1&pp=2&d=0&nv=1

1980 - 101,000Kms, Original owner, Long rego til April 2007. Mechanically A1. Leather interior, Sunroof, power steering, Airconditioning. Completely original car no modifications made. Air Conditioning, Power Steering, Power Windows, Sunroof, Cruise Control, Always garaged.  Blue with beige interior.

If I had the readies, I have a run at it myself.

oscar

Not so fast cipha, this one may be 3 years older but have a look at it's credentials HERE
I thought it was a 6.9 at that price
 
Vehicle 1977 MERCEDES 450SEL W116 
Price $15,500 
Kilometres 60,000   
Colour SILVER 
Interior Colour OFF WHITE 
Transmission 3 speed Automatic
Engine 8 cylinder Petrol Multi-point injected 4.5L (4520cc) 
Reg Expiry NOV-2006
Road Worthy Certificate Yes 
ONE OWNER FROM NEW - ALL ORIGINAL - COLLECTORS VEHICLE - I WILL DROP MY PRICE! 
60 000 ORIGINAL KMS, DECEASED ESTATE, PREVIOUS CONCOURSE WINNER, BECKER MEXICO STEREO CASSETTE, THOSE AFTER AN ALL ORIGINAL COLLECTORS CAR WILL NOT GO PAST THIS VEHICLE. THE BEST 1977 450 SEL IN AUSTRALIA
 

Shame the pics aren't better. I'd love to see the engine bay.  OzBenzHead, your up that way, pop in and tell us what you think.Take your camera too.   8)
1973 350SE, my first & fave

carl888

Quote from: cipha on 11 July 2006, 08:55 PM
You may not find a 'newer' 450SE than this one.

http://www.drive.com.au/used_cars/mercedes-benz/450/sydney/detail.aspx?id=2838586&pg=1&pp=2&d=0&nv=1

1980 - 101,000Kms, Original owner, Long rego til April 2007. Mechanically A1. Leather interior, Sunroof, power steering, Airconditioning. Completely original car no modifications made. Air Conditioning, Power Steering, Power Windows, Sunroof, Cruise Control, Always garaged.  Blue with beige interior.

If I had the readies, I have a run at it myself.


Hi Cipha,

Thanks for the note.  I have actually inpected that car.  The mileagle is unsubstatiated unfortuantely and has some cosmetic issues that would require attention (For me at least anyway).

Regards,

Carl.


carl888

Quote from: oscar on 12 July 2006, 09:21 AM
Not so fast cipha, this one may be 3 years older but have a look at it's credentials HERE
I thought it was a 6.9 at that price
 
Vehicle 1977 MERCEDES 450SEL W116 
Price $15,500 
Kilometres 60,000   
Colour SILVER 
Interior Colour OFF WHITE 
Transmission 3 speed Automatic
Engine 8 cylinder Petrol Multi-point injected 4.5L (4520cc) 
Reg Expiry NOV-2006
Road Worthy Certificate Yes 
ONE OWNER FROM NEW - ALL ORIGINAL - COLLECTORS VEHICLE - I WILL DROP MY PRICE! 
60 000 ORIGINAL KMS, DECEASED ESTATE, PREVIOUS CONCOURSE WINNER, BECKER MEXICO STEREO CASSETTE, THOSE AFTER AN ALL ORIGINAL COLLECTORS CAR WILL NOT GO PAST THIS VEHICLE. THE BEST 1977 450 SEL IN AUSTRALIA
 

Shame the pics aren't better. I'd love to see the engine bay.  OzBenzHead, your up that way, pop in and tell us what you think.Take your camera too.   8)

Hi Oscar,

Yes, I have been keeping my eye on that one too.  Can anyone tell me if they think the rear muffler is non genuine?  If so, I wonder if that's in keeping with the maintenance on the rest of the car.  I know its crazy to be picky about some of these things but at that price, I'd expect it to be right.

Regards,

Carl.