As you all may well know, I am new to the W116 world. I have toyed with a few other vehicles in the past, but never a W116. I have also looked at the prices for everything from trim pieces, window motors, hoods, doors, TPS, MPS, injectors... you name it. Trying to assess the situation.
I'm not looking to make a profit, but I'm not looking to go into the poor house either ;D
So how much have you spent on your W116? For those with more than one, perhaps your favorite(s) 116. I'll start off...
Model: 1974 450SEL
When bought: 08/03/2010
Amount paid for car: $900
Amount spent on car thus far: $68 for oil and filter
What still needs to be done: New grille, new sway bars, some new hoses, D-Jet adjustments
(hopefully no parts), new timing chain, fix some rust issues, clean fuel tank, new fuel filter, new shocks, new speedo cable, new/clean master cylinder, new pads, new trunk emblem, new AC hose, perhaps some other things I haven't found yet.
Other comments: Staying in the realm of my student budget will require me to learn a lot about things which I have never done.
Total: $968 and counting...
And a picture:
(http://www.fortasse.com/pictures/car6.jpg)
On my 450SEL, far too much money, but not enough;
Car was purchased for $1800AUD, then I have spent a subsequent 5-6k on parts and servicing.
I replaced, or had replaced;
Timing chain, guides, tensioner.
Tie rod ends.
New dist cap and rotor.
Rebuilt heads.
Tailshaft refurb.
All intake rubber parts replaced.
Front brake calipers.
Rear brake pads.
Engine mounts and all that jazz.
Standard service items are incl. in the above figure.
On my 6.9, well cosmetically it lookes like a POS and it doesn't run too well at the moment, but;
I have spent upwards of 10k on it after purchase, but with the exception of the CIS and front end, i reckon it is nearly up to scratch.
Lots of money can be spent on these cars, and I'm usually broke, but I love it. 8)
Tim
easily well over 50k and its still and always will be a 10k car 8)
I dont care, its a hobby.
I couldn't list from memory all the things that have been done to mine, and haven't summed it all for some time. Probably around the 6 or 7k mark. actually if I thought about it it's probably much higher. I don't do much of the mechanical work myself though.
The thing is, I could easily spend another 40k on it and the car would never be worth more than 10k.
I budget for about 3k per year spend...
Quote from: Major Tom 6.9 on 11 August 2010, 04:59 AM
easily well over 50k and its still and always will be a 10k car 8)
I dont care, its a hobby.
Indeed, it's about the fun, and the amusement. Life without such hobbies would be rather boring.
Tim
You can go blow 60k on a used w220 which will probably start to fall to pieces in another 5 years tops, or have something that's built to last - clearly because they're still around..
Cars for the majority are never good investments so you might as well get something you enjoy ;)
Cars = bad investment. Unless you're Jay Leno. Or Nathan.
I for some reason couldnt help thinking of Nathan when there was a discussion about "10cm"
for some reason, he came to mind instantly ::)
Quoteeasily well over 50k and its still and always will be a 10k car
I dont care, its a hobby.
I like this train of thought. My purpose was never to have an investment. I've only had the car for a little more than a week and I think I could easily become obsessed with it, to some degree.
I enjoy working on it and, while I don't like it when things go wrong, I do enjoy solving problems. What concerns me more than money is time ;D
thysonsacclaim, I know what you should spend some money on. Get rid of that horrible American bumper and replace it with one that it was designed with. Those big things are extremely vile.
"Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man." ;)
Tim
Hi guys no car is an investment this time around with my 6.9 i have spent so far this year $1500 to fit motor from Goldie 2 $3800 for extractors and exhaust $7400 fitting injectors and tunning with other parts that over the previous 5 years had gone walkies >:( plus another $2000 on parts ps motec computer i allready had $3500 plus $3200 to buy goldie 2 ohyeah still not on the road ;D
Quotethysonsacclaim, I know what you should spend some money on. Get rid of that horrible American bumper and replace it with one that it was designed with. Those big things are extremely vile.
I find it refreshing when a new member waits until their 2nd post before posting something caustic like this...
If I remember correctly, the OP asked a question - "How much have you spent on your W116", not "tell me what you don't like about my car and how to spend my money"
/rant
i would have to agree that the only way to remotely justify the money spent is as a hobby. 10k and counting. not yet on the road. rec. ret. 2-3k
Geez, give me some time to settle back in. Just landed in wa after 6 months in melbourne. 4000km plus in the 230e w123 in 4 days. Took some pics on the slur I'll post when my home broadband I'd setup.
As for the original question. I reckon I'm upwards of 20-30k over the last decade of ownership. Locally, major Tom leads by example with a ferocious dedication to factory parts. If it weren't for their own abilities to do most work, members like web and mt would be closer to 6 figures I reckon!
Regards
Nathan
Ps major Tom, I shall refrain from commenting on the other statement until we meet next when I punch u in the gonads! ;D
I've spent about $2500 on my 280SE over 12 years, but then that is mostly maintenance, as I've driven nearly 300 000km in that time with it. I've spent about $8k on my blue 6.9 to sort out the hydraulics, engine timing, brakes. It still needs a new interior and new paint.
Including the purchase I have spent about 5000 NOK (roughly 800$) But I guess I will double that when I get it fired and is going to fill it up for the first time... Blah those gas prizes!!
Quote from: s class on 11 August 2010, 10:21 AM
I've spent about $2500 on my 280SE over 12 years, but then that is mostly maintenance, as I've driven nearly 300 000km in that time with it. I've spent about $8k on my blue 6.9 to sort out the hydraulics, engine timing, brakes. It still needs a new interior and new paint.
Wow, that is exceptional for 12 years of motoring, and that number of km.
Tim
The 350 cost me a clean swap for an '85 Ford Fairlane and over 6yrs I've got $6k in receipts for professional help plus easily over $3k on mechanical bits I've bought. Stopped counting after that.
The 280S racer, cost $800, the tally is over $8K and it's still slow. Needs engine and trans rebuild
But the wrecks have saved me a bundle for some major and minor parts. From a leather interior to a Becker Mexico to imitation penta rims. The wrecks cost $300 for the red one, $300 for the brown one and $35 for the engineless yellow one. Felt so bad for the guy I gave him $100. ;D
I've really stopped tallying it up though. It's handy to know what to expect what some things cost but it'd do ones head in thinking what else they might have done with a certain sum of money. (thinks of how many $300 wrecks I could have bought :D )
Quotethysonsacclaim, I know what you should spend some money on. Get rid of that horrible American bumper and replace it with one that it was designed with. Those big things are extremely vile.
I'm not a fan of the bumper myself, but it actually doesn't both me terribly. Since there isn't anything wrong (mechanically speaking) with it I don't feel it is an immediate issue. It may not be the most aesthetically pleasing thing, but I think that is best left for tweaking when your car is running fairly well. At least, that's the utilitarian way of doing it. I mentioned the grille because the grille on my car isn't the correct one. It is too narrow. I should be picking up a 'new' one soon.
Also, I'm no sure how easy it would be to get the bumper here. Since they aren't the style used in the US, if I found one overseas, god knows what the shipping for such a thing would be. Maybe I could arrange to have it stuck in a shipping container for little cost.
I've talked to several scrappers around here, as my neighbor works for one, and they say most things older than 1980 they crush. :o
It's too bad. I wonder how many 116s had sodium silicate poured into the block:
Rebate Program Prescribes Chemical to Stop Car Engines (http://online.wsj.com/article/NA_WSJ_PUB:SB124934376942503053.html)
Quote from: thysonsacclaim on 11 August 2010, 05:18 PM
I've talked to several scrappers around here, as my neighbor works for one, and they say most things older than 1980 they crush. :o
It's too bad. I wonder how many 116s had sodium silicate poured into the block:
Rebate Program Prescribes Chemical to Stop Car Engines (http://online.wsj.com/article/NA_WSJ_PUB:SB124934376942503053.html)
Thats horrible!
I think if I saw that being done to an mb I'd cry! :o
Yikes! Oh the humanity! mechanity!
Interesting choice of words in the story; "agent of death ","clunkers marked for death " and so on. Why can't they say "euthanise" or "put to sleep".
I can't help but draw similarities in emotion to when nanites were injected into the unsuspecting NS5 in I Robot. ;D
thysonsacclaim, I see, the wrong grill doesn't help the look of it. I also think Australian headlights look better too. Anyone disagree?
I think a lot of people like the Euro headlights. Seems so if you check the sky-high prices on them. Personally I don't mind the US lights, but the Euros do tend to add a 'beefier' look IMO.
I paid $3500 for mine 5 years ago as a rust free Texas car, drove it from Dallas to Seattle in 4 days and have put maybe $450 into it since. It could use window seals and a functioning ACCII but I'm happy with it as it sits.
Michael
I keep all my receipts in a (big) box but I wouldn't dare to add them up.
koan
Koan it's my wife adding them up that concerns me.
I'm quite certain most significant others will have their own expensive hobbies which can easily be brought up in order to defend w116 ownership 8)
So true MT, including what I'd deem frivolous spending too. Would you believe earlier in the week, oscarette and one of her colleagues paid an undisclosed sum to get a clairvoyant reading during her lunch hour "for fun" . >:( As far as I'm concerned, that's given me a few hundred extra leverage dollars when it comes to my next paypal order. She'll say "what the..." to which I'll say "I bet that crackpot never told you that expense was coming" ;D
those people are the biggest scammers ever...
They have about as much credibility as one of those $50 per week, premium sms service subscriptions that prey on children with "love compatibility" tests utilizing only their first names ::)
MT can rationalise my spending easily in terms of what I would be spending on a lease of a "new" car were I to drive something more modern. A simple equation really - if I had a new car, I'd be spending probably 10k per year on lease or loan payments, versus what I spend now on the 450.
Sadly, my wife (Flutette?) doesn't see it that way, and doesn't understand such rational logic. She sees any spending that isn't automatic via lease/loan repayment as discretionary and therefore feels justified in her logic of $2k w116 spend = $2k dress/shoes spend. Note here that the amount we "spend" on her Alfa each year is substantially more than I would ever spend on the Merc. And you don't see me going and buying an equivalent value of new suits just for the hell of it....
Quote from: flutes on 13 August 2010, 02:13 AM
Koan it's my wife adding them up that concerns me.
Good point, I'll hide the box :)
koan
Quote from: oscar on 13 August 2010, 06:23 AM
As far as I'm concerned, that's given me a few hundred extra leverage dollars when it comes to my next paypal order. She'll say "what the..." to which I'll say "I bet that crackpot never told you that expense was coming" ;D
:):)
I've just escorted her indoors and the offspring to the Brisbane show yesterday, man what a tedious day it was too. It cost about $350 at the show, which I thought wasn't too bad considering but then I found out that even such a simple outing as this incurs necessary spending on clothing and accoutrements beforehand, so add a further few hundred and the whole affair has set me back about $600. And I was feeling guilty for spending $300 on new plug leads, dis cap and rotor and sundry filters, pahhh. There's no justice. I must say I would crack it massively at hearing about bloody clairvoyants Oscar...
QuoteWould you believe earlier in the week, oscarette and one of her colleagues paid an undisclosed sum to get a clairvoyant reading during her lunch hour "for fun" .
Unfortunately, we have tons of those here. There is an old historical city about a 15 minute trek from where I live (see: Cassadaga 'Spiritualist' Camp (http://www.cassadaga.org/). The entire city are psychic readers and wizards or what have you. I'm sure that Harry Potter theme park thing in Orlando has only increased their business. The things people will pay for ::)
Wouldn't that be fascinating to know how much I have actually spent on cars over the years....... perhaps a clairvoyant could tell me!! Still it would be less than some mates have lost in depreciation on cars, or beer, or the bookie etc - they haven't got much from me on any of these things. I think the sadest cases are when people have thought they would keep a car forever and done no expense spared restos and then circumstances have forced a sale way below cost. But not knocking people who spend a lot on good restos - if you keep it and enjoy it and it works without breaking down and patching then it is well worth it.
not done the numbers until now! since past 3-4 months
paid 3000 for it, 1300 for shipping interstate, 200 for battery, 1600 for rear exhaust, brake lines, rewiring headlights, wipers, brakepads, 1500 for car alarm, spark plugs,filters and servicing, fuel pump and fuel lines, about 1300 for all door, windshield rubbers and windshield.
so far around $9000!
things that need fixing-( anyone got vague ideas of costs for these?) may need new valve stem seals, drivers seat base repaired, re skinned dash, front exhaust, slight play at tie end rods.
Im hoping the most pricey stuff is sorted!
GF, you will be surprised how cheap the tie rod ends are - $20 from imparts I think. Valve stem seals wont cost the earth, but how many miles? - might need guides too and the head would need to come off for that and that will cost a bit - but often just the seals will do it and they can be done is situ. A passenger seat base will do work and they are not impossible to find a good one. W126 is the same so I would say just keep your eyes out. I should probably collect them whenever I see a good one at upullit here. Some people repair with various things and a US company does a repair kit, but I figure while good ones are still available might as well go that way. Also they are pretty easy to fit. Also dash is not impossible to find, well at least I found one in Melbourne. Also I am guessing it is a 280 and the front exhaust is the 'y' thing leaking. Based on experience I would highly recommend finding an exhaust place that will fit 2 separate pipes for you - in Adelaide there is a place that did mine for $150 - no more Y issues, better flow, performance, economy - although I fixed a few things at the same time. LHD cars have 2 separate pipes, but RHD used the y to get around the steering box, but clever exhaust people can still squeeze them in there.
And $9k is a bargain for all the car a good 116 is - just enjoy it though and don't try and sell it!
All prices in Euros
This is what I recall by heart
Purchase 450SEL 4800
New tyres Kuhmo 205/70-14 320
Used fluid coupling radiator fan 30
New radiator core 270
New expansion tank cap 4
New oel cap 4
Used SLS pump 30
New cam chain, guides, tensioner 360
New shocks, new SLS accumulators 1200
Front wheel bearing incl. work 200
New 4" Blaupunkt speakers 45
New exhaust mid and rear MB 550
New mid bearing, bracket propshaft 100
Used seatbelts rear 40
Used shifter knob Zebrano 13 (for sale! Mint cond.)
Light bulbs 100
Oil service filters, plugs etc etc 500
Wiper blades incl headlight wipers 50
Gasoline 28000km ....
Total (but there must be more...) 8616 (ouch!)
Well if you want to start counting fuel/gasoline, I've driven about 260 000km in my 280SE. At 15 litres per 100km, that's about 39000 litres...., or 419 tanks....
And labour? If I take my corporate charge-out rate * number of hours spent tinkering...
Quote from: s class on 30 August 2010, 10:19 AM
Well if you want to start counting fuel/gasoline, I've driven about 260 000km in my 280SE. At 15 litres per 100km, that's about 39000 litres...., or 419 tanks....
That would be about $50,000 AUD worth of fuel if purchased here, now!
Tim
Quote from: s class on 30 August 2010, 10:19 AM
Well if you want to start counting fuel/gasoline, I've driven about 260 000km in my 280SE. At 15 litres per 100km, that's about 39000 litres...., or 419 tanks....
you take the cake Ryan,
I think of anyone in the world you have and continue to put more kilometers onto your 116 that anyone else, thats dedication!
since 2003 when i purchased my car i have done far, far less than 10,000km's
Far too much to count and at least a few 10's of thousands in the coming months........ i rather drive and see the odomoter tick over than count the money spent. ::)
Purchase
450SEL - $1000
K&N Air Filter - $41
New Set of Bulbs - $24
Misc Fluids - $40
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Things to Buy
Window Seals - 100 for two, installation 150 for both possibly = 250
Driver side floor pan and the price to put it in god knows how much thats going to be....
other things I will list later
When I bought my 280s about 7 years ago I paid the equivalent of a new small car. I think it would have been around US$10,000 then. Since then I have invested about as much again plus a bit more to keep my beautiful lady on the road. It may seem a lot but in Brazil cars are very expensive and quality cars even more so. However, apparently this particular car is known to be a 'reference' in the Mercedes-Benz club and is now worth far more than I paid for her.
Craig, thanks for the advice, you were right the tie end rods were peanuts to fix and made a world of good, the cars got about 170 000 km on it and the mechanics are always wanting to buy it off me but thats just a sign its a definate keeper!yes for a 9k car its a bargian!
I'm not sure but at 170k, if the head has never been touched, then maybe the guides need doing, but then with such a long history these cars have now, who knows if it hasn't been done at some stage. Others might see it differently, but if it was my car I would just have new valve seals fitted and see how it goes. If the guides are worn I believe it will tend to chop them out quicker than normal, and then you can plan to pull the head off. The seals are cheap (check autohaus) and not that much labour - less than $200 all up? My thinking is that would be worth a try. Doing the head must be at least $1k involved, but if you plan to keep it and do lots of miles then it will last for a long time.
Just my thinking - hope that helps.