How much would you offer?

[zedster]

I saw this cruising craigslist. I emailed him and asked him what condition and color the interior is in. Here is his reply:

"the interior is blue a darker blue it was redone right before we got it 10 years ago it is showing some wear. make me and offer as i said all offers are considered. also if you notice it has the european front end as well(little more desirable) as i said all offers considered."

1979 Mercedes Benz 450 SEL

The town he is in is about 150 miles so since it has no engine and tranny it would need to be trailered. Plus I don't have the room. I would use it for the parts. Wishful thinking I guess but interesting.

[oscar]

Setup for a chev 350 and trans but doesn't come with an engine or trans?  I'm just wondering if the "setup" involved was just removing the old engine and trans.  Just being cynical sorry. 

My first thoughts were it would be good for the euro features (lights and bumpers).  You'd have real problems selling a w116 without an engine here.  example, I bought an engineless 280se two years ago on ebay for $35 ($25US).  I felt so bad for the guy since it had a Becker Mexico and look a like 15" pentas  that I ended up giving him $100 but I was doing him a favour by just taking it.  It was a POS and it'scrapped now but still..... there's too many other cheap goers.  I'd say no more than a few hundred, if that for the 450SEL. 

[danitaatih]

Hello, I am new to this website.  I have been reading the posts for the last few days and am very impressed with the knowledge of its followers.  I too am a Mercedes enthusiast ( I currently own four), and I'm thinking about buying a mint condition 1978 280SE from a Canadian owner (who by the way, took excellent care of the car).  I would like any information that you could offer as far as to what to expect from this car.  I am somewhat concerned that although the engine is smaller--I hope that this means better gas mileage--what about "spunk"?  Does the car have sluggish take off? Will I be diasppointed? I know that it's not a race car, but it  would be nice to know that I won't be "trampled on" when I try and get on the freeway.  Anyway, any feedback would be greatly appreciated.   Steven

[wbrian63]

Steven - I kindly suggest you post "technically new" questions in their own thread. Adding a post that's not related to the original thread is referred to as hijacking.
Think about how "off topic" things can get, and frequent browsers of the forum don't always read the entire thread of a discussion before posting a reply. If your question about the Canadian car was the first topic to appear at the top of a new page when viewed, responses would likely be related to that question, not about Zedster's original question of how much to offer for an engineless W116 near his home.
If one is looking for a specific answer to a problem, hijacked threads can cause interference in getting the answer the original poster was looking for.

Just a suggestion.

[zedster]

He sent me pics of the interior. I don't like it.

[Big_Richard]

no engine and trans, and in that condition its probably worth a maximum of all of $150.

[zedster]

I will probably just let it go. Too much trouble going and getting it and then not having a place to store it.    Besides having the euro bumpers and lights I did notice two different items then on my 450 SEL (same year). This one has rear headrests and his switch for his lights looks upside down compared to mine. The pictures are up top on mine and down below says, "LIGHTS." Radio looks to be gone. I showed everything to my mechanic and he said make him pay you $1000 to take away that piece of s**t. LOL

[s class]

I would offer a few bucks purely to get the VK5 kurier equipment and dump the rest. 

[zedster]

I would offer a few bucks purely to get the VK5 kurier equipment and dump the rest. 

OK what's VK5 kurier.

[TJ 450]

The extra control in the center console and anything else attached to it is part of the VK5 Kurier system. It is a predecessor to RDS in modern car radio systems and is considered quite an uncommon option.

Tim

[wbrian63]

VK5 / RDS - European traffic warning system, I think. As you travelled around the country, there were roadsigns that told you what channel to select with the switch on the console to receive warning information.

I'd probably be interested in that setup, as my car is "true Euro".

The car also has adjustable headlamps (the dial to the left of the headlamp switch). That's a relatively cool feature to have.

The upholstery looks to be in decent shape and is the exact color of my 6.9's rotten stuff.

If there's any way you can get "up close" to the car to check whether the upholstery is solid or rotten, I'd be very interested. If it's in good shape, it would probably be worth (to me) what you could probably get the entire car for... just a thought.

I'd also pay reasonable $ for the door panel insert cards, if the velour there hasn't sagged terribly and ripped.

This is an AZ car, so likely the upholstery, while nice looking in appearance, is basically rotten from the heat.

Regardless - you might be able to get a car for free for the $ I would be willing to pay for the upholstery if it's solid.

Old cars with no engine are worth a few $100 at most - I'd start at $350.

[zedster]

wbrian63 where are you located? The car is in Nevada about a $150 miles from me. I can ask the guy those questions for you if you want? Maybe even get more pictures??

Bill

[wbrian63]

Unfortunately, I'm in the great state of Texas. No way do I have the time (although I do have the trailer) to retrieve the vehicle.

The problem with a non-MB-lover is that asking them to part out a car they're only interested in selling as a shell virtually guarantees that they won't take the care necessary to preserve the parts - they'll just rip, cut & destroy.

Even when they do love MB's - you'd be surprised what folks think is acceptable for removal. Sometimes its just that they have no idea how far they need to go to preserve the full extent of the item being removed, other times they don't care.

For instance - the traffic warning gizmo - I can see receiving that, the console piece it comes with, and none of the harness. While it isn't usable here in the US, if it were, there'd still be the risk that they'd hack the harness rather than tracing each wire back to its home and removing it intact.

That's why I was thinking a "cooperative" effort might serve us both. Unfortunately, that has you doing all of the work and me just writing a check...

I think the safest thing is for the whole car to go to someone that will take the time to disassemble the various parts intact and then call the junker for what's left. For instance - I'd just want the seat covers, not the frames. That would mean someone would need to remove the seats from the car and CAREFULLY remove the upholstery. It goes on intact, so it can be removed intact (if it's still durable enough to be removed without disintegrating).

If you're after the "euro" look, there's a sale on eBay for euro bumpers, but it's like $400 (down from $500 originally, and has made several "loops" through without a taker). You could probably get the entire car for that or less, and get the euro lamps too boot - plus they're adjustable (if that's not been disabled - but even then, they usually just cut the vacuum lines and leave everything in place.)

Anyway - do what's best for you. If that so happens to benefit me as well, so much the better. If not - easy come, easy go.

Just remember to block it well if you put it in your driveway - don't want this one getting away from you too. Plus, you might have to sleep in it if your wife takes a dislike to the idea...

[s class]

The VK5 equipment is no longer useable anywhere in the world.  My interest in it is that my pristine Dusseldorf delivery red 6.9 originally had it, and it was removed sometime back in the 80's.  I would like to re-install it, but I obviously require the electronics and wiring all in tact.  Chances are that this car is lacking the electronics, since it was a unit that interfaced with certain models of becker radios.  Often it is removed at the same time the radio is replaced.  So don't let my interest in the VK5 affect your decision to buy or not buy the car. 

Just bear in mind that carefully disassembling a W116 takes far more time and space than one might imagine.  The neighbours would not like having a car being broken up on the sidewalk for a few months. 

[Papalangi]

I'd give $150-$200 for the seat covers, front and rear.  That's the color and style that came with mine originally.  It rotted in the Dallas sun and was reupholstered in plain dark blue.

Michael