Advice wanted on classic Mercedes sedans

[carock]

I stopped working on Mercedes in 1996 but that fits right in with what you are looking at. IMHO the bigger the engine the more reliable and the more the car will be worth more in the long run. I would avoid any gray market or AMG cars from that era. The parts for these cars are very expensive so you have to look for cars that don't need parts! Looking for low mileage cars is not very productive as just as much goes wrong by the car sitting around as by driving it regularly. On the other hand, the cars only go about 200,000 miles before the suspensions typically need complete rebuilds and there is no avoiding that, so factor it into your pricing. The engine and transmission don't give a lot of trouble. The wiring and electronics are pretty solid for a German car, but age is creeping up on these cars, so you can expect trouble with electrical components.

 

[390pi]

Many good forums. This is a favorite: http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/index.php
I have an '84 380SL and an '82 240D in my collection.
Those old MB cars are more solid with 100k+ miles than anything today.

Just remember: there is no such thing as a cheap Mercedes.
W123 (240D/300D) very easy to maintain/repair, DIY-wise.

Buy the best example you can afford. It will keep its value.

 

[dnastrau]

In addition to all that has been said, be careful of rust damage caused by the rear window gasket leaking. I had an '81 300SD (W126 body) that I picked up cheap about 13 years ago and the rear window had leaked causing lots of hidden damage. The rust attacked the rear window channel, the metal support under the rear shelf and worked its way down into the doglegs behind the rear doors as well as the back part of the rocker panels. I ended up getting rid of the car because of it. After all of the mechanical work that I had done as well as fixing some of the body damage, I ended up taking a nice bath.

The moral of that story was - I should have bought the best one I could afford right off the bat.

Andrew S.