[W126 Coupe] Another different perspective

[Tad Heckaman]

I hate to hijack your email, but I have the same problem... Fix it, or get
rid of it.

I have a '82 380SEC, with unknown miles on it, although I am sure its less
than 150k miles on it. I love driving the car (my first car with more than 4
cylinders) and I would love to buy another one (maybe a little newer...)

However, all the various little pieces of my car that don't work are
starting to bug me, and I don't have enough time or money to fix them all. I
really would like to buy a newer model SEC, something with a bigger engine,
and one that all the little things like power locks, fuel gauges, and
odometers work properly.
Finding a replacement SEC is going to be hard, and I suspect that selling my
not-so-perfect SEC is going to be hard to do, which is why I keep debating
about fixing it up, or selling it. Honestly, I am not looking to get ALOT of
money from the car, I would be happy to just to get what I paid for the car
a few months ago, or trade it in for something else (not sure if anyone
would trade anything for a worn down 380SEC)
I was looking at the local auto listings, and don't see any SECs for sale,
but I do see a couple SELs for sell. I have also been looking at the 190e
cars, as they seem to be rather quick too (smaller engine, but smaller car,
so probably goes quicker than
the 380SEC), but I really like the SEC, and having the bigger engine.

Right now I have parked the SEC and I am driving my '90 Camry around, since
it has A/C, working radio, and everything works properly. In a perfect world
I would like to sell both my SEC and Camry and buy a good condition 560SEC,
but I am sure those cost quite a bit more than what I paid for my existing
SEC.

Things that are broken/wrong:
Odo.meter stopped at 89 thousand miles
Power locks don't work (pump works, locks won't stop going up and down)
Fuel gauge doesn't work
Back seats are not in the best condition, the tops of the seats are tore up
No cruise control
No/minimal A/C (Still haven't bothered to recharge it, although I may
recharge it if I don't sell the car soon)
Engine has started running rough when its cold, sounds like my injectors are
fouled up on a few cylinders.
-Since starting this email the third party radio in the car has also stopped
working for some reason, so right now it doesn't even have a working radio
in it.

When I purchased this car most of these issues existed, and I knew about
most of them when I bought it. I don't even know if anyone would buy this
car...

Any thoughts?

Tad


On 5/15/07, toelsner at comcast.net <toelsner at comcast.net> wrote:

>

> Hi Everybody,

> I would like to present a different perspective on a topic raised a few

> weeks ago. A person was trying to decide if he should repair his existing

> 560SEC or buy another one for $5k with less mileage. The consensus was

> either sell his and buy the other one or buy and keep both.

>

> My '90 560SEC has 177k of HARD miles on it. It is my daily driver and I

> have driven it to places and on job sites that would make you cringe (me too

> on reflection and I should have told my former employer where to go). It had

> finally gotten to the point where I could no longer hold off on getting my

> valve guides & seals done and repairing a broken sunroof rail. So I bit the

> bullet and drove the car almost 3 hours to a shop somebody on this site

> recommended in the LA area. They test drove the car and this is what they

> came up with in addition to the valves and sunroof: leaking radiator, 1 fuel

> pump leaking, idler control arm bushing (cause of my front end creak) and

> gas door vacuum element (what fun when running on empty and your gas door

> solenoid won't fully engage). The total cost for all this, including tax, is

> around $5,300. I also had to rent a car for 3 weeks (just my luck the

> afternoon before I brought it in a Jag was towed in needing the heads done

> so I lost a few d ays). fyi...Alternator was replaced 2 months ago and the

> timing belt and tensioner have around 30k on them.

>

> Now, should I have bagged the car and bought another one that might have

> all the maintenance records etc. or am I better off making the repairs to a

> car that once the repairs are made I know what I have got. I still need to

> figure out why the AC belt keeps shredding but once this is done, all I have

> left is some body work and a new paint job and some leather repair. Frankly,

> I think the wiser choice is to go with what I have and know. Comments?

>

> I know this is a MB site, but if there are any fans of the old Volvo P1800

> out there, the new C30 is awesome..not available in the US yet. I drove a

> Turbo Diesel 5 speed (all nomenclature and digital readouts were in

> Swedish)..great pickup, solid suspension and this thing was getting 62mpg

> hwy driving. It didn't meet CA emissions so Volvo won't sell it in the US

> yet. Gas version should be out first. I'm 6'2" 245 pounds and the seat felt

> good with enough legroom.

>

> Tom Oelsner

>

> The MB Coupes Website!

> W126 SEC Mailing List

> Postings remain property of MB Coupes, L.L.C.

>




-- 
Tad Heckaman
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