[W126 Coupe] A different perspective

[Tom Oelsner]

Dick and everybody,
Thanks for all your comments. There is a lot to respond to. Hopefully in the
next few days I will have a chance to get back to them. Right now I need to
deal with the mundane issue of responding to RFPs for work that have
deadlines.

-----Original Message-----
From: mbcoupes-bounces at mbcoupes.com
[mailto:mbcoupes-bounces at mbcoupes.com]On Behalf Of Dick Spellman
Sent: Tuesday, May 15, 2007 7:55 PM
To: Mercedes Coupes Mailing Lists
Subject: Re: [W126 Coupe] A different perspective


Hi Tom:

You are wrestling with the same issues I have had on MB sedans of the
past.  At some point your daily driver requires a bag of cash to
resuscitate.  When you total all of the needed repairs to bring it back
to full health, the math just no longer works.  This is especially true
if you are engaging a mechanic for much of the work.

By way of example.  I had this splendid MB 300SE 1990.  I fully restored
it at 150k miles.  It was in fact in showroom condition.  I
painstakingly maintained it with a low dollar hiccup here and there
along the way.  The single biggest expense were tires after the 150k
work was done up until 270k or so.  From then on, the MB needed the same
dollar effort as at the 150k mile (present mileage surpassing 270k).  I
continued to run the car until things worsened and more work was needed
over the winter.  By spring at 294k miles the car had to be set aside as
no longer reliable for day to day use.  Still looked grand inside and
out but the mechanical work was substantially north of $5k and I had a
transmission that while seemingly still strong had never been overhauled.

Here is what I did.  I bought another 1990 300SE CA from Sacramento for
$2,500 ($3100 total delivered to Boston) with 103k mile on the clock.
Put $1,000 in parts into it right away plus tires.  That MB is now at
155k miles and I'm about to do the head gasket, brakes and engine mounts
with the parts and expert advise of Jonathan.  Everything else including
the AC which I refurbished at purchase time is in perfect working
order.  So, I expect that the $800-1000 I am about to lay out will get
me to 270k as was the case on the previous MB and the cost of ownership
is still well within reason.

Had I made a decision to do this on the 294k mile MB I believe I would
have spent considerably more money and my expectation of other major
work would have been higher due to the mileage.  Don't get me wrong, I
loved that first SE but now that I'm on my 3rd and they are daily
driver's that look very clean and respectable I'm happy to make my runs
up and down the eastern seaboard for another 150k miles before retiring
one or both.  The second being the 86 300SE Euro that  I just completely
restored from a  SUV that backed into me.

That's all.  I'm wiling to bet there is an SEC in your area for $5-7k
that with say $3k in and at 100k miles or so will last you well into the
200k mile range without the many things you know your SEC now needs.

Good luck Tom.  I know you are running hard as am I.  You need a
reliable car and your only other point of consideration is the time it
will take to find another, deal with the typical flaws of any used car
and then run it.  Probably looks easier to just fix what you've got when
you look at the time to be invested in buying one in good shape.  That
is another variable in this decision.

Dick

toelsner at comcast.net wrote:

> Dick,

> You are missing the point. If I buy another one, no matter what the

> price, that is money I could put into this one.

>

>

>     -------------- Original message --------------

>     From: Dick Spellman <spell.yy at verizon.net>

>

>     > Hi Tom:

>     >

>     > With the repair dollar north of $5k and you'll still have more

>     issues to

>     > work on (AC, other suspension components, etc.) I'd say hunt

>     another one

>     > down if possible. This comes from having purchased my share of

>     MB's all

>     > of which needed my time and parts money. Even with my time I

>     average

>     > $5k or more to restore an MB in good condition to start with.

>     >

>     > Just my 2. Happy hunting for that next SEC!

>     >

>     > Dick

>     >

>     > 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 wit h 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 wh en run ning 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 k now. 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

>     > >

>     ----------------------------------------------------------------------

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>

>     > >

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>     >

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