[W126 Coupe] Cost of running a garage-maintained 560 SEC

[Mark Reimers]

Mike,

 

You need to buy parts from Rusty or Jonathan! $82.2 per air filter is rape and you probably said thank you. The members of this forum have provided tons of advice on DIY (Do It Yourself) projects such as brakes, plugs and a variety of other small projects. Admittedly, some things need to be handled by a professional but most are just maintenance which with some emails can be handled by you. You don't need a lot of tools just a willingness to get you hands temporarily dirty. A side benefit of doing these things yourself is the knowledge of how long/much something should take/cost.

 

Having a shop do all your work is expensive as you so ably have demonstrated. My costs are substantially less than yours (in the $1000-1500 yr range) which makes this beautiful car both fun and affordable to own.  

 

Mark Reimers

Reimers and Associates, Inc.

775-772-3607

________________________________

From: mbcoupes-bounces at mbcoupes.com [mailto:mbcoupes-bounces at mbcoupes.com] On Behalf Of Mike Taylor
Sent: Thursday, September 27, 2007 10:14 AM
To: mbcoupes at mbcoupes.com
Subject: [W126 Coupe] Cost of running a garage-maintained 560 SEC

 

Everyone knows that these cars we own (a 560 SEC 1988 in my case) are expensive to run, so I thought people might find it interesting to know my own experience with bills.  I don't / can't work on the car myself, I use 2 garages, one expensive but very good independent dealership, and one cheaper 2-man outfit useful for niggling problems.  In the 8 years I have owned the car I have kept a spreadsheet (shown below and attached) of all bills.  

It has just hit the £23,000 or $47,000 dollar mark over 8 years.  Sounds shocking but does include some non-essentials (e.g. $6000 stereo) and about $12000 completely restoring the bodywork to 'new' condition.  Anyway, if anyone is interested, since 1999 these are my bills on my 560 SEC (I hope it is still readable as it is pasted from an Excel table).  I'm sure if you work on your car yourself it is considerably less !!!   I hope this doesn't scare any potential buyers.  It would be interesting to know anyone else's experience.  

Best Regards,

Mike Taylor

p.s. I live in the UK, just north of London...for boot read trunk!

 

Work

Cost $

ABS Sensor (nearside front)

$200.22

6 Air Filters

$496.00

Aircon Cooling Fan + Fitting

$386.00

Aircon Re-Gassing - twice

$348.00

Alarm Cobra 7928 Fitted

$800.00

Anti-Freeze

$50.00

2 Axle Beam Bushes

$276.26

Axle Oil

$60.00

2 Ball Joints

$176.00

2 Batteries

$334.00

Bodywork - 2 Front Wings

$1,012.42

Bodywork - bulkhead strip

$111.76

Bodywork - Fit 2 new Wings, Lots of Repair and Respraying

$3,857.52

Bodywork - Front Chrome Bumper

$585.30

Bodywork - General Repair & Respraying

$2,000.00

Bodywork - outside window rails

$130.00

Bodywork - repair body, spray bumpers, skirts, mirrors, etc

$4,058.54

Bodywork - small repairs, scratches, wiper blades, boot

$243.00

Boot Seal Trim - twice

$200.00

Brake Calipers (4), Discs (4), Pads (8) + fluid

$1,910.00

Brake Light Switch (under pedal) - twice

$308.00

Distributor Cap & Rotor

$364.84

Electric Aerial

$260.00

Engine Complete Re-Bore & Re-Build

$2,255.14

Exhaust - Complete System

$2,685.50

6 Fanbelts

$190.00

2 Fuel Filters

$190.00

2 Fuel Pumps

$846.96

Fuel Regulator

$915.02

Geometry Check - full run out and adjust - twice

$220.00

Heating Control Valve

$595.70

HT Leads

$250.00

Ignition Trigger Box

$1,947.92

8 Injectors

$500.00

Locking Wheelnuts - twice

$100.00

Nozzle for screenwash

$130.00

16 Oil Services - approx every 3000 miles

$2,030.00

40 Spark Plugs

$600.00

Seat Belt Kit (Driver Side)

$500.00

Steering Box - fix leak

$80.00

Steering Centre Drag Link

$83.48

Steering Fluid PAS - twice

$140.00

Steering Idler Bush

$153.30

Stereo ! Big bad Alpine system, Magnat amps, MB Quart Spkrs

$6,330.00

Replacement Sump (the old one just fell off)

$550.00

Suspension - Gas accumulators/spheres

$619.06

Suspension Fluid & Filters - twice

$190.00

Suspension Pipes - front to rear under car

$844.00

Timing Chain

$200.00

Track Rod Control Arm (nearside upper)

$350.00

Track Rods (both outer)

$350.00

Trans / Gearbox Oil

$280.00

Interior Wooden Trim (damaged)

$774.00

Full Tune-up and Adjust - twice

$472.00

13 Tyres

$3,578.00

Wheel Balancing 

$35.92

Wheel centre caps

$50.00

Wheel Tracking

$202.00

Wiper Blades

$100.00

Wiring Fault

$78.14

TOTAL

$47,584.00

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