Need some advice........

[Suckindiesel]

Hi Folks. Well i am new on here and know nothing about mercs, especially old ones. My great uncle owned from what i can remember a 200 series(?) early 80's model. All I know is that it looks identical to 280 se's etc ive seen on the internet. Anyway, he passed away some 11 years ago and transferred the car to his son, on the recent death of his son it appears the car has been sat garaged for the past 11 years untouched (i havent seen it or have no details but must assume it was just left there). Basically i would quite like to obtain it and want to know what kind of problems it may well have to be dealt with if it has been simply parked up and left for this length of time??

 

[Ramius]

WOW, a car left alone unused for that amount of time! Well firstly Im sorry for the way in which you have come to the car.

After that amount of time I would asume that there will be significant rotting of all rubber componants and potentialy many moving parts could be frozen.

I would sugest that you hire the services of a professional to view the car and step by step look at the problems. After all 11 years isnt a lot in a humidity controled enviroment but a cold, damp garage may yeald a different story.

Good luck with the car and please let us know how it goes.

 

[Suckindiesel]

Thanks. I am afraid i cant afford to get someone to look at it, but i am aware that things like clutch and brake cylinders, other brakeing components and oil seals etc could all be defunct. This spells money! are these cars valuable in perfect working order?

 

[tom7035]

Hi Folks. Well i am new on here and know nothing about mercs, especially old ones. My great uncle owned from what i can remember a 200 series(?) early 80's model. All I know is that it looks identical to 280 se's etc ive seen on the internet. Anyway, he passed away some 11 years ago and transferred the car to his son, on the recent death of his son it appears the car has been sat garaged for the past 11 years untouched (i havent seen it or have no details but must assume it was just left there). Basically i would quite like to obtain it and want to know what kind of problems it may well have to be dealt with if it has been simply parked up and left for this length of time??

Have fun! I wish I had your 'problem'. First thing would be to empty the dead mice, birds' nests, spiders etc. out of the air intake, install a fresh battery and make sure there's oil and water in. You may be pleasantly suprised! If you get it started, then check it will stop! Try the brake pedal, pump it a few times then hold it on to make sure it will hold the pressure. If the parking brake has been applied the shoes will likely be stuck to the drums but if you can then move the car slightly this will possibly free them. (I wouldn't try the gearbox until you are sure at least one of the brake systems will stop the car!) All fluids will eventually have to be changed, especially brake fluid as it will have absorbed moisture over the years. Tyres will likely have developed a flat spot too if the car has been sitting on them.
A little at a time, come back if you cease to make any progress and as ramius says, keep us informed!

 

[Suckindiesel]

Thanks folks. I havent acquired it as yet as i am trying to find out who has legally inherited it. But now i do know it is a 230e automatic, 1984 . Will the autobox have likely seized or anything? i assume it was literally just parked and left. Also, I am only 22, living in N:I, is there any form of owners club or classic insurance to cover pleasure use only? Insurance is ridiclous for it being a classic car.

Out of interest, what is the going rate for a concourse 230e? It was a mint car before it was stored. I dont want to sell it, just to know if i can justify spending on it.

Thanks in advance.

 

[jberks]

I'd have to say that you really need to be doing this for yourself and forget the money. The valuable classic status doesn't really apply to E classes. There is some interest in the coupes but thats about it really. I would imagine that there is no way you could recoup what its going to cost to put right.
This needs to be a labour of love. Classic cars are money pits, even the real classics. Look at the ads and you'll see plenty of Ferraris and Lambos with "£12,000 recently spent on full engine rebuild" for sale for £10k.

 

[Bolide]

Amen to that

Classic cars are money pits, even the real classics...

Amen to that

Nick Froome
www.w124.co.uk

 

[Suckindiesel]

Fair enough - but i am being realistic - i'm a student - if the cars worth say £1500 sorted and it costs (totally for arguments sake) £500 to get it right (bareing in mind the only defects with the car will have arisen from sitting so long) then it is justifyable as if i get into money probs the car can be sold. I'm not talking about big money here. I also want to give something to my relative for the car if she will take it, and this is also why i was asking. And i do have a keen interest in it for nostalgic reasons (great uncs car) and because i have always been into cars.

I have read these cars were well ahead of their time when designed - how driveable are they for more frequent use or long journeys? iv been led to believe they are arguably the best car mercedes ever made....(queque debate lol).

 

[jaymanek]

Unfortunately, I very much doubt that £500 will cover the cost of getting it up to scratch.. It will require many new parts, anything thats rubber for a start...

 

[jberks]

Unfortunately, I very much doubt that £500 will cover the cost of getting it up to scratch.. It will require many new parts, anything thats rubber for a start...

Absolutely, I would imagine around £500-£1000 just to get it mobile by the time you've replaced all the fluids, got the brakes sorted, cleared out the injection system and got the engine going etc. Then a longer term and unlimited cost labour of love. Remember nothing will have moved for years, and it will not have been stored in an ideal environment so, off the top of my head, shock absorbers potentially pitted, brake pistons may be siezed, window rubbers shot (new all round could cost a couple of hundred on their own). Even the daft things like the dashboard clock and the fuel gauge could have stuck through lack of use. What about the speedo cable, does that still turn? The central locking will probably be shot and as the very minimum almost all moving parts may need to be freed off, cleaned and lubricated. The list goes on and on, and this assumes that the garage wasn't damp and you don't have corrosion issues. In truth, aside from things like interior trim wear, this car is likely to be in a worse state than one thats been on the road for the last 12 years.

Most of us would see it as an great project but certainly not something to be taken lightly, on a tight budget or with limited time. Lovely idea, but get it very carefully appraised before you leap or you could spend every penny you have and end up with an imobile shiny skip.

You never know, she have been stored under a sheet, on axle stands in a dry garage with good airflow and may be virtually perfect. But then again ...

Once you have completed it, you have a great car that will do 20mpg, and by modern standards handles like a barge, has no ABS ESP, airbags aircon or any of the other things you get on a Fiesta these days. Yes its got class by the bucketload and what was ahead of its time, but that simply means that some things are a bit complex.

As a student, I wrecked my escort. So, whilst I was hunting for a replacement my dad lent me his 1983 280E which he wasn't using at the time. I ran it for a week, spent every penny I had on petrol and then handed it back. I simply couldn't afford to fuel it.

If you go for it, the best of luck to you, just be very careful.

 

[tom7035]

With respect, what a bunch of pessimists we have here! Try thinking a glass is half-full instead of half-empty! Any stuck items may well unstick and your rubber items, shockers etc. could well be fine.
Do as I suggest for a start Suckindiesel then take it from there, and good luck to you!

 

[jberks]

I prefer realist to pessemist.
The comments
I am afraid i cant afford to get someone to look at it
and
This spells money! are these cars valuable in perfect working order?

lead me to believe that this chap is more in love with the idea of having a valuable old family heirloom classic than the long labourious process of restoration with nothing at the end of it but a shiny old motor that despite the money and effort spent, still isn't worth much. If he can't afford the £50 for his local mechanic to pop down and give it a butchers, then he sure as hell can't afford to fuel it. (As I said, I tried running a W123 as a student. Fuel was cheaper and grants bigger in those days and I still couldn't keep up)

However I also agree with you. You never know and anything is worth a punt. In his position I'd still spend a day or so checking it out.