W126 300SE

[barramacginea]

Hi All, prospective new member here - am looking to pick up a W126 as a second car so I won't consider myself a proper member yet! Fingers crossed though.

I have a very short drive to work (5 miles) so I'm very interested in picking up an 'everyday' classic and I've narrowed down my search to a W126. I love the look and the presence and I hope that such a car would be relatively reliable if I was to pick up the right model.

Been looking at a few classifieds here in Ireland and there is a big range in price and condition so I was wondering, what should I expect to pay for a good model - say a 280-300se with under 100k miles. There are a few live listings at the moment - one is a 1980's 280SE in a lovely silver colour, leather interior and 92k miles. The history appears to be there - same owner for the past 10 years but I would need to verify all that. Asking price is €6750.

There is also a listing for a 1988 300se. Lovely grey colour this time, dry stored all its life, 76k miles - only 3k miles have been put on it in the last 14 years. Used mainly for shows. Went to see it and it is mint to be fair. The spare wheel looked new. Cloth interior. Asking €11000.

As I'm new to researching W126 models, I was wondering if the latter example is typical for a car in good condition or whether it's on the high side. Is it a good investment? There wasn't the slightest trace of dampness or rust or anything like that. It really was showroom condition.

Am I mad to think that one of these could be used as a daily driver for a while considering the very small mileage I do?

Would really welcome any feedback and initial thoughts.... I want to be a proper member!!

Thanks

B

 

[Blobcat]

Hello and welcome,

A car that's just only been used to go to shows could easily fail with regular usage. Such infrequent use won't highlight possible mechanical issues. I've known a few people buy almost "Concours" cars (non-MB), they've looked very nice but mechanically they were a bag of bolts as they'd been prepared to show, not to go...

 

[barramacginea]

That's a very good point! While I did go to see the car, I didn't take it for a spin, the battery was dead but if I got that far with it I would have a mechanic friend with me to help assess it. One thing I will say, my father always said when buying cars, "half the time it's not what you're buying, it's who you're buying from that will tell you more about the car than anything else" and in that vein I was very impressed with the guy selling it. He appeared to have babied it for his ownership so I would be hopeful that it got everything it ever needed. It was purchased from Charles Ironside which gives some bit of comfort. I wouldn't take anything for granted though!