Hi All,<br> <br> I am new to this forum, please excuse me if I am not following protocol.<br> <br> I wish to purchase my first MB, my budget permits me to get a W126 and I am wondering if there is a preferred petrol engine version for reliability. I am in Australia and the deisel version is quite rare, the main models here are the 380SEL,420SEL,500SEL,560SEL.<br> <br> Also are there any 'common problems' to test/check when inspecting the vehicle for purchase.<br> <br> <br> Many thanks in Advance,<br> <br> Regards,<br> <br> Philby<br> (Hopefully a MB owner soon)
Hi,<br>
Well if you would be in germany i would suggest a 300SE but in Australia I'd go for the 420 as a budget car and the 560 long version if money doen't matter that much.<br>
It depends on what you expect from the car. The 420 is smotth and powerful enough for almost everything you'd plan to do with a car, but the 560 is the king of benz engines (apart from its father, the m100 6.9)<br>
The 560 is the most luxury version of all these W126 and if you could find the short SE as a 560, you got ist. they only made about 2300 pieces of it.<br>
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Watch out for camshaft wear on high milage cars, like having something around 100.00 to 130.00 miles (equals about 200000km)<br>
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Look for a proper history, a full service booklet, make sure the kilometer readings are correct (check the booklet) and have a close look to the rar wheelarches - they tend to rost.<br>
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If you have the coupe in mind, check for rust under the rear window sealing, causing a serious leek into the boot.<br>
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Never ever fall in love with the first you see, shop around a little and make a couple of test drives.<br>
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Try to hear rattle or whine from the drive line, and watch out for worn front axle suspension and track rods, as the V8s are a bit heavy for the construction of the front axle and steering.<br>
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Watch out for worn steering boxes, leeks from the transmission and get the comubstion checked prior to make things fix.<br>
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Check all electrics for functionality and check the sunroof and climate control if fitted.<br>
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If anything whines seriously in the driveshaft, like diff or transmission itself - run away.<br>
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The transmission should not let the engine rise in revs while changing up or down - otherwise its shod.<br>
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Changing gears must be a smooth process in every condition. Check the kickdown and try how the transmission behaves while changing into reverse after haveing stopped the car. If it shoots in the gear with a decent bang its shod and you'd rather buy another car.<br>
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hope that helps<br>
regards<br>
heppsen
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