[suprainhabit]

I have finally been able to contact the owner of a particular 1985 500SEC that I have been interested in for a while now. The car has been sitting outside in the far back of a local dealership for the last 4 years. I can buy it for $1000. The proplem is that its been sitting for at least 4 years. The car is burgundy, and the back end of it is dusty rose with oxidation. The little visible rust on the car seems to be minimal. The interior is in pretty good shape, considering. The headliner has almost completely fallen, and the wood trim has popped off in sections. I couldn't find a VIN tag (grey market import), but did find a tag saying that it was a 1985 500SEC imported by Sitgor Industries. I have always wanted one of these, and have the time and patience to work on it bit by bit. I'm going to have to do a full tune up, drain the tank, brakes, fluids, etc, but is there anything I should really watch out for? The car only has 81k on it. Any comments, etc would be appreciated- Thanks

 

[jhodg5ck]

get it to someone who Knows these cars before you go ahead and but it. Even at 1K you could be in for many, many thousands of $$$ worth or work. Replacing the wood alone is a 2-3K ordeal.

Jonathan

 

[TheRazz]

First off, you have to find out why it's been left sitting for four years... Second, you should put your location in the profile area... Also you have to check belts, gaskets, hoses, anything rubber...

Good Luck
Rich

 

[TheRazz]

And what Jon said []

 

[500MPL]

It may cost a bit to you, but I would pay for a PPI and have it towed to a indy that knows these cars. Don't even think about the dealership where it's at, they want to unload it.

Get the motor checked before you spin it over, due to sitting time. Also ask your self "why has this car not sold before now?".

If it checks out, buy it but only after you've added up the items needing to be fixed (cost) and add 1-2k more and see if it's worth it for you.

Regards,

 

[suprainhabit]

Actually, I have worked in parts departments in VW/Audi, SAAB, Mazda, Acura, and am currently Toyota in the Chicago suburbs. The car belongs to a friend of the owner of the dealership. It seems that the won the car in a poker game and parked it at the dealer 4 years ago. The dealership owner just wants it gone and he said he'd take $1000 and would take care of the rest. I'll have to do some work to get a duplicate title, but that's not that difficult. I'll have to cruise down there tomorrow and take some pics. With any luck they have found the key (although the car is open). A good friend of mine is an independent mechanic that can actually FIX cars, not throw parts at them and hope that they will work. He is irritatingly thorough. I still think that $1000 for a car with 81k is not a bad deal, even if it does need work.

 

[suprainhabit]

The car never sold, because it wasn't in the inventory. It was just being stored there with a "do not sell" sticker on the windshield. I guess that I was the first person to ask about it. The paint does look awful the way it sits, though.

 

[janos_z]

just out of curiosity, what got you interested in that particular SEC? $1000k doesn't sound like such a great deal for a car with a trashed interior and rotting body that's been gathering dust since being passed around in a a poker game... you could find a much nicer SEC that has actually been properly maintained, for a few thousand bucks more, and then have your mechanic friend look after it.

 

[white500se]

suprainhabit - 4/7/2006 10:11 PM

The car never sold, because it wasn't in the inventory. It was just being stored there with a "do not sell" sticker on the windshield. I guess that I was the first person to ask about it. The paint does look awful the way it sits, though.

Well if the paint looks bad that's about $3-5K right there unless you have good connections. Add that to the interior work you've mentioned and you're looking now at a car in the range of $5-7K without even getting past the cosmetics. If your patient and don't mind spending lots of time and money on it then go for it but I'm thinking you might be better off spending the money on one that is in good shape to start with. Or buy this one as a parts car.

 

[MBZER]

...Money Pit.

 

[jdc1244]

I say buy it if you’ve got a place to keep it where it will not be an eyesore. You can take your time checking it out for a restore. If it does not work out you can get most of your $1k back by parting it out.

 

[MBZER]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ What JDC1224 said !!!
What about the RU$T...?

 

[jdc1244]

Even if it’s a rust bucket the drivetrain components should be good with those low miles. It may be an ideal parts car.

 

[suprainhabit]

I took a couple pics today, but I'm not THAT computer saavy, so I haven't downsized them. I can pretty well guess that the front clip and the trunk have been repainted due to the lack of oxidation. Here goes- sorry about the super-sized pics-
Thanks for all of your help, BTW. I do appreciate it. I'm 31 and have always loved these cars, so I am willing to take some time to have a decent driver (whenever that happens!) Any help figuring out a Euro vin would be good help- from the vin thes should be a 2001! Chip

 

[jdc1244]

Yeah, figuring out those VINs can be as tricky as posting pics on BW…

 

[suprainhabit]

I'm not good at this-- another pic-

 

[white500se]

suprainhabit - 4/8/2006 8:57 PM

I'm not good at this-- another pic-

Pics have been coming thru fine. You're not kidding about the oxidation, shit that makes my 300SD look shiny. Possible you could buff some life back into it but I'm not sure how much, it'd at least look less drastic.

 

[suprainhabit]

I think that I've got it now- another

 

[suprainhabit]

front pic with droopy headliner- I've had a bunch of SAABs, so I'm used to this, nothing surprising yet. I'm hoping that they can come up with a key. I would really rather not order a key for $30 just to check it out further, but if I have to, I guess I will. My mechanic friend would rather deal with this than my SAAB 9000CSE turbo, though. It's all mostly old school. Thanks again, kids!

 

[suprainhabit]

I live only 2 blocks away and have seen this car for a while now. At a last resort, I'd put air in the tires, break the rotors free and deal with it at my house. Here's a pic of the grey market B pillar tag.