Unfortunately, these photos don’t really illustrate much, but... nothing in these pictures would deter me. Rubber bits, seals and bushings fail; that is a fact. Moisture from exhaust sits in the muffler and rots it from the inside out. No problem. Replace the muffler. Rust on the body? Rot? Driven on salted roads? That’s a pass for me.

You know the car needs to be refreshed. Does the price reflect that? Will you be doing the work yourself or hiring a mechanic? Is this your first old Merc? Expect to spend a lot of money in repairs. Often more than the car is “worth”. Imo you should not consider a 107 an investment of any sort, or even hope to “make your money back”. All stuff to consider.

 

Thanks, @frazierfrazier these are all great points to consider. The car has been in Washington and Idaho so I'm a little concerned on the salted roads as well.

 

Do you have any pics of the rust or a description of how bad and deep it goes? like the poster above all this stuff isn’t a big deal and can be done by you but if you do pay to have this done it will cost a pretty penny as everything does with these cars but if the price is right and the rust is very minor I’d probably still go for it.

 

I only received a verbal from the seller that there was 'minor rust'. Will need to get my own inspection done to see what the real condition is.

Looking to have a mechanic do the majority of the work some expect to pay quite a lot to bring the car back to an ok standard. The current owner is looking for $15k which seems quite high considering the condition.

 

A couple of additional photos of the exterior, interior, and the cracked dash.

 

I just bought a similar car, 88 560 with about the same quality paint, has a couple cracks on dash like yours, my seats were a little more worn and the steering is sloppy but pretty much besides the seats and steering they seem on par and I paid $10k. Not saying yours isn’t worth more than what I paid, just wanted to give you a data point.

 

Thanks

Super helpful, thanks @BayAreaBenz. I was thinking the $9 - $11k range makes it worthwhile, otherwise pretty overpriced given the maintenance needed.

 

15k for this car? do not pull the trigger.

 

Yep, the seller was being very optimistic about pricing. Would need to be close to the $10k mark to make it worthwhile.

 

It looks like a nice car, does have low mileage which will bring the price up. Wear looks normal but its at a point where it needs to be addressed. I'm going to guess it also needs subframe, engine mounts and flex disks. Not $15K

What's with the blue stuff on the transmission.

 

Great question on the blue stuff, it wasn't called out in the sellers' report - will have to follow up. You are right on the engine mounts needing replacing in the near future (photos attached).

 

I live in Idaho. where in Idaho is it located? Looks like a lot of deferred maintenance. Get a shop estimate and use that as your bargaining tool.

 

Hey @Alphasud30 the car is in Kuna, about 30 mins outside of Boise. Any chance you have a recommendation on a shop in that area that might be able to do a pre-purchase inspection and provide an estimation on the work needed?

 

What do you figure it’ll cost to fix a majority of the bushings and leaks? Hopefully the rust is minimal . And it’s a 560.

 

Depend highly on where you go to have it serviced and weather or not you do it yourself. You will also want to check the AC functions correctly. Make sure cold air comes out the center vents, defroster vents are working correctly, Side and leg area vents are working. Replacement of the vacuum pods to fix these issues require removal of the dash board and disassembly of the heater box. This is very costly and very likely for your year and mileage. Good to know if he has any service records to see if any of this was serviced as well as the timing chain. You can easily put another $30K into this car using the dealer to do everything, or you could do most the stuff yourself for about $2K to $5K using aftermarket parts. A lot also depends on how you do things. Want to get a new dash board? I doubt they are still available but last time I looked into it about 15 years ago they were $2500. Or you can get a plastic cover for about $150 which really look authentic.

 

Ask for pictures inside the blower box (remove cover at rear of engine bay) and for pictures of the battery tray. Those are common rust areas.

Andy

 

Thanks @andya will do.

 

I agree the ask is high - two additional questions: has the timing chain been updated (likely due) and ask for a picture of the rust - I have heard these guys rust inside to out so a minor rust bubble may indicate something major. At that price I would expect zero rust.

 

The current owner isn't sure about the timing chain as they inherited the car. Would a mechanics inspection be able to tell if the timing chain and guides had been replaced?

 

From the limited pics, I don't see any red flags. If it were driven on salted roads the components on the undercarriage would show a lot more rust, but they look pretty good to me. The seller says "minor rust." Well, that's subjective, so I'd want to see photos of the lower body and rockers, as well as outboard areas of the undercarriage. The leaks could be from numerous sources or maybe just ancient valve cover gaskets leaking badly. Of course, seals for components such as power steering pump are likely seeping, but if not dripping wet, I wouldn't worry about that for the use and intention you described. Yes, $15k is optimistic pricing for that car in that condition and mileage. Maybe by about a third high, mostly due to all the deferred maintenance. Unless there's anything hidden, I don't see any reason to run away unless he won't negotiate the price.

 

Checking under the battery box as already recommended is a good spot to check. I always look inside the fenders up high toward the fire wall as well as the trunk wells. The other thing I look at is the radiator. Rust can eat $ up as as well as metal. Most of the bushings can be DIY and can be a very satisfying part of owning and working on your car. Timing chain and motor work is a much higher level of DIY and if done by pros can be big money.

 

Those chrome wheel arch covers are known to be water traps and consequently can cause rust damage. I’d want to see what’s under them.

I also wouldn’t want to start it up unless I knew the timing chain guides had been replaced. We had a posting some years back about a 107 someone bought that didn’t even make it out of the seller’s driveway because the engine self-destructed when they started it for the first time.

 

Those chrome wheel arch covers are known to be water traps and consequently can cause rust damage. I’d want to see what’s under them.

I also wouldn’t want to start it up unless I knew the timing chain guides had been replaced. We had a posting some years back about a 107 someone bought that didn’t even make it out of the seller’s driveway because the engine self-destructed when they started it for the first time.

I'm guessing it's not possible to see what's under the arches without removing them? I've seen a few posts about people needing to drill out rivets etc in order to get them off (something I won't be able to do pre-purchase).

 

My advice:

• Check for Rust and any other issues. Rust to me is a very good reason to look for another example.
• If you are going to hire out the work rather than doing it yourself, run away because this is a serious money pit.
• If you are a DIYer, great, but look for a much lower price.

 

Unless I am seeing things in the pic, it looks like the passenger side wheel trim is off and it looks like rust that has been chemically treated and turned black. Maybe I am just seeing things. Some folks are fans of the chrome wheel trim, some are not. I am in the later but that is just me. If that is rust that area can be tricky to repair the bumper and body trim should be removed to do a proper job. That is if there is rust and that only on the side we can see.

 

Unless I am seeing things in the pic, it looks like the passenger side wheel trim is off and it looks like rust that has been chemically treated and turned black. Maybe I am just seeing things.

You are. It's a reflection on the fender trim.

 

I somehow hadn't noticed that in the photo. Sure does look like something is off. Will get it checked out this week.

 

The only exterior photo I see is Exterior 01.jpg of the passenger side. Both trims are in place. These are the type I had that only reach to the top line of the beltline trim (the door moldings). The wheel well trim doesn't go all the way to the top of the rockers. What I'm seeing at the rear wheel is normal road rash at the lower rear fender edge under the bumper. The area behind the front wheel looks great. But close up photos will provide you with that detail.

 

I recommend you buy a car that you can see in person first. There are too many ways to get burned and photographs can hide a lot. For example see the picture I posted over the weekend to my "Deep Cleaning" thread. You can't see the big hole in the driver's floor mat because of the angle. OK, that is easily fixed but you get the idea.

Andy

 

Another thing you want to see is the condition of the soft top. I’d bought mine with the hard top still on but the seller had replaced the soft top. He had the receipts and photos so I wasn’t too worried about it. However, the seal around the soft top compartment was failing, so I had to replace that to keep water from getting in there and ruining the top.

 

Rust always rust with these things.

Timing chain and guides is the next

Rest is usually bomb proof.