Old Mercedes 1985

[MACH1]

Thinking of buying a Mercedes Benz, 500 SEC, Auto, B Reg,1985,117K miles, Excellent condition FSH,Anything i should look out for,will it run on unleaded and what are the running costs like.

[cruiser647]

Not much choice on running on unleaded I think. 4 Star is a rare commodity at garages. Unless you want to add those 4 star additive things each time.

Lovely car though, classy. Make sure the auto is a 4 speed, or you will really suffer on MPG and performance.

The ones I usually see, burn oil, so maybe they are not well looked after, or can't run properly on unleaded??? So watch for valve stems I suppose.

[steelwind101]

Hello,

We ran one of these for ages my house until about 1998 and i was pretty faultless. With regard the fuel, the main reason we got rid of it was b/c they stopped selling leaded near by and then it got harder to find garages selling it when we were out and about.

With regard the 3 and 4 speed, depending on the gearing you might find the 3 drinks the fuel at higher speeds. But personally i have never had a problem with performance on any of the 3 speeds i have driven. The gears seem to have such huge ranges that you never change and throw a brick at the pedal, hold the wheel tight and let rip!

My 106 also has a 3 speed and will reach just over 60 in first before it steps and if you hold it in "1" it will scream up to just under 70!

The 3's are truely a transmission to enjoy. Personally i always felt, atleast in terms of performance that the 4 speeds were not so good. Instead of having 3 extremely long gears, first always seems to be a bit limp and you never really get that "run" to the higher speeds. Mean while 5 seems to have plenty of changes and keeps you right on the money. Fours a bore! Over in the USA for most of the drags cars and straight line power cars have speciallly built triple speeds with 3 even larger gears then my 106!

Hehe! But as always say, im about the straight line drag and prehapes i spend too long with those muscel car fans when im in the States.

The SEC will do well as a unique car if you can get petrol. Do check also that the paintwork is good condition, i think they had some odd lacquer coats back then that tended to peel. Stick with the single stage even if its looking a bit pale you can bring it back.

Geoff