Mercedes 250S

Ok, so last night I was coming home from work and my apartment manager offered to sell me his 250S. I wanted to see it so I went to his house and there was minor rust along the door panel and the front emblem was missing. He told me the valve seal needs to be replaced but my dad is a volkswagen mechanic and he told me it would be no problem to fix that. The seats need to be recovered and the car has 58,000 original miles... clock still works
(It also has a sun roof)
He is the original owner.

Major problems: the manager is from thailand and he is hard to understand... he said it was a 1979 but I think that he means 1969 because the pictures of the 60's 250s are identical. I'm new to classic forign cars so please bear with me. Did Mercedes produce 79' 250S?

Please email me to help me out:
[email][email protected][/email]



He's selling for $400 immediately and needs an answer.

Should I go for it?

No i like more the mercedes W125.

Thanks for sharing your lack of knowledge!

Hi there Iced, and welcome to UCP. From waht I know (and I must confess I'm not a MB specialist) the 250S model W108/W109, was only produced between 65 and 72. The successor was the W116, wich was produced from 72 to 80.
It's a very nice car. And if there's not much wrong with it and you're into restoring and mantaining a classic car, that should be a trouble-free one. And the value of classic Mercedes is raising every day. To that you can had the argument that it is a car that allows you to make a trip in it, if you wish, with a level of comfort close to present cars.
It wouldn't be my choice as I tend to prefer classic sportscars, but I strongly encourage you to have your go into classics with that Mercedes if it is in as good condition as you say.

Good Luck for your business and we hope you enjoy UCP. We need more classic car enthusiasts! ;)

Thank you, That was the kind of reply I was expecting from a reputable source such as UCP.

Ooooo, hear that guys??
We are 'reputable'!!!
Congratulations all round.

[QUOTE=Suka]Ooooo, hear that guys??
We are 'reputable'!!!
Congratulations all round.[/QUOTE]

Obviously, some of us aren't! At least for the right reasons. :D:D:D

[QUOTE=McReis]Obviously, some of us aren't! At least for the right reasons. :D:D:D[/QUOTE]
Thanks for the vote of confidence.
I like to think of myself as fairly knowledgable about kit cars thank you.

Hi ICED. What McRies wrote is a fair summation of the Mercedes W108. If your example is a basically solid unit to start with, they aren't a bad car. If you fix any pre-existing defects and get it up and running to a good standard, they can still prove to be a dependable and likeable machine. W108/109 is considered the last of the 'classic' Merc models. Old Mercedes like these are particularly well built throughout and with care can almost last a lifetime. I've owned a 1970 280S floorshift-manual for about 5 years and am reasonably familiar with them, mine cost AUD$1500. Despite being in constant use for 35 years (ie: [I]well over[/I] 300,000 miles) mine is only on its second engine yet still runs well, uses no oil, never overheats, is very solid all round and has so far proven 100% reliable. In 9 years it never broke down on the previous owner either. I converted it to run on less-expensive LPG (propane) with no regrets. Acceleration is mediocre but once on the highway they cruise well even at high speeds, handle ok and ride very smoothly. In my country, parts are still easily obtainable and usually quite cheap. Some major engine parts can be pricey though. Maintanance is also quite cheap and straightforward to do, although like any old car they do require more regular servicing than newer vehicles. A good aftermarket workshop manual like a Haynes is useful

[QUOTE=iCeD]Ok, so last night I was coming home from work and my apartment manager offered to sell me his 250S. I wanted to see it so I went to his house and there was minor rust along the door panel and the front emblem was missing. He told me the valve seal needs to be replaced but my dad is a volkswagen mechanic and he told me it would be no problem to fix that. The seats need to be recovered and the car has 58,000 original miles... clock still works
(It also has a sun roof)
He is the original owner.

Major problems: the manager is from thailand and he is hard to understand... he said it was a 1979 but I think that he means 1969 because the pictures of the 60's 250s are identical. I'm new to classic forign cars so please bear with me. Did Mercedes produce 79' 250S?

Please email me to help me out:
[email][email protected][/email]



He's selling for $400 immediately and needs an answer.

Should I go for it?[/QUOTE]
Check out the rust a bit more. Look for other rust spots in essential places. If it's all clean then just buy it. It's a great car.