Im thinking of buying a 1986 Mercedes 240sel with 117 K miles.. Do they need much maintenance?

Question

Is it a good purchase for $3000? Do they need a lot of repairs? How reliable are they?

Answer 1

depends on previous maintenance and how you drive it..but beware Mercedes is a high priced name... parts that you need to replace will be spendy and most of the time will have to be shipped from overseas

Answer 2

The biggest problem with a 1986 merc is rust. It will most likely appear under the rubber strips that run along the length of the car at the bottom of the doors and around the rear window.
The engine will go forever, but any perishable parts (hoses, seals etc) will need replacement.
Repairs are very expensive for any engine parts but low cost for things like brakes.

Answer 3

There is a reason it is only 3K! The maintenance on these cars is tremendous. Do some research before you make your purchase. Also check the blue book value @www.kbb.com

Answer 4

this is a cute car, these other guys are right to be concerned about repair costs. understand that this is the cheapest car that benz offered this year, and i mean cheapest in both ways. i love the little 240 series cars, but one this old is just a gamble. 3k doesn't seem like a lot to pay for this car... you may be wise to wonder why this car is being sold.

Answer 5

Mercedes is a very good car, but also very expensive on parts when thigns go wrong as well.
I own a Mercedes Benz 250SL and I am here to tell you that if you want that car for $3,000.00 jump on it, if it is in good condition.

Answer 6

very safe car, very expensive to maintain. Stop by a dealership and get a price list of the basic repairs, then go buy a Toyota.

Answer 7

Mercedes run forever they are good cars, but extremely expensive to fix!! as for the price check http://www.kbb.com/ and it will tell you exactly how much that bad boy is worth...