Just bought a Mercedes, have any advice for me?

Question

Ok, I'm 16, and this is my second car (1st one blew a head gasket). So I bought a Mercedes (1983 380SEL) It has 180,000 miles on it. But I know that it will go for another 150,000 with no problem. Its in Perfect condition, and runs great. Tranny is fine. Do you have any advice for me in terms of how I should maintain it, etc.?

Thanks in advance!

PS, live In wisconsin, so lots of snow and ice. we get a lot of cold temps up here too. Its not a Diesel.

Answer 1

Id check the suspension. I think that year has air adjustable. Total PITA to fix.

Answer 2

In general, I agree with Don't Look Back. Preventative maintenance is everything. Change your brake fluid every two years and use only MB fluid or similar. You should also change your timing chain @ 100,000 miles. The biggest vulnerability here are the timing chain guide rails. I just did a 420 with 189,000 on it. Two guide rails failed and it cost $1250 in labor plus parts. This car did not use Mobil One; it should have. What I recommend is remove your valve covers and use a chemical called Power Tune, found at the Mercury boat store. Spray all debris found around valves and cam with this, and the varnished oil will "float" away. Do the same with the oil tubes you find here.. This is preventative maintenance. If you are lucky, the previous owner used synthetic and you won'T have to de-sludge it. Mercedes were designed to run at high Autobahn speeds and not get hot. Do not coddle these cars, drive aggressively. They need to be exercised to keep things moving. It is NOT a Pinto.. Use only MB coolant, and try to learn a little about the fuel injection system by buying a Haynes manual. Read the fuel section about 4 times to get a grip. The injectors in these cars float air around the injector pintels to mix fuel efficiently. I enjoy removing the injectors and clean them by hand, but you don't really need to do this. Make sure that the air mixture bowl is o clean that you can eat off of it. Spray it with Gum-out. Typically what I do is with the engine running, loosen the fittings on the fuel injection metering box, one at a time and re-tighten, to allow debris in the fuel system to purge itself. Use Mobil gas as much as you can, it really does keep the engine clean. Good Luck!!!

Answer 3

quite a big car for a 16y old, have you got a lycence for it.:-))
anyway, you need to use a thin synthetic oil if you want to keepthe engine alive or longer at that milage, use a good castrol 30-10 at those temps and exchange the oil filte, you don' know, just how good prevous maintanance has been!
these steps are essential, as these high performance engines don't tolerate oils that brakes up after 2000k!
i. e the cheap super-marketstuff for $10 or so!

they are also fairly sensible tonon-original or insufficient anti-freeze (you just had the problem) and you should add an
agent to prevent corrosion:

in the 380, water-temp readings schould be 80C+ in all conditions after about 20min operation, no matter whether
ar-con is on or not..

bll joints are sealed and lubrication is not necessary there.

as soon as you have the time, cheque the oil level in
the rear differential, sometimes leakes.

there is a large filter in the auto, that is asily rplaced, and the auto-oil does not live for ever, just listen to the gear change, it should be smoth and without noise.

otherwise these cars are fairly care-free, the 380 and 420
have no thermal problems normally.
the 500 and the 560 even more so have, part. with
air-con on.
oil pressure should not drop below 1.0 acc do benz
but I prefer ist to be at 2.0 or just below at idling speed.

all the bst with the car..

Answer 4

Wow, I haven't been contributing to Yahoo! answers for long, but I must say that all the answers so far are quite bad.....almost total crap- especially the guy that told you buy a Honda. Bet he's never been in an accident with his Honda! You made a good decision on purchasing this old MB. I will let you know how I've kept my fleet of MB's running for a very long time and not spend a ton of money......
FIRST THING: CHANGE YOUR OIL EVERY 3OOO MILES!
Do not use synthetic at this point! It will only cause your car to leak all over the drive way and you'll be spending your extra money trying to stop all those leaks & on cat litter.
Use quality oil like ELF or Mobile. And use a high quality filter such as Mahle or Bosch. Same goes for your air and fuel filters.
You can buy OEM quality parts at 5% above wholesale at this site:
http://www.autohausaz.com
I use them ALL the time and have saved tons of money on my cars.
You can also check out http://www.mercedessource.com
These guys/girls are the best! They have helped me out many times when I'm in a bind and can't figure out my cars issues.....(only because I have many cars, not that my cars have many problems)
Tell Kaia at Mercedes Source that Kevin from Colorado sent you.

Also, don't use Japanese spark plugs in your German car. Go with Bosch every time! The platinum +4's are good, but for the money, the platinum 2's are just fine.
When you change your oil, make sure to use BG MOA in the oil. This will keep your lifters from sticking and give you much better performance and mileage.
Use a high quality PREMIUM gas. No less than 92 octane. If you have the ability to use 100 octane, then use it. My S320 got 30% better gas mileage and only cost 20% more. HMMM.....seems like a good thing to me. And oh, what performance on the road!

Use the Autohaus AZ site to buy all your service parts. They carry just about everything you need to keep your Benz running tip top and for less than taking the car to Jiffy Lube.

Find an independent Benz mechanic in your area. Ask them if they mind that you bring in your own parts (oem quality) for any repairs they do. Some mechanics won't let you do this. That's okay, they just don't want your car taking up time on their lifts because you brought in the wrong parts. If you know what you need ahead of time, then you should be good. Most items on your SEL are easy to do, such as oil changes, suspension replacement, etc.

Hope this information keeps your Benz lasting a lifetime.
Treat your car well and it will do the same in return. I should know, I recently sold my first car from '83. It had 1.2million miles on it and still going strong! It's a diesel, but the gas engines should last half as long as the diesel ones.

Best of luck.

Answer 5

Mobil 1 Synthetic 0W-40 is excellent oil, also DELO-400 15W-40(both outstanding for your engine). The DELO 400 can be bought at virtually any Chevron or parts store in gallon sizes.

NGK or DENSO Iridium Plugs will boost MPG, and slightly enhance performance.
K & N filter is good if you don’t want to buy a new air filter every 15-20K miles.
Stay AWAY from Jiffy Lubes, Econo-lubes, etc. Made in China filters. 30W crap oil, sheared bolts, etc. Get to know your car with a proper manual.

RED-LINE sells what is known as WATER-WETTER, and provides better heat transfer from the block-head to the outside world(hence lower temps). NEVER buy an aftermarket oil filter for your car, such as FRAM, etc. Go to a MBZ dealer, and buy 3-6 oil filters which are designed for THAT car. They should cost 6-10 each, and while you’re at it, order a tranny filter. Then drain your old fluid and replace with MOBIL 1 ATF SYNTHETIC (which is Mercon/Dextron Applicable), and you tranny will love it, especially on those cold mornings. It also shifts smoother, reducing wear and tear on the tranny.

If you have not already done it, replace the Brake fluid as well. Old brake fluid will do very bad things to a braking system.

Remember…preventative maintenance is the key to keeping you car healthy for a LONG time. Write down you VIN before you go to the MBZ dealer so when you order parts, they have something go on.

I also go to Car-Quest to obtain FACTORY parts such as cap/rotor, brakes and save a ton over the dealer, and avoid 2nd or 3rd rate discount parts which are garbage.

Good luck!

Answer 6

That's one nice car you've got there. Just keep up the maintenance, check your timing belt, starter and brakes. It will run for a very long time. Don't buy a Japanese car, they only look and run good for 4 years. Mercedes are classics.

Answer 7

Besides you getting a second and third job, proper maintenance at the earliest recomended interval. Use ALL synthetic fluids, watch tire pressure, do not use as only car or you will not own long.

Answer 8

I recommend you get a newer japanese vehicle. It takes a lot of cash flow to keep an old german car on the road.

Answer 9

srry, but what it comes to older cars and snow i think ur best bet is a Volvo, no a Saab, both, but your Merc should do pretty good. Parts might get a little pricy if not serviced correctly, but other wise you picked a great car, ENJOY!!!!

Answer 10

It's a great car. Just keep good tires on it and keep the maintenance up on it. Enjoy the ride.