Burton Posted December 13, 2012 Report Share Posted December 13, 2012 Picked this up a few months back. I needed a 4 door car to haul the new baby around in. I had been looking at Japaneese luxury cars and a few SUVs, but had a small budget, so I was looking for something that ran great but looked horrible. I found a few that fit the bill looks and price -wise, but even those still had some various mechanical issues. I don't like messing with that stuff, so I kept searching. I do body and paint work for a couple of brothers who own an RV sales place. One of the brothers is also a co-owner of a wholesale car lot, so I asked him if they had anything like what I was looking for. He said they did, but he personally had a car that was better that he was thinking about selling because he didn't need it anymore. He wanted $4500 for it, which was about $1500 more than my budget, but then he told me that I didn't have to give him any cash because he had 2 trucks that needed full paint jobs, and he'd just trade me. It was a car he bought for his ex girlfriend, and when they broke up he repo'd it and would drive it from time to time. He also had a bunch of work done to it...pretty much everything that commonly goes wrong with these cars was repaired, so it should be very reliable for many miles to come. It has 113,000 miles on it, and other than a little failing window tint and the headliner material coming off the sunroof shade, it really didn't need much at all. There are a couple dents and dings, and one small scratch, but otherwise the body and paint are in such good shape that I don't even feel it warrants any body and paint work yet. I don't plan to do much to it. I already re-tinted it. I'll probably swap the muffler with something with some nice tips, change the rims and tires, and get a more aggressive looking front bumper cover. I may do something different with the grille too...maybe a AMG unit. I thought about a rear spoiler too, but the stuff on the market for these cars is kinda lame, so I'm either gonna leave it, or I may make my own at a later date, then copy and sell them. I'm even leaving the stereo as-is other than adding on Sirius. Normally, I'm not a big fan of Bose systems, but the one in this car is starting to change my mind. This thing has some pretty cool toys too. It's an extended wheelbase version so there's TONS of space in the back seat. These were designed to be executive cars and give the occupants plenty of room without having the flamboyancy of a full-on limo. Power everything including seats and headrests, a motorized rear sunshade, heated seats, fold-in mirrors, and double-thick saftey glass. They do it for sound deadening, but they also say it will stop a 9mm round. I'm tempted to test that one, but I can bet a replacement piece of glass for this car is not cheap. Anyway... here she is.... http://www.26liter.us/gallery/albums/userpics/10126/488.jpg http://www.26liter.us/gallery/albums/userpics/10126/100_2298.JPG http://www.26liter.us/gallery/albums/userpics/10126/100_2299~0.JPG http://www.26liter.us/gallery/albums/userpics/10126/100_2293~0.JPG Here's some more outside pics, but this is before I re-did the tint..... http://www.26liter.us/gallery/albums/userpics/10126/100_2289~0.JPG http://www.26liter.us/gallery/albums/userpics/10126/100_2290~0.JPG I'm a little leary about owning this car for a couple reasons... I worry about the cost of parts/repairs when I do have to fix something, but since it already had stuff fixed and I got it so cheap, I couldn't really pass it up. Realistically, I got about $1500 in materials into the two truck paint jobs, and the rest of it is just my labor. Something could catastrophicly fail tomorrow and I could still sell it as-is for probably $3-4k. The other issue is it's a little bit too classy for a guy like me. I've had a few people give me confused looks when they see me with my bald head, ear rings, and paint stained and ripped shorts and t-shirts come climbing out of the driver's seat. I also caught myself head-banging to Quiet Riot on the radio a few weeks ago while enjoying that Bose system. There's something wrong with a bald dude who's almost 40 headbanging in a car that cost over $90k when it was new LOL Well, that's about it for now. I'll update as needed, but like I said, I don't plan to do much to it. Thanks for looking! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cloud81918 Posted December 13, 2012 Report Share Posted December 13, 2012 What year? It looks nice. Pelicanparts.com now has a Merc store. I've use them for BMW stuff and I've always been happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nomad Posted December 13, 2012 Report Share Posted December 13, 2012 It looks great. Ive always like big body benz's. The only gripe I have about that car is the lower lens in the tail light assembly has always looked pink to me. I bet you could work up a tint for that and make it look cooler. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jisleyjr Posted December 13, 2012 Report Share Posted December 13, 2012 That is a sharp looking car! Too nice for you? nah, you need to treat yourself once in awhile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasQuest Posted December 13, 2012 Report Share Posted December 13, 2012 Man you stole that thing! Looks to be in great shape for it's age. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creakyjoints Posted December 13, 2012 Report Share Posted December 13, 2012 Theres a good reason these high end cars sell so cheap. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burton Posted December 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2012 It looks great. Ive always like big body benz's. The only gripe I have about that car is the lower lens in the tail light assembly has always looked pink to me. I bet you could work up a tint for that and make it look cooler. Yeah, I hate that strip at the bottom of the tails too. That is actually something I plan to fix the next couple of weeks. I did lay some of the dark tint vinyl I have over it, and it just wan't enough. Now I'm thinking I'll lightly spray tint the backup light area, paint the rest of the strip black, and then clear over it all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Posted December 13, 2012 Report Share Posted December 13, 2012 That S series is sweet. When I was stationed at SHAPE Belgium the 4 star general was driven in a fortified one of those. When we would fly him to a meeting they would take us for lunch in it. What a ride! Enjoy it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
screemin eagle Posted January 13, 2013 Report Share Posted January 13, 2013 Sell it and buy something from Japan. More money to keep that U boat on the road than its worth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Technology Posted January 14, 2013 Report Share Posted January 14, 2013 lol U boat. Pretty sweet ride. DOHC v8? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burton Posted January 22, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2013 Sell it and buy something from Japan. More money to keep that U boat on the road than its worth. I have to disagree. As of now, it has had all the common issues with these cars replaced, at a substantial cost to the previous owner. It's worth about $8k as it sits, and I've only got about $1500 out-of-pocket cash into it, the rest is just my time for a couple paint jobs (about $3k worth if I was going by my standard rate). If the car starts failing, I'll flip it before things get bad, and I'll probably still come out ahead. If it fails catastrophically, I can still sell it broke or part it out, and still get all my cash back, and may even make some money on my time. I was originally gonna get a $3k Lexus/Infinity/Acura, but I gotta say I have a whole lot more reliable car here than I would have if I got a $3k luxo-Jap car. Pretty sweet ride. DOHC v8? Yep, 4.2. It's fairly potent for such a big boat of a car. At first I thought it was a dog... It seemed to have power everywhere but on takeoff. Then I realized the winter driving setting was on which makes the car start out in second gear. Once I turned that off, I was pleasantly suprised how well it takes off LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viper1355 Posted January 22, 2013 Report Share Posted January 22, 2013 Wouldn't be my first choice at full price, but for the deal you got it for, that's pretty sweet. I have a friend with a CLK230 Kompressor, and those are nice cars. He's never had a problem with his. My experience with them is that as long as they're reasonably well maintained they will be reliable Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burton Posted January 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 Yeah, that's why when I saw all the common stuff had been fixed and the car was maintained by the local Benz dealer for the past 5 years, I figure as long as I keep up the maintenence, it should be good for quite a while. Luckily, I don't drive it much. I've had it a few months now, and I've barely put 1000 miles on it. It's not the sort of car I'd normally choose either. I wanted something with better mileage, and deffinately wasn't looking for something this big. Even after my friend offered the deal to me, I still wasn't sure I wanted something like that. He told me to take it home for the weekend and drive it around, and after that, I was hooked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burton Posted April 9, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2013 (edited) Finally got around to getting rid of that ugly strip of rose colored plastic across the back.... http://www.26liter.us/gallery/albums/userpics/10126/005~2.JPG It looks so much better, but now I think the back looks less like a Benz and more like a BMW Edited April 9, 2013 by Burton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmyers151 Posted April 9, 2013 Report Share Posted April 9, 2013 Nice garage burnout! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burton Posted April 9, 2013 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2013 LOL thanks! The concrete in there is so damn smooth, it's hard not to. There's about a 1.5" step up from the driveway gravel to the concrete, and when I back the cars in slowly, the front tires hang up on that bump and the rears just let loose. Of course, not all of the burn marks are from that . I laid a sweet patch with the Starion in there saturday night when I brought the cars in after a party. On a related note.... I recently did my first brake stand in the Benzo.... One tire fire! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmyers151 Posted April 9, 2013 Report Share Posted April 9, 2013 Hahaha, we do "shop-outs" whenever possible. Be careful of doing them for too long, it starts to peel the concrete up in little flakes, lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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