1990 Mercedes 560 SEC - comments, etc...
 

Anyone know about these cars? Heard they have a bit of a following; I can get one pretty cheap, $2K. Everything works and it's loaded, just faded paint.

Mercedes are pretty solid cars, I believe. What's your experience?

Not sure about that model Mercedes.I do know it was one of the cars Patrick Swayze drove in the movie "Roadhouse". I really liked that look,that's why i remebered it.Possibly this is part of the reason it has a good following. I know my neighbor/hi-end mechanic says certain Mercedes are bullet proof and parts can be had cheaper now from parts jobbers for maintenance purposes.

I've got a buddy who has a grey market one of these. It's a great riding, driving car that he's not had a lot of problems with. I can't comment on the drivetrain tho as his is completely different from the domestic version.


Mike

How is the drivetrain different?

I dove a friends 560 around Reno area for about a week 15years ago. Loved that car. It's what i wanted my GTO to be when it grew up.

Good car. If it has over 100k miles check and see if timing chain and guides were replaced. When the chain jumps it will bend the valves. Also check the trans for harsh shift into reverse.

I had a 500SEL and it was a great car, but it only had about 50k on the clock. Those SEC's are very sharp cars. After having three M-B's, I've sworn them off (not that I had any real problems with the ones I had) but that is the only one I would consider.

it does not comply with US emission stds. I had a breif discussion with him about it when he bought the car and Don't remember the specifics. If you want them I'll call him and ask.

Mike

not sure what you mean; it will pass smog, right?
If you can find out the details, I would appreciate it.
Thanks.

Very nice and solid cars that are an absolute pleasure to drive comfort and performance wise. The price seems really low for a good car.

However, as the car is quite advanced from the engineering side for its time (even though 1990 is a late model) it is helpful to check for a really good and complete maintenance record. Otherwise it could become quite expensive really fast.

The transmission should shift really smooth and firm through all gears (including reverse). Harsh shifting or slipping gears are a sure sign for expensive repairs.

Check the body for corrosion on all ususal areas and additionally look from the trunk to the area below the rear window (a bit difficult to look at but really worth the effort as it is a chronic rust area that is difficult to repair).

Check that all electric equipment is working, especially the air condition - the automatic temperature control tends to fail and then again - expensive repairs...

Check the cold motor for noises after starting. If there is a ticking that vanishes after a short wile, you have one or more damaged hydraulic lifters. If the ticking does not vanish you might have damaged camshafts - a not so unususal problem.

Check for excessive play or oil leakage from the steering gear...

All rubber parts on the front and rear axle should be carefully examined. Some of them tend to wear out and not all are easy to replace.


All in all the cars are good for many many miles. So a high mileage with good and proven maintenance could be no problem at all. However even cars with low miles were a previous owner was saving on maintenance costs can become a very expensive toy...

Hope this helps...

Helge

The biggest thing was that Grey market cars generally didn't have catalytic converters, or even provisions for adding one. Their ECUs were different, they often had higher compression and in some cases a hotter cam. I drive an old grey market BMW that was brought into the country in the 1980s; to meet US emissions standards a catalytic converter was added, along with an O2 sensor and some hacks to the car's computer so it would accept the O2 sensor signal.

They also had to add/change a bunch of things to meet safety standards - beams in the doors and reinforcements in the bumpers for collision protection, change the headlights and window glass to DOT spec parts, change the speedometer from km to miles, and so on.

Bought a 87 560SEL new. Drove it for six years and put about 40K miles on it. Never had a problem with it. The only thing I didn't like about it was it didn't have an overdrive transmission. Don't know if they did in 1990. Other than that I liked the car very much. Jon

TMK, grey market cars are exept from emissions testing due to their non compliance.

All of the interior labelling is in German, the lighting controls, HVAC, Radio ect.

His Uncle and cousins dealt in these cars for yrs both domesitic versions and Imports.

When Ii see Gregg I'll ask him the specifics.

Mike

It depends on when they were imported...back in the mid to late 1980s when importing brand new grey market cars was popular, before you could put them on the street they had to be modified (or Federalized as it was called) to meet EPA as well as DOT requirements. Once that was done and they were declared US legal, if you had yearly emissions testing in your area they fell under the same rules as any other car.

On the other hand, nowadays there's a provision in the law that allows cars 25 years old or older to be imported without having to make any modifications.

Both of his grey market are / have been non emissions.

Mike

US got the larger 5.6 V8, European ones were 5.0 V8s. the 5.6 is a great engine, but make sure the anti freeze was maintained. It's a much better engine then that POS 3.8 which had a crappy timing chain design. A 560 is the kinda car that can go 130 + all day.

5.0 is what's in My buddy's car, I'm thining it's mechanical Fuel injection also but won't swear to that until I talk to him. It RUNS GOOD, a LOT better than his cousin's Domesstic version. His car also has composite headlamps while domestics weren't in the same yr.

Mike

It was a fabulous car........15 years ago.

Stay away from it; it'll eat you alive.

I have always loved that body style. If I could find one cheap, I would put a American V-8 in it. Here in NC, 95 and below only have to pass a safety inspection...

From what he told me this morning, It's a minimum of higher compression and hotter cams.

The emision system will not comply to US stds unless it's been converted when imported, some were some weren't.

He's had both and the valueis roughly the same for comparable condition.

For the money he said you should buy the one mentioned above as it's a steal if it's in any shape at all. He gave 3500 for his last one and it was wrecked when he bought it. He recently sold it for just under 10.

MIke