The usual suspension replacements
new battery at 265000 km.
New brake discs at 290000 km.
Had to get some rust damage underneath the car fixed.
Nothing big.
Great car. Extremely reliable. I never had a problem with it. Always started, even when cold. Didn't use any oil, and didn't have any leak. Nothing wrong at all. These twin-cam 2,8-litre engines are just indestructible. Very comfortable, even with a manual gearbox. Not the greatest performance, but OK. On highways it was quite good, actually. doesn't use as much fuel as one might think.
Hello I want to buy a car like yours w126 280 se from 1984 with automatic gearbox and I would like to know more about costs. The fuel consumption of you car and is it as reliable as they all say? This one has 220.000 km and is working good.
Rust:
Depending a bit on climate, to look out for rust is the most important thing. The inner wings, wheel arches, the bottom of the trunk, particularly around the rear windows (They often develop leaks there, and water leaks into the trunk area and causes the bottom of the trunk to rust badly). The bottom of all the doors have to be looked over for any rust. And around the clips that holds the plastic shields on the doors. Literally all W126-cars that have been exposed to salt, or even moist climate for a long period of time, will have rust problems, and the oldest ones, 80-85, aren't as well protected against rust from the factory as the models from 86-91.
Engine:
The engines are ultra reliable, but they are to run smooth with no black or blue exhaust, of course. The ticking-sound that can be heard in these engines is quite normal, and nothing to worry about, as long as the engine runs smooth. Very few engine parts that needs replacing, other than spark plugs, normally. And of course, it's important to replace the engine oil regularly (Every 10.000 km, I believe is the interval for these engines), however it might be a good thing to replace the oil at least once a year. And of course, to make sure to refill whenever necessary. I used mineral oil, not synthetic oil, and as a result it never leaked any oil at all.
Fuel efficiency:
These cars are not as fuel efficient as new cars, obviously. However, if you drive them responsively, they have considerably lower fuel consumption than the V8's of the same model type. I never measured mine, but I suspect it was about 1 litre pr. metric mile.
Performance:
It isn't great on 280's. And it is even worse on the 280 S, without fuel injection. So 280 SE is the best alternative. On highways they are usually sufficient in terms of performance. They were built for highways.
Running costs:
Depends on two things; how you treat it, and the condition of the car you buy. If you buy a car that has been well maintained and take good care of it, the running cost would probably be quite low for such an old car. However, whenever parts needs replacing, it costs a lot of money. So if you buy a car that has been abused by its owner, it might turn into an expensive affair.
They are very solid cars, and very few things go wrong, but they do need the normal replacements for heavy cars, such as suspension parts, well, most of them must be replaced sooner or later, given the fact that these cars are now very old cars. It is a good thing to find a car where these things have been done, because to replace everything will cost a small fortune - even without using original parts. Important to check the steering for any play. The steering boxes on these cars are very expensive to replace. Not an uncommon problem. The old Mercedes automatic gearboxes are rock solid. They are supposed to shift smoothly, though. The electrical system is also very good in general. The power door locks sometimes get problems, due to a leak in the vacuum tubes. It's easy to reveal a problem with this, however, as you will see that it doesn't unlock or lock all the doors.
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