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This will likely be my last post on this forum. It really is a great resource and thanks to everyone who commented and helped me over the years. Unfortunately it’s time for me to move on.
After encountering another ABC issue (dist block as per my mechanic, but we all know one thing leads to another with ABC) I let the car sit for several months trying to decide what to do with it. We all know what happens when these cars sit. I bought a new battery - and after it went low in a couple of weeks, I had it charged at AutoZone and started the car this morning. It’s running rough (which I knew) as I had recently done the v12coilpack thing with a swapped transformer. It didn’t solve the rough running, and I didn’t want to get into replacing the coils so I’m going to sell.
Upon starting the car I was surprised to find so many errors and things not working. I’m attaching the report from my Autel. What I can readily see being an issue I’ll also list below.
Here’s the reason for my post. I’m planning to sell the car with full disclosure for someone knowledgeable to try and fix - or to part out. The car has low miles and the body and interior is in really good shape. The interior, engine and cars alone have to be worth something. But even if it cost $10K for someone to fix - this is an amazing car to own/drive. a couple of people have asked me what it would take to get it back on the road, and this is where I need help. Based on the issues listed and Autel report - how would you go about it? What might it take/cost? Again - no plans to do this myself - just trying to help inform a prospective buyer.
Thanks again to all.
Known issues (no particular order):
- listed malfunctions on the display: ABC, ESP, BAS, SRS, CEL, Distronic, Display defective, coolant low (its not). Maybe 1 or 2 more.
- right side from door - mirror is stuck in the retract position, window won’t operate.
- AC - panel lights up but no compressor engagement and the fan does not blow.
- sunroof “stuck”
- trunk pneumatic system not working. Pulled this apart to take a look at but did not progress as that’s when I ran into the ABC issue.
- radio display dark. Nothing working (eg radio, GPS) - system appears dead.
- I only ran the engine for a few minutes as it was running rough, but did not see the radiator fan come on.
Are some of the issues rated to others, or are they all independent? How would you go about addressing these issues if you were so inclined - and what would it cost?
you put in the most minimal effort to try to see what was wrong, a new battery and a voltage transformer that you could swap in five minutes. That is not gonna give you any insight. As you noted in your prior thread, you last replace spark plug seven or eight years ago, the car probably needs coil packs, and for the suspension it’s at least going to a distribution block if not a full conversion to coil over spring. As far as value, that was also answered the prior thread. If you want the most money, eBay is your best bet. You might get someone offering three to $4000. professional in the auto resale business won’t offer more than scrap value for this car.
look - you are one of the most knowledgeable people on this forum and have provided tremendous insight and assistance to many forum members, myself included. Your contributions to the MB owners community cannot be overstated.
With that said, my response to your reply is “not really”. Yes, I’ve been battling several issues for a few months. The reason for this post was that I was surprised by and trying to help inform any prospective buyer about several new issues that have popped up - and get a complete picture for someone.
I also did not ask what the value of the car is - but rather what the repair cost would be as I’ve been asked this by a couple of prospective buyers.
Thanks again for your assistance during the time of my ownership. I hope your day is going well.
Anyone asking you, those type of questions is not the right buyer. The only person who is going to buy this is someone who is already very experienced with the W-220 and already knows in their mind how much it is going to cost for them to fix. They will either have the skills to fix it themselves, or they will have a friend who is a mechanic. No one can take this car to a shop and have it repaired affordably, it will cost much more than the cost of the car. If you were trying to sell this to “average people” who don’t have any specialized Mercedes or V12 knowledge, and who think they are going to fix the car cheap and have a fancy car, they are going to be sorely disappointed. And they will be the type of problem, buyers who come back to you for selling them a piece of junk.
those are like the type of buyers who ask what kind of gas mileage the car gets, and then complains that a v12 uses a lot of gas. They are one step above tire kickers, and that they are dreamers who think they could get a fancy luxury car for cheap and fix it for cheap. We all know that is not going to happen.
to specifically answer what the repair cost would be is an impossible question, and you should know that by now, if you already have a parts car and can fix everything yourself, it could be zero dollars to fix. If you have to buy the parts new or used , it might be two or $3000 if you install yourself
. If you have to have a mechanic friend to do it, and pay for labor while you supply parts , it might be five or $6000. If you have to take it to a shop and pay their markup parts and labor prices it’s easily over $10,000
And while you shouldn’t be advising, prospective buyers on what to do, otherwise they will come back and complain If you give them wrong advice, the way I would go about fixing this car is as follows: I would rent both coils from v12icpack. I would get all new spark plugs. I would have my mechanic friend install all of this And see how it runs . If it runs good I would either repair the abc or convert to coil overs using strutmasters or ceika coilover kits. If still didn’t run right after new plugs coils and voltage transformer rental I would return the rentals and part the car out
My opinion is it will run well with new plugs and could, but that of course remains to be seen.
The “display panel” error was a surprise - radio/nav completely dark - as was the AC compressor/blower. The passenger door window and mirror are not working.
Do these point to the SAM, something else, or not enough info to tell?
It doesn’t matter . It may have water damage it may not . My bet is it probably does , but If you aren’t even willing to try spark plugs and rented coil packs nothing matters .
if you are telling prospective buyers it probably just needs spark plugs and they believe you , they’re deserving what’s coming to them
My intent is to fully disclose everything. Someone looked at the car. It started right up and ran fine - did not throw a CEL and did not run rough (though it did last time I started it). I explained that it had thrown a CEL and likely needed coils and plugs. I explained that the coils could be had from v12coilpack and that a good set of plugs could be $1000. I highlighted the other issues with the car - explained my experience with the ABC. However, I was caught off guard because I did not know of the AC and radio/display issue. It came across like I was lying or trying to hide something - which I obviously was not - and led me to the post so I could be more informed and help whoever shows interest in the car.
I agree with tusabes - trying to tell prospective buyers everything that is wrong with the car is a risky business, with little upside for you, and potentially large downside. Your sale, your car, your decision, but I would say something like - "The car has a lot of problems that could be expensive to fix. I don't know everything that is wrong, and have not gotten any estimates for repair costs. The car is for sale as-is, where-is, with no warranty of any kind."
Anyone asking you, those type of questions is not the right buyer. The only person who is going to buy this is someone who is already very experienced with the W-220 and already knows in their mind how much it is going to cost for them to fix. They will either have the skills to fix it themselves, or they will have a friend who is a mechanic. No one can take this car to a shop and have it repaired affordably, it will cost much more than the cost of the car. If you were trying to sell this to “average people” who don’t have any specialized Mercedes or V12 knowledge, and who think they are going to fix the car cheap and have a fancy car, they are going to be sorely disappointed. And they will be the type of problem, buyers who come back to you for selling them a piece of junk.
those are like the type of buyers who ask what kind of gas mileage the car gets, and then complains that a v12 uses a lot of gas. They are one step above tire kickers, and that they are dreamers who think they could get a fancy luxury car for cheap and fix it for cheap. We all know that is not going to happen.
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There's a lot of truth to that statement. I wouldn't want to sell my car to someone who knows absolutely nothing about them because there's good chance you'll be hearing from them again the first time something goes wrong. It happened when I sold my W208. Now that the newest W220 is 18 years old, things are going to inevitably fail just because they're at the end of their service life.
07-22-2024, 01:12 PM
