LMFAO!
What a knob end!
And THIS is why im wary of 6.9's and was looking at 560SEL's although the few I have seriously looked at so far all seem to have suffered neglect and abuse anyway.
Tony, there really is no need to be vary of 6.9s. It's just a question of picking a well preserved and looked after specimen, preferable with a recent (!) history of maintenance and money spent on it. The majority of cars that come up for sale seem to suffer in various areas, primarily rust, slightly shabby and worn interiors, cracked dashes and obviously neglected exteriors. Just pick carefully, and you won't be sorry.
I bought Gleaming Beauty just on seventeen years ago, and paid $10,750.00, with no paperwork, no invoices, and no nothing from a dealer. It was the price that attracted me - well, actually it was advertised for $15K., at a time when the next cheapest came in at about $22K. Anyway, an inspection revealed a flaring gearbox (2nd to top), a good enough paint job, dark windows, and a slightly worn interior. The box, plus some faulty front air cells resulted in the dealer dropping the car down to the above quoted figure. I was stoked the way the car drove - it was unbelievable, and the mileage showing was, from memory, 204,000 kilometers. Some months later, I managed to acquire another 6.9 for very cheap money ($4K), with an excellent interior the same colour as GB, and the four rubber blocks. That interior is today still in GB and, still, in excellent condition.
So I guess if you pay a reasonable amount, and have a couple of spare cars (a la Oversize), you can cobble up a pretty good car for reasonable money. BTW, the box lasted about five years before it got the better of me - in fact, I did up back in the year 2000, together with another 6.9 box which is now in the hands of Ofontenay, one of our fellow members. The engine has had a valve grind and de-coke, quite comprehensively detailed in another thread (three years ago ?), and from engine and box perspective, and diff, the car is running faultlessly. I know I have gone off topic a little, but I am trying to illustrate that one can, in fact, place a great deal of faith in a 6.9. Just use your head, common sense, and a bit of knowledge. Regards Styria
