Mercedes-Benz Australia price list – July 1991

In 2020 it is easy to forget just how expensive Mercedes-Benz vehicles were in Australia before the increased competition from brands such as Lexus, Audi and the like. Additionally, Luxury car taxes were much higher in those days. In real terms, the cars were significantly more expensive.

Below is a Mercedes-Benz Australia price list from July 1991. There are a couple of interesting things that can be seen from this list. Firstly, the 190E 1.8 which is still quite expensive. It was replaced by the Australia only 180E that slotted in below a luxury car tax threshold making it an […]

560SEL further evaluation

After owning the 560SEL for a couple of weeks I’ve had a chance to spent a bit more time looking over the car. I’ve also had a few more opportunities to drive the car – covering about 150 km over the time. This is a lot less than I would normally want to do, but with COVID19 lockdowns, I can only drive the car for specific purposes such as driving to the shops to buy food.

First thing to do was to put the car up on the hoist and have a look underneath. The car was ordered with a […]

My new 1987 560SEL

I am now the second owner of a 1987 560SEL. I wasn’t looking for a new car, but I could not pass by the chance to get my hands on a one owner 560SEL. Unfortunately, as much as I like my 1986 300SE, that car will be for sale after things get back to normal. The 300SE will be a good car for somebody as I have spent a lot of time and money getting it right.

The 560SEL was purchased new by a Sydney business owner and was first registered in September of 1987. While it was primarily a […]

W126 Klima Relay

A week or so ago, I diagnosed that the likely cause of my non functional A/C in the 300SE was the W126 Klima relay. The second generation W126 went to a Klima relay to control the A/C compressor.

The W126 Klima relay is more of a control unit than a simple relay. It has multiple inputs that determine if the A/C compressor should not engage. These include:

During full throttle When the engine is very hot Invalid compressor speed (e.g slipping belt) Not enough coolant in the system

This additional functionality makes these relays more sensitive than the little silver […]

2400 mile road trip in an eBay 560SEC – Part 3

This is the third and final part of a series on my mad cross country dash in an eBay 560SEC. Part 1 covers the purchase and initial impressions of the car. Part 2 covers the drive from California to Missouri. I picked up my drive in Central Missouri and had about 750 miles to cover on the final day. On the first two days I had great weather but it started to deteriorate and I had on and off rain for the rest of the trip. The 560SEC handled it with aplomb but it made the driving more tiring and […]

2400 mile road trip in an eBay 560SEC – Part 2

This is part 2 of a description of a road trip I took back in March 2009. I was living in Michigan and purchased a 1988 560SEC in the LA area. I had to be out there for work so the plan was to drive the car around for the week to get familiar with it and then drive it back over the weekend. Part 1 covers the purchase, initial impressions and preparation for my 560SEC roadtrip.

At about 3pm on friday afternoon I set out on my 560SEC roadtrip. As I mentioned in the last meeting, I chose the […]