420SEL parts car – final update

The 420SEL was now at a point of diminishing returns.  I had removed all the parts I particularly wanted, and the car was just taking up space.   Body panels are bulky and I don’t’ really have room to store them.

I didn’t buy the parts car to make money, I bought it to save some parts I wanted.  The plan was to be able to sell some parts along the way.  I did that early on, but I had my time wasted so many times, I stopped and only sold to people I knew.

Before the car went to the scrap yard, I had a few more parts I wanted to remove.  The final window regulator and horns were quick and easy wins.   I then planned to remove the alloy wheels.  I have plenty of W126 wheels, so I was planning to sell them. While the car is gone, I still have the rear seat and rear bumper which are in OK condition to sell.  The door cards and associated parts are in good condition and I’ll try and sell those too.

However, I simply was not able to remove the lug bolts.  I tried with the longest breaker bar I had, and couldn’t make them shift.  I then got a air impact wrench, and they wouldn’t move either.   It seemed that they were staying with the car.

I then pulled the car out of the warehouse with the 560SEC.  I left the front bumper on, as it was in pretty poor shape.

Given I’ve had so much time wasted, I didn’t bother listing the rest of the car on facebook.  I just contacted one of those places that pay cash for your car.   The one I used was CarTakeBackAus.   The advertised quick and easy removals, which was what I wanted.

I filled in the details on their web form, being very clear what parts were removed and what was still there.  I uploaded photos and got a buy price of $500 which I accepted.   The company then sent me text messages where I confirmed what parts had been removed.  I sent them more details and more photos.   I was very clear I had removed the fuel injection system.

When the two truck driver came, there were two problems.   Firstly, he expected to be able to tow the car with the wheels on the ground.   Not going to happen on a W126, especially one with seized rear calipers.   Secondly, he was upset that there were parts removed from the engine, and said the max they could pay was $300.   I kind of expected this to happen as the reviews on the internet mentioned it.

It was a total bait and switch, but I wanted the car gone.  I told him I would take if they got rid of the car today.   They came back later with a different tow truck and my 420SEL is now gone.  It took me multiple messages and until Friday mid-morning before I finally got paid.

I probably wouldn’t do another parts car unless I really needed to.  It was great to have, but it took up too much space and was a lot of hassle dealing with time wasters.