Greetings Everyone!
So my family has always loved Benz's. And I wound up with all the "best" ones somehow.. My first car out of high school was a sr20det swapped 240sx in 2001. I crashed that car within a year. I winded up with the family owned since new 1983 300sd and became a Benz diesel enthusiast during the fast and furious era.
I swapped out the suspension with h&r's and bilsteins and threw on the correct 16" bbs rs rims with et11 offsets.
I owned that car for around 12 years before I gave it back to my dad because I had 3 cars at the time and kept getting street cleaning tickets. I regret that because I after I gave it to my dad he let my half lil brother drive it and he got it impounded and never told anyone.
I kept the rims and sold them after holding onto them for almost a 6 years. I sold them in 2018 for $900 and a Leatherman because I originally wanted $1100 for them. I thought I made a killing cause I purchased them for $400 in the early 2000's. Prices on these rims have hit crazy numbers since then.
Fast forward to 2018 I get the Baby Benz from my uncle. 1987 190E 2.6 AMG kitted from the dealership off the showroom floor with 150k miles.
I drive the car for a month, take it on a road trip to wine country in Baja for a week then move to NYC.
My little brother (not the same one who got w126 impounded) cuts the springs on it, drives it once then it sits 4 years under a cover. He took care of it tho starting the car and keeping the battery tended.
I move back to LA, get the car back cause he has 7 cars and nowhere to store it covered. So I start restoring the 190e finally. Started by "lifting" the car with correct suspension and detailing the inside. All it need now is just a polish. (peep my gen 2.5 Montero and 240sx drivetrain swapped Datsun 620 chinook pop top camper)
So now its time for the 1992 400E my uncle is gave me.. super duper clean 86k miles always garaged with mushroom/ creme interior. I had to travel to Las Vegas to sort the car last week.
It sat for almost 6 years cause it was blowing out white smoke. Me and my brother instantly thought damn a head gasket... I take it to the big Benz specialist out in Vegas for a diagnostic. Im thinking the worst but nothing is gonna stop me from saving this car. They say it's old gas and needs new spark plugs, fuel filter, fuel regulator and I should do the rotors and pads. Total cost is $1900 I say yeah go ahead since these guys were the specialist and im unfamiliar with the m119 engine and the car was free. I was happy to pay that so I can drive the car back and not tow it. I almost bought some amg rims but held off…
The day Im scheduled to pick it up they call me and say it's still smoking and its the head gasket. They never diagnosed the car they just assumed. They said they would call me back for new estimate and haven't. I know its a big 20+ hour job.
The boss of shop was out of town and manager kept saying this never happens, tech messed up yada yada but I still gotta pay and can't contact the owner cause he's on vacation. I plan on towing the car back now and taking the Benz specialist to court, hate to do that but both friends with shops suggested that if they made me pay full price. Both of them also suggested to just pay half or just the price of parts on my car. Specialist shop still wants to charge me for botched diagnostic and full cost on labor as of now. Waiting for what they tell me Monday. My friend's with different shops say they can fix it but I might just have them 5.0 swap it because it seems like an easier job.
Glad I joined this forum, so much information here. Im trying to figure out the best solution to save this car. I was so excited to drive it back this week and post my working 400e on here but now im posting my broken 400e.
I’m keeping and restoring these 2 Benz for my family but I’m definitely not letting one of my nephews touch these cars til I’m dead. These 2 are keepers with deep history in my family and I’m proud to own them. I’m back on my benzo addiction. I need one more Benz so I can joke around and say “last week I was in my Otha Otha Benz.”
So my family has always loved Benz's. And I wound up with all the "best" ones somehow.. My first car out of high school was a sr20det swapped 240sx in 2001. I crashed that car within a year. I winded up with the family owned since new 1983 300sd and became a Benz diesel enthusiast during the fast and furious era.
I swapped out the suspension with h&r's and bilsteins and threw on the correct 16" bbs rs rims with et11 offsets.
I owned that car for around 12 years before I gave it back to my dad because I had 3 cars at the time and kept getting street cleaning tickets. I regret that because I after I gave it to my dad he let my half lil brother drive it and he got it impounded and never told anyone.
I kept the rims and sold them after holding onto them for almost a 6 years. I sold them in 2018 for $900 and a Leatherman because I originally wanted $1100 for them. I thought I made a killing cause I purchased them for $400 in the early 2000's. Prices on these rims have hit crazy numbers since then.
Fast forward to 2018 I get the Baby Benz from my uncle. 1987 190E 2.6 AMG kitted from the dealership off the showroom floor with 150k miles.
I drive the car for a month, take it on a road trip to wine country in Baja for a week then move to NYC.
My little brother (not the same one who got w126 impounded) cuts the springs on it, drives it once then it sits 4 years under a cover. He took care of it tho starting the car and keeping the battery tended.
I move back to LA, get the car back cause he has 7 cars and nowhere to store it covered. So I start restoring the 190e finally. Started by "lifting" the car with correct suspension and detailing the inside. All it need now is just a polish. (peep my gen 2.5 Montero and 240sx drivetrain swapped Datsun 620 chinook pop top camper)
So now its time for the 1992 400E my uncle is gave me.. super duper clean 86k miles always garaged with mushroom/ creme interior. I had to travel to Las Vegas to sort the car last week.
It sat for almost 6 years cause it was blowing out white smoke. Me and my brother instantly thought damn a head gasket... I take it to the big Benz specialist out in Vegas for a diagnostic. Im thinking the worst but nothing is gonna stop me from saving this car. They say it's old gas and needs new spark plugs, fuel filter, fuel regulator and I should do the rotors and pads. Total cost is $1900 I say yeah go ahead since these guys were the specialist and im unfamiliar with the m119 engine and the car was free. I was happy to pay that so I can drive the car back and not tow it. I almost bought some amg rims but held off…
The day Im scheduled to pick it up they call me and say it's still smoking and its the head gasket. They never diagnosed the car they just assumed. They said they would call me back for new estimate and haven't. I know its a big 20+ hour job.
The boss of shop was out of town and manager kept saying this never happens, tech messed up yada yada but I still gotta pay and can't contact the owner cause he's on vacation. I plan on towing the car back now and taking the Benz specialist to court, hate to do that but both friends with shops suggested that if they made me pay full price. Both of them also suggested to just pay half or just the price of parts on my car. Specialist shop still wants to charge me for botched diagnostic and full cost on labor as of now. Waiting for what they tell me Monday. My friend's with different shops say they can fix it but I might just have them 5.0 swap it because it seems like an easier job.
Glad I joined this forum, so much information here. Im trying to figure out the best solution to save this car. I was so excited to drive it back this week and post my working 400e on here but now im posting my broken 400e.
I’m keeping and restoring these 2 Benz for my family but I’m definitely not letting one of my nephews touch these cars til I’m dead. These 2 are keepers with deep history in my family and I’m proud to own them. I’m back on my benzo addiction. I need one more Benz so I can joke around and say “last week I was in my Otha Otha Benz.”
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