If you are talking about a real so-called petrolhead, then you are talking about, for example, the owner of this week’s Klokje Rond car: Paul van der Meer from Leimuiden. He eats, drinks and sleeps in cars. He just never made it his job, because Paul was a real estate entrepreneur.
“Good God, what is this again? Well, damn it still needs to be done!” Paul arrives at Carrec in Soesterberg and only then sees an ugly scratch on the back, on the right side of the long S. “This was not there yet. I swear, what is this again!” An unknown scratch is every car enthusiast’s nightmare. Crime scene: Leimuiden.
House in France
Back to the order of the day: the story of Paul and his Mercedes-Benz 500 SEL. “That is a story in itself. The car comes from Mannheim, Germany and was driven by a professor. In 2008, the car was imported by a Dutch Mercedes-Benz youngtimer specialist,” says Paul. That specialist sold this SEL to a Dutch enthusiast. “He was building a house in France and after a few trips from the Netherlands to his second house in France, he first had a towbar installed and then an LPG installation installed, because 1 in 6 on LPG is a slightly different situation. story …”
The French tax authorities refuse the S-class with a 326 hp 5.0 V8
The second owner eventually settled permanently in France, but transferring to a French license plate turned out to be a bit expensive due to French tax rules. Paul: “With 326 hp and an engine capacity of five liters, that became a pricey affair. Of course it is not a 2CV.”
The SEL thus ended up again at the North Holland youngtimer specialist. Then our Paul struck. “At the end of 2012 I was still driving around in my Swiss 560 SEL. With an annual mileage of about 15,000, 1:6 was no big deal, but then I went to Mannheim and Strasbourg every two weeks on business and 1 in 6 also became a thing for me. Then I saw Helmuth. The Rauchsilber color was not my favorite, but man, did it drive well.”
So Paul gave himself the 500 SEL as a gift, which at that time had two hundred thousand on the clock. It fits perfectly into the type of cars in which Paul usually moves, because in addition to the 560 SEL, there is also a CLS 500 and an ML 63 AMG, but also the iconic Mercedes-Benz 500 E.
ML beat everything in terms of consumption
The CLS and the ML temporarily took the place of the 500 SEL and even Paul, who is used to high fuel consumption, was shocked by the ML. “We lived in Spain at the time and I was amazed by the power of that ML. He literally blasted up any slope or mountain like it was nothing. Then I looked at the consumption on the on-board computer and saw that a brisk mountain ride yielded just 37 liters per 100 kilometers. Just idiot!”
Back in the Netherlands, the 500 SEL again took on its role as a daily transporter, much to Paul’s pleasure. He drove it from two tons to half a million. “I have a buddy who takes care of the maintenance of the car. Whatever needs to be done, let me do it. I surf the internet to buy parts cheaply and he puts them on there. I thoroughly enjoy the great driving experience with this car. It really is a traditional Mercedes-Benz, well put together and incredibly comfortable,” says Paul. However, the car is also almost thirty years old. This can be noticed and seen when we zoom in on what judge Joep Schuurman is currently doing: a thorough check from bumper to bumper.
The test drive was not easy and we see the findings while driving when Joep puts the car on the bridge. It’s going to be another long, long list of things that aren’t right today. Even though this car cost more than a grand and has a Mercedes-Benz 500 SEL on it, it won’t get a pat on the back today. “This is another case of too little maintenance at the time and place where it is seriously needed,” says Joep. “You are now so far behind the times that it is impossible to start.”
Owner Paul: “I completely understand Joep, this is no longer rational driving. I’m the first to admit that. Still, I’m not going to say goodbye to my Helmuth just yet. Some decisions are simply not economically substantiated. That’s the story of this car. I think driving is too much fun. Still!”
What’s wrong with it?
- The car looks sagging, too low
- The engine idles poorly
- You can feel a lot of engine vibration in the car, the engine mounts are worn or defective
- The exhaust makes a huge noise due to leakage and loose heat shields
- The car reports that the lighting is defective
- The automatic folding of the mirrors does not work
- Pressing the brake pedal takes too much force
- The air conditioning controls do not work properly
- The steering wheel creaks when turned
- The shock absorbers regularly reach the limit stop, possibly because the ride height is now too low
- The automatic transmission clunks when shifting
- The car vibrates when braking
- On the highway or during heavy acceleration, the engine sometimes stalls heavily
- On the highway, a lot of wind noise comes from the roof, which even seems to open at speed
- When driving on gas, the engine has no power at all
- The front windshield wipers move very slowly and with difficulty across the window
- The adjustment of the front wiper mechanism is incorrect. This could also be excessive wear
- The multi-belt looks very bad
- The wiring harness of the gas system lies partly unprotected on the engine
- The support of the gas injectors is not fixed
- The brake fluid seems very old
- The engine is leaking oil in several places
- The front wishbone rubbers are in very poor condition
- The rear tires are worn below the MOT minimum
- Various suspension and mounting materials of the exhaust are in such poor condition that they can no longer be (re)used
- The rear silencer of the exhaust is missing (has broken off)
- The bodywork is heavily rusting in several places
- The front right pitman linkage has considerable play
- The upper right front control arm has a lot of play
De mening van Carrec Technocenter
“This car is quite a complicated device. There is a lot to do and that means extra work for the garage. That didn’t happen. He’s seriously behind schedule. There’s a lot to be done that I can see at a glance. Count on there being more ‘behind’ it. So I see no future for this limousine anymore.’
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2023-12-18 15:00:23
#MercedesBenz #SEL #Clock
