Good indie shop in Twin Cities for W126 PPI

I'm planning to check This 300SE out Saturday. Can anyone recommend a good shop in Minneapolis/St. Paul knowledgeable with older Mercedes? I checked with a dealership and they're 129 bucks an hour, almost twice what my local (excellent, but 80 miles from St. Paul) VW/Audi guy charges.

Thanks.

Check your link again, it goes to a VW in Rochester...

I don't have personal experience with them, but there are a couple places on Excelsior Blvd. in St. Louis Park, just off highway 100 that may be able to do it.

http://germanautoworks.com/site/
http://www.kevinkeesauto.com/

edit: it looks like Kevin Kees Auto moved their shop to Edina, the address is on their website.

Theres a few places I can think of that DO stuff like german cars..... call and ask?

http://www.metricautoworks.com/ http://www.autopiacars.com/
http://stellar-autoworks.com/ http://www.fptuned.com/

Those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head. I have a pretty good relationship with Stellar, Tim and Justin are good characters, and Quattro's a pretty good dog to pet on while you're hanging out. I know plenty of people like Further- but they're a german performance shop and may not do a PPI for you. I've read good about both Metric (and they like to have all sorts of fun goodies outside...tracked prepped Miata, Forester that kicked my ass racing one night, etc) and Autopia- but I've never used either.

stuart in mn wrote: Check your link again, it goes to a VW in Rochester...

That's my car! I'm googling on my telephone, so I'm making lots of mistakea'£!

Thanks, fellas. Lots of great shops there. Now to contemplate the wisdom of trading my Passat for a 1988 W126 300SE.

I mean: any old Mercedes Bismarck like that is gonna need a thousand bucks worth of work right off the bat. The thing--that is, the thing if I'm right--is to buy cheaply enough to end up with what's arguably the best production sedan ever made, for the price of a 12-year-old Honda.

I'd rather have the benz.

We don't do wisdom around here.

By the way, that Passat's mine. It's clean and sound, and while no Mosler Raptor, decently fast. Thanks for the insights.

BoxheadTim wrote: We don't do wisdom around here.

I figured as much. SWMBO has expressed opposition to the idea, and in her defense, already indulges my MG habit. In fact, she made it possible.

But I reeeeeeeaally want a good, sound W126 300SE. It's not like I've developed a fetish for mid-'80s Maseratis or XR4TIs.

Strathclyde wrote:

BoxheadTim wrote: We don't do wisdom around here.

But I reeeeeeeaally want a good, sound W126 300SE. It's not like I've developed a fetish for mid-'80s Maseratis or XR4TIs.

Yet.

We'll assimilate you soon enough.

I'd keep an eye out for a diesel w126, a buddy of mine is selling his 300se because it gets lousy gas mileage, Good luck!

benzbaronDaryn wrote: I'd keep an eye out for a diesel w126, a buddy of mine is selling his 300se because it gets lousy gas mileage, Good luck!

I like the theory, but my mechanic says diesels aren't really suited to the short trips to which I subject my cars. Most of the driving is in-town. Now, my town is a bustling metropolis of 100,000, so it isn't big city-type driving, but it isn't the sort of open-highway driving I've been told diesels are best suited for.

Cool hopefully it works out or you. If you do buy it there is Feind motorsports who made heavy duty sway bar kits for w126 chassis. The only issues with the 1985+ mercedes is you don't get to use any of the oldskool rims. But you can always build BBS RS to fit.

Join the benzworld if you haven't already. Great forum and I think the W126 forum is one of the more active ones. Keep an eye out for some eurospec lights and maybe bumpers. Good luck with it!

Thanks, man. If I do pull the trigger, the car will remain stock for economic reasons. That's why I'm going for the 300 and not a V8. Euro lights are on the list, but as I said, I expect the car will probably need a thousand bucks worth of work right off the bat, so those will have to wait. Snow tires next, I imagine.

Mine is a diesel, I don't think there is any reason not to use one for short trips anymore than any other car. Id be a little afraid to buy one of the gen2 diesels since they are a lot more rare, but the older ones shouldn't be scary. I'm not sure what its like in your area, but there are tons of 300SDs in the $2k range on craigslist in my area. http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/4096703501.html like that for example.