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[rooklz]

https://www.gumtree.com/p/smart/smart-for-four-brabus-/1483785084

Saw this listing the other day, only a 30 min drive from me. It had it's MOT done in May but apparently in July it began refusing to start. Looks well kept and the price is very attractive.

Wondering if any of you think it's worth bothering to look at & consider taking the plunge to fix it? Anything I should keep a look out for when visiting it & questions to ask? I have a friend who works at a Merc dealership who can take a look with me.

Part of me is hoping it's simply a dead/dying battery or a problem with the ignition fuse, but I feel like most would pay the ~£100 odd to fix it and sell it for a much higher price no? I'm not a mechanic so I may be thinking overly wishful here 

Last note is while it's MOT history has been pretty good throughout it's life on its most recent it's picked up an advisory for corrosion, unsure if rust is a big issue on these cars so let me know.


Appreciate any help

[cecil]

Rust is not usually considered a weak point  look at wheels- the ones fitted are well known for being easily misshaped. Look at the rubbers that hold the rear subframe onto the body. Look also at fuel gauge to check if it works. They are quite sensitive to battery issues
look in this forum (childboards) for how to fix faults. there are remarkably few. You have found a great site for tips and help on these cars.

[CrazyG]

I agree with Cecil...

Personally I would suspect the fuel gauge in the instrument cluster
is THE culprit, which is known to misread at some point in its life.
If the fuel gauge currently shows there is fuel, jack up the car...
and reach underneath and give the fuel tank a 'rap'/bang and
hear what sound it makes. If its empty, you'll know it by the hollow
sound..but if it has fuel it should not sound hollow....or better still,
for a couple of quid/pounds, fill a plastic fuel 'can' with E5...
(never E10 for a Brabus), and pour it into the tank, then crank
it over and see if it starts eventually.   

If it is the fuel gauge at fault, See/read the Technical Guide for this :-
https://www.forfour.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=4481.0
but if you do have to repair it, the first thing to do is disconnect
the battery earth strap.....or you will end up with an even bigger
problem that is nigh on impossible to fix !
 

[Ocracoke]

I've been looking at this one too but sadly, funds are not-a-coming.

Anyway, fuel guage and possibly fuel filter if it is blocked by pulling up crud from the bottom of the tank (from memory, the tank is plastic but that doesn't mean stuf couldn't have found its way in) definitely. The soldering job itself on the cluster is easy enough but getting to the PCB I found to be a fight. YMMV.

> Rust is not usually considered a weak point

Eeeehhh, when I had to take the front off my car to sort the horn out, the sills on both sides of my 2004 1.3 S-A were packed full of soil and here had started to be rust forming around the jack point. Fortunately, it seemed relatively surface level so some Aquasteel and some primer sorted that out but we are talking 20 years old now. The spare wheel well also seems a bit suspect but that is for another day.

[CrazyG]

The fuel pickup on the petrol engine'd 454's does not rest on the bottom
of the fuel tank, with the filter itself being even higher up in the tank,
so 'by rights' it should not pick any crud or get clogged as others do.

From the handful of 454 petrol fuel filters that I've seen over the years,
none have shown any signs of debris, clogging or blockage, just stains
on the fabric/mesh of the filter.

(The 454 diesel fuel filter of the CDI differs in that it is located at the rear
  of the engine bay, which makes it 'fairly easy' to replace, if/when necessary)

[Bal]

I would say negotiate the price a little, see if you can bring it down. The Brabus I got was in a very poor state but if you can invest a little and put time into it I'm sure you will get somewhere.

Worst case scenario if it doesn't run sell it for parts, further down the line someone on here could buy it from you as a whole. I might be interested depending on the situation and time.

However the seller is not engaging much, tried messaging about how many keys and other stuff but no response.

Have you tried messaging and got a response?