Paul, if I knew how to post hi res pix I'd do it. My camera takes huge photos and dumbing them down to 65K (isn't that the limit?) makes them horribly grainy.

No, I don't have a website.

Back to the car. The owner has Alzheimers and so her daughter had to have her committed. The car has been driven about 1-2 times per month for about a 60 mile interstate round-trip, for about a year. Before that it was church-on-Sunday type driving. The daughter also has a 240D that she has decided to keep and uses it as her daily commuter. The 240 is freaking immaculate and has under 75K, too. Daughter just likes it more than the 300.

The car is white. It has been serviced only at the dealer. It has some door dings and paint chips. The rear bumper has some compression marks where it looks like mom backed more than she should have. Underneath the car is clean and shows no wear or bends, cracks, flexes or breakage. The engine compartment is road dirty but not filthy. Oil is dark and clear, rubbed between fingers is consistently oily -- no grittiness or traction. Smells alnd looks clean as does the transmission fluid. Radiator coolant is a weird color -- maybe dark bluish? I'm used to greenish so I don't know what that stuff is. Wiring appears supple and flexible. I saw no cracking or stress lines.

The car is sluggish in town compared to my E320 gasser (also 95). But it is more spritely than the diesel W126's I've driven. In any case, the slower acceleration at low RPM isn't off-putting to me. It's just a factual difference. Once above 30, the E300 accelerates smoothly to 100 and tracks perfectly -- no pull, no vibrations and no loud noises. If you stomp that sucker at say, 60 and make it kick down it has good acceleration. That surprised me. Cruise works.

Radio works. Tires are nearly new Perelli's (they sure are quiet tires). Lights & horn works. A/C works.

The interior looks brand new, front & back, and smells of nothing.

Now some issues:
The antenna doesn't work. How do you get the trunk liner out of the way to get the antenna out?

The driver's side door doesn't unlock with the key -- I have to unlock using the passenger's door. The key will not rotate the tumblers to the left (unlock) but will lock (rotate to the right). I'll try some Marvel Mystery Oil in the lock and see what happens. Any other ideas?

Both of the clasps that hold the sunvisors close to the windshield are broken. Can I buy them here?

The paint is not bright. Perhaps it just needs a good bath and a thorough waxing. But it looks to me like it is just a dull white.

Yeah, I'm feeling pretty good. It will be my daily driver. I'm defintely going to do the biodiesel thing -- how can I not? I'm a freaking biologist for cryin' out loud!

B

PS I have been reading all of the fuel threads on the diesel board. That is some fascinating, well-informed stuff over there.

PPS I downloaded an organic chemistry podcast. Hopefully it will give me a refresher so that I can get a handle on this biodiesel thing. Mrs B claims I'm entering the manic-focus state that makes her crazy. I'll probably be on "ignore" at home for a couple of weeks.