Hey there, forum.

In June of 2008, I was lucky enough to purchase my first MBZ with some $$$ I received in an insurance settlement. Despite having to shell out OBSCENE amounts of money over the ensuing 2 years just to keep it on the road, I LOVED THAT CAR!!! I say "LOVED" because on June 30, 2010, a nice unlicensed driver decided to T-bone me with his 1999 Chevy Pickup, TOTALING my baby! Of course, he and his vehicle were nearly unscathed. Meaning he was able to call someone to come down and drive his vehicle home, while I could only stand there and watch as mine was put on a truck and towed away, never to be driven again!

As I am searching for a replacement, I've been looking as many places as I can think of, including this forum. During my search, I noticed seabrighter's post, in which he described having his vehicle taken from him in an accident, as well. While my story is pretty similar to his in most respects, the one major difference is that, while he got a satisfactory amount of money from the insurance company...I didn't. However, I find myself in almost EXACTLY the same situation that he was in, both financially as well as the vehicle desired. At any rate, with my apologies to seabright for the plagiarism, here's what I too am seeking... Any help would be SO MUCH APPRECIATED! I'm nearing the end of my time having a rental car now, so I'll be having to act sooner rather than later, but I'm pretty much willing to travel anywhere in the western US to get the right car. Thanks all....

I've prodded craigslist for a couple weeks, covering all of CA and NV. So far there has been nothing I want to buy. I figure there might be some people around here who might know of something for me.

Here's what I'm looking for:

'83 - '85 300 series - turbo preferred (No Wagons, please)
200K mi or less!
INTERIOR - CLEAN with WORKING instruments (A/C MUST WORK! I'm in FRESNO, for Chrissakes!)
TRANSMISSION - SMOOTH and STRONG. I've learned the hard way that this is the weakest link of the car, so I'm going to be a stickler about it!
ENGINE - no leaks, well maintained, compression tested
VACUUM - all in good condition (working door locks, etc)
POWER WINDOWS and SUNROOF - all working
BODY - preference for lighter colors-Silver, Smoke Silver, White, Beige. Will consider Gold or Blue. NO BLACK. Paint condition is negotiable. No major dents or peeling.
OTHER - Prefer good records and ownership history. Original parts not necessary, so long as all work has been done by qualified mechanic with new parts. Bonus if it has been garaged.

Am living in Fresno/Central CA and am willing to travel up to 500 mi for the right car. Will consider traveling further for a really good buy, but not east of the Rockies.

Got something good? I'm willing to pay up to $5000 cash. Show me a beauty! PLEASE??

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StuckInFresno

1987 300SDL 171,000 mi = Wife BLEW MOTOR! 7/2011
1997 E300D 109,900 mi = T-Boned/TOTALED! 7/25/10