Quote:
Originally Posted by sjohnson3240
We are in Oregon now and we are considering buying a very clean one owner well maintained 1990 300se. It has 84,000 miles and we got it up on a lift and everything is tight and clean.
To me the price is a little high but they have already come down and don't seem to want to go lower than $8500. The two negatives for me (these engines seem to need head gasket replacement often and the rear differential is geared to low for cursing at 85mph).
We would be driving the car back to Minnesota and it would more than likely become my dd.
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Welcome to the forum!
I love Mercedes. My current daily driver is a 2001 E430. It gets about 21 MPG in mixed driving. The silky smooth V8 delivers 275 horsepower and propels the car to 60 MPH in 6.2 seconds (My 1985 Porsche 911 did 0-60 in 6.1 seconds). I paid less than half the price mentioned for my one owner car that had 120,000 miles then. It did need maintenance items like tires, fluid changes, etc. and some other small stuff like a door jamb switch, instrument cluster bulbs, etc.
Is the car you are looking at going to need tires, brake pads, transmission service, oil change and other normal maintenance immediately? Has it recently had fresh suspension bushings, wheel alignment, transaxle fluid change, etc. Ask to see the maintenance history. Money well spent: take the car to an independent Mercedes shop (not the shop who is loyal to the owner/seller, and not someone who expects you to have work done there) and get a pre-purchase inspection
(PPI). You might mention your concern about head gaskets. A thorough PPI might cost you $300.00 but could save you thousands of dollars and sleepless nights.
Do you have mechanical aptitude, tools, place to work? Are you dependent on Mercedes service technicians for maintenance and repair?
Buying a beautiful car can become an emotional decisional. Having a PPI can help put things in perspective. Another tip I have heard often, don't buy the first one that you see. I shop for months typically so I buy the right car at the right price.
What else could you buy for $8,500.00? You might find a 10-15 year-old Mercedes one-owner car for about the same price. It doesn't hurt to look.
If the W116 chassis car is your dream vehicle that you will love forever and never regret then buy it. Life is too short to drive a car that you don't enjoy.
Please let us know how this turns out. If you buy this 300SE we would love to see pictures!
Best regards,
Jeffrey