I had a 82 BMW 735i sedan in the past and it was a terrible car. It had a changed engine and had been abused however. My cousin has a 1985 BMW 633i 2dr and even though it looks like new, it has been quite a money pit. I think the electrical glitches are its main problems. My uncle told him to sell it- post haste.

$2200 seems steep for a 89 300E, with that mileage. On a side note- in my opinion- while service records are important and nice to have, just because a car lacks this does not mean it is a bad car. If the car checks out OK at your mechanics, then I do not see any big deal. I have been guilty of throwing out the receipts of the work done on some of my cars in the past, but mostly, I try to keep every sales receipt.

I am personally considering a 1985 Mercedes 380SE for $1000. It has over 250K, has NO records, so I am a bit weary, but has had the same owner for a while and the car has been stated to be in good working orders and extremely reliable. My main concern is that timing chain. He does not recall when it was last changed. I am guessing it is due for a change, as well as those other little items mentioned that go along with a timing chain change. Yes, it may turn out to be a money pit, but I would rather pay $1000 for this 85' 380SE, rather than $5200 for a local 85' 500SEL, with 152K- also with NO records and really only having nicer paint.

Good luck with whatever you purchase!!

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2004 Toyota Sequoia Limited 4wd
1991 Lincoln Town Car Executive
1991 Cadillac Sedan DeVille
1988 Mercedes 300SEL
1972 Chevrolet Caprice Kingswood Estate 9-passenger wagon
1973 Pontiac Grand Ville
(Prior MB's: 1974 240D, 1985 380SE, 1984 190D, 1993 400SEL)