Can you still buy a nice DIESEL on e-bay ??

[kamil]

I've been noticing that alot of people are complaining about the cars that they have bought from e-bay. I even drove 300 mile round trip to look at a car that was totaly misrepresented. The guy said it was one owner, garage kept etc. When I got there I got out of my car and within 100 seconds I was back in my car driving back. Rust everywhere, missing radio, molded leaves in the car, puddle of oil underneath the car.

I really do want to buy a nice 300d ranging from 1982 to 1995. It does not really matter, I just want to find a nice one. Looking daily through many e-bay auctions is probably pointless since you cannot physically see the car.

Any advice that you guys can give me in asking some questions that will reveal a fake from a good one ? I also check with carfax to find out the vehicles history but these cars are so old that there are many owners.

Can anybody chime in on this topic ?

[engatwork]

Get their phone number and talk to them to "feel" them out if they are car nuts or not. It should become evident whether they are or not. If they are car nuts (any type) you can probably deal with them.

[84300DT]

great advice jim. my experience is you have to looook long with your eyes and listen with your ears. the right car may be just around the corner in your own neighborhood!
and searching is half the fun when you are armed and dangerous with the knowledge gained here

[engatwork]

Good point. Another thought too is to let your friends, co-workers know you are interested in these cars. The 79k mile 300D that I purchase last week was sitting by the road with a for sale sign in the windshield and a co-worker told me about it. There was no paid advertisement - just a sign in the window.

[Eskimo]

Originally posted by kamil
Can anybody chime in on this topic ?

I've been going through a lot of the same (looking for a 300D or 300SD), and the hassles are all just part of dealing with people. There's something you want, and they might have it, so you deal with them. The cars range from fantastic to terrible, and the sellers range from fantastic to terrible, too. Some of them are completely honest, some are being intentionally deceptive, and some just don't know what they're doing when it comes to selling (or even owning) a car. Hey, they're people.

I'll agree with Jim that you might save yourself some grief just by feeling out the prospective seller carefully. You still might miss out on a good deal this way - just because the seller is nuts, disorganized, etc. doesn't mean that the car is bad - but it might decrease the chances of a wasted trip. Or, you could just limit your search to cars geographically close to you - again, you'd be limiting your options, but wouldn't be risking so much of your time. I've been looking for a few months, and the pickings have been slim here, so I'm trying not to put too many limits on my search.

I'm looking elsewhere besides eBay - Autotrader, searches of newspaper classifieds, running a "want to buy" ad in the Thrifty Nickel. When I get a lead, I contact the seller by telephone to feel them out and get more information about the car. If it still sounds good, then I'll either go look at the car or ask here if there's anyone near that location who would be willing to eyeball it for me. If I, or someone looking at the car on my behalf, were positively impressed, then I might be willing to try to arrange for a PPI of the car, or to buy it directly (depending on the situation, price & apparent condition of the car, etc.) I, too, got burned once to the tune of a long, wasted day and a couple of Greyhound tickets. I'm more cautious now, but a certain amount of wasted time just goes with the territory.

It's an exercise in patience and constant vigilance. It can be fun, but it can wear on you, too. Try not to let it get to you. If and when you find what you want, you may just look back on the hassles and laugh.


-- eskimo

[rwthomas1]

Maybe I got a good one..... I got my 300D on Ebay and it was everything the dealer said it was. I was also very clear in my communication that if the car was not absolutely as represented, I would walk. Sure you risk bad feedback but you can return it too. The dealer guaranteed the condition and offered a full refund if it wasn't up to snuff. This I had in writing. I told him the day I was coming to pick the car up but not the time. I arrived unannounced and was able to look the car over before it was detailed, warmed up, etc. he seemed a little peeved at this but hey, its my money! You can't be wishy-washy, you gotta tell 'em like it is. RT

[engatwork]

eskimo - here is one in Spring Hill, Fla that looks interesting.

ebay 300SD

Might be worth the ride over if it is close by.

[grimgaunt]

yes

[ekisgen]

My 2cents worth. . .

I purchased my first car (300D) from a private seller via Autotrader. It was in South Carolina. My second was via ebay (300SD) and located in Idaho.

What I have done is pepper the seller with maintenance and condition questions. For example, chances are if they have had the car for more than a couple of years it would have needed a valve clearance adjustment. Ask if the car ever received one. How the seller answers these questions will give you a pretty good idea on the condition of the car. Be creative. . .I once asked a guy about the oil pressure bar at idle and his response was, "I never got asked that one before."

I have been happy with both long distance cars I have purchased.

[RLD]

The '82 300sd that I bought from a guy on ebay a couple of months ago was totally misrepresented ( OK I'm being kind... He outright lied about most of it )

The final bid didn't get very high so I took it in stride when I went to pick it up, but I was willing to go much higher by the description and our conversations, and if Ithe bid had gone higher, I would have walked on the thing when I saw it in person.

I've had alot of parts that have been misrepresented lately as well.
It seems that ebay has turned into a "place to gain wealth " as opposed to the pleasant alternative mode of commerce that it once was.

----------Robert

[grimgaunt]

thats usually what happens when merchants take over from enthusiasts.

[Plantman]

Look locally. It may take awhile but it must suck to go an extended distance to see a "perfect" car turn out to be crap.

Time is money and it might be worth it to look locally, pay a bit more, for a better car.

.02

[RLD]

The only problem with trying to look locally is that in someplaces , the only thing available is 'merican , or rediculously overpriced "rare" foreign cars.
In my state, cars generally go for $1000-2000 more than the same cars in surrounding states, ( same with boats ) it's always worth the drive.

---------Robert

[Eskimo]

I didn't make it clear in my earlier post in this thread, so I'll point out here that I'm not looking all over the country for a car. I am, however, looking within a radius of 300-400 miles, based solely on the very limited availability in the really "local" area. It's not that I've been turning up my nose at local cars because of price, more a matter of seeing very, very few local cars for sale at all.

In several months of searching, I haven't actually gone to look at a single one in the Tallahassee area in response to an ad, and have only made telephone calls on a couple of them.

I did stop to look at one that was sitting in a parking lot with a "for sale" sign in the winshield. I just wasn't interested in a battered, non-turbo 300D. $2500 obo... I wonder if that price included the can of Marvel Mystery Oil stowed in the passenger side door pocket.

I'm very curious to see what response (if any) I get to a recent "want to buy" ad, but I'm not holding my breath.


-- eskimo

[Benzcrusher]

Kamil:
Jersey most likely had the highest density of 300D's per capita back in the day. Check the old money 'hoods around Morristown, ie: Far Hills, Gladstone, Peapack, Madison, Essex Fells down to Watchung. There must be plenty of "old Ladies" with a 300D in their garage.
See if you can make friends with the service manager at one of the MB dealerships. Globe, Morristown Motors, and the dealer on rt.1 in Edison. They will know where the "old ladies" are....



Here is Dieter, bought on ebay.....