Wow..Good used cars are so cheap now but used Diesels for sale rare....

[Carrameow]

After my unsuccessful trial balloon to find out what I could get for my 300D 87, I decided to keep it.
Conversely I took a look at other cars on the market.
I know people list them high. I found tons of classy Mercedes and BMW gassers I found a newer Mercedes gas sports car that sold for 50K new listed for 8K and probably buyable at 6K..
On the other hand, I hardly saw any Diesels on the market. I guess we Diesel drivers are just too damn smart, huh?
Is this my imagination or misperception?

[Kestas]

The buzz about diesels in the automotive industry has been getting louder recently. It's not just because diesels get better gas mileage, but there's talk of regulating CO2 emissions (which I personally doubt will ever happen). The only way to reduce CO2 emissions is by burning less fuel (as does a diesel). Hence, CO2 regulation is a veiled form of boosting CAFE requirements.

[javven]

There's always something up with the gassers tho. Yeah - it's funnier n all get-out to see someone's 740iL for sale for $6000 with 165K on it. Normally I'd think "No big deal" but in these cases:

1. (not spec to mentioned car) the turbo's wiped out.
2. Compression - what compression?
3. "Knock in engine"
4. Transmission 'shifts funny'.
5. "It ran without oil" (which you'll never be told unless it's siezed).

Or some other such horror story. True, true there are some truely good deals out there but usually when you buy a high-durability car used you're buying someone's problem. It might be space in the garage or a financial problem - or it might be someone went "Better get rid of it before that knock-knock-knock turns into bling-bling gone from my pocket".

The best deals I've seen were cars that'd been broken into and 'totaled' out the the ins company. Low milage older car with nice radio broken into, radio ripped off, interior vandalized, windows smashed and paint defaced. Assuming you don't have to repaint the car they can be a real bargain. Buy a few wrecks and call your local interior shop - it's amazing what you can have done for $1k when they're NOT paying your insurance company.

[Hatterasguy]

Diesels are getting rare and still comand a premium over the gas models, my SDL is worth twice what a 420/560 with 250k on it would sell for. What is happening now is that people are trading up to new cars because money is still cheap. Interest rates are still low and can only go up. Car makers are also offering discounts and rebates. I just saw brand new Nissan Altima's listed for $15,695! It was the base model but it had power windows and AC, thats not bad at all for a new Nissan, the new Altima is a nice car. So the average joe sees $16k for a used 70k mile E class or $16k for a new under warranty Altima. It doesn't help that the W211 is out and a new S is coming soon to. I predict the market will get a little worse for sellers before it gets better.

[Ken300D]

Over the next month or two there should be a flood of old cars that have been donated to charitable organizations - they go to local auction - then to EBay.

I think I see one on EBay now, a rustbucket 1976 300D. You know its going to be bad when the front strut rusts loose.

One key to recognizing these is to ask who's name is on the title..... If not the seller, then they're trying to "curbstone" the car - which is technically illegal. That means they're trying to sell the car over to you from the previous owner - without ever actually owning the car themselves.

Better to go to these auctions yourself so you can examine the car in person.

Ken300D

[bullwinkle]

I've owned a couple of Nissans-I think I'll stick with the Benzes-Nissan's quality is slipping a bit(but then again, isn't everyones)