1995 E300D Purchase

[gpgunhouse]

I recently saw a 95 E300D for sale at a MB dealership in Georgia. The car has 64k on the odometer and is in pristine condition. The A/C system (evaporator core) was replaced in the last 18 mo. and all the major services (15/30/45/60) were performed on time. It appears the oil changes were done every 3-5k. The previous owner had a starmark warranty on the vehicle. The dealer will not take less than $13.5 for the car and high retail (NADA) is showing the car to be worth $12.4. My question is obvious, does the low milage and condition justify the asking price. Since it is a dealership car should I press for an extended warranty? Price points for this model seem to vary significantly.

In addition, are there any additional repair issues associated with the 124/om606 model such as wiring harness problems, head gaskets, timing chains ect.

Regards

G P Gunhouse

[Brian Carlton]

A M/B dealer is going to get the highest possible price for any used vehicle. Due to the fact the he is the dealer, the prevailing attitude is that he must have a "better" M/B than any other vehicle out there. It is a "trust" thing. Somebody will pay more than retail just for the privledge of buying it from the local M/B dealer.

If it is such a fantastic vehicle, what warranty is he offering? Is it any better than what you could otherwise get from anyone else (typically 30 days)? I wouldn't pay the premium without a suitable warranty to back it up.

[gpgunhouse]

The dealer is offering the standard used car warranty (1000 miles/30 days) on just the drivetrain. Can MB dealers offer Starmark warranties on 1995 model year vehicles with 64K?

G P Gunhouse

[Brian Carlton]

Originally Posted by gpgunhouse

The dealer is offering the standard used car warranty (1000 miles/30 days) on just the drivetrain.

Typical dealer. Let him ripoff someone else.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=4500342533&category=6335&sspagename=WDVW

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4503079751

[P.E.Haiges]

gpgunhouse,

Tell the dealer you will pay his price if he gives you a 100% written warranty for 4 years/40,000 miles. That way you won't have to haggle the price, just the warranty. And just be adamant about the warranty.

Keep saying, : "Well, if the car is so good, you should have no problem with giving the above warranty".

If he does give the warranty, the car would probably worth the price. But I doubt if he will give you the above warranty. SO offer him about $10,000 if you really want the car. That way you will have $3000 in your pocket for repairs.

To me a '95 is much too new. You can't fix a lot of stuff your self and it has a lot more things to go wrong than say a '80 300D or SD. Even the dealers can't fix some of the newer MB properly.

P E H

Taking advice from these two guys is pretty good. I'd get a warranty, and or get the price lowered considerably. If there not willing to do work with you on this, then it's obvious, all they want is their TOP dollar value. Which means ripping you off. Then of course once you own it for a year and maybe paying notes and problems arrise, you'll be out more. Negotiate and be firm.

[HerbPhillips]

I sold a very nice 1995 Black E300D on ebay about 3 months ago. It was a single owner car with about 150k miles on it, perfect service history from the local MB store where it was sold new. Had some prior paintwork on the roof , that needed to be re-painted. Sold it on ebay for $10,700 in a no-reserve auction. The buyer was up in NY , and he was just ecstatic about the car.

If the car you are looking at is a single owner , no-paint, perfect books car, new tires, new floormats, no blemishes, I say it's worth damn near what he's asking. It doesn't matter what the book says, it just matters what YOU think its worth, the book doesn't write the check.

I paid $5800 for a VW camper the other day that the "book" said was worth $1600. I didn't care. I wanted it...It has a plaid interior and it's lime green!

Make him an offer. All he can do is say "no". You won't hurt his feelings.

Additionally, there's alot of anti-dealer sentiment floating around here..I heard mention earlier in the thread that the dealer was "ripping off" the customer @ the $13k figure. I don't consider a strong sales price a "rip-off" if the buyer knows exactly what he wants, and what he is buying , and he agrees to pay the price , is that a "rip-off?"

In my opinion, if the seller materially misrepresents the merchandise, then, that would be closer to a "rip off", as you put it.

I sold a 240D a few days ago for around $7500 or so, the "book" said it was worth $1200. The buyer bought it in a no-reserve auction and told me he wanted another when I got one. So , does that constitute a rip-off? The buyer offered that amount and was happy. And relatively speaking, $6k more for a fifteen year newer vehicle with 80k less miles doesn't sound too far off the mark.

Thats my two cents.

[Brian Carlton]

Originally Posted by HerbPhillips

.


Additionally, there's alot of anti-dealer sentiment floating around here..I heard mention earlier in the thread that the dealer was "ripping off" the customer @ the $13k figure. I don't consider a strong sales price a "rip-off" if the buyer knows exactly what he wants, and what he is buying , and he agrees to pay the price , is that a "rip-off?"

You heard it from me.

And that is exactly what the dealer is trying to do.

The dealer likely knows every detail about that vehicle. He knows if the transmission is in good shape and he knows if the brakes are in good shape and he knows if the front end is in good shape and he knows if the engine has been well taken care of. He knows this because he is the local Mercedes Dealer. He has the inside track on the condition of the vehicle.

So, if it is a fine vehicle, and he wants to get top dollar for it, then he should be offering a six month warranty on it. But does he offer this? No he does not. He is trying to parlay the sign on the front of the building into extra cash. When a customer such as the starter of this thread comes into this dealership, he is pressured to purchase this vehicle, at a high price, simply because the Mercedes Dealer is offering it.

You may argue that any vehicle is worth what a buyer is willing to pay. This is only true if the vehicle fulfills the needs of the buyer and he is ultimately pleased with his purchase. It is not true if the buyer is a bit naive and was cajoled into the purchase by a crafty dealer.

I stand by my original advice: If he does not offer a better warranty, let him rip off somebody else.

Your totally right Brian, If this dealer is reputable and he stands by his product, then he should have no problem putting up a warranty. If he does not then he doesn't stand by his product. "A reputable dealer is only good as his own product."

[Astroman]

Where is it? I'll come get it....

[TimFreeh]

Your advice is an opinion - nothing more, nothing less.

It's pretty hard to evaluate a 9 year old used car without actually seeing it but a perfect 95 E300D with full service records and a document 64K miles could be worth 13.5K. A nine year old E300D will typically have 140-200K miles - Call me a moron but I'd pay a 3-4K premium to get an example with 1/2 to 2/3 fewer miles. Asking a premium for a perfect low-mileage car is hardly prima-facia evidence of a an attempted ripoff in progress...

It's funny to watch everyone scream about how incompetent dealers are and then turn around and expect that the dealer to be the ultimate source of unbiased objective information about a used car.

[Brian Carlton]

Originally Posted by TimFreeh

It's funny to watch everyone scream about how incompetent dealers are and then turn around and expect that the dealer to be the ultimate source of unbiased objective information about a used car.

I wouldn't be laughing so hard.

When we speak of incompetant dealers we are speaking of dealers who do not have the three pointed star on the front of the building.

Granted, there are plenty of M/B dealers who have incompetant staff working for them, however, the fundamental premise of a Mercedes Dealer is that they are the ultimate source for unbiased objective information regarding the vehicles for which they offer for sale.

If the Mercedes Dealer is lumped into the pot with all of the other incompetant dealers, then he certainly should not be charging a premium price for the vehicle. If a person has a suspicion that he was receiving less than honest information regarding a vehicle that is being offered by the Mercedes Dealer, please tell me why this person should not simply buy the vehicle from Rolling Wheels, Inc., Fort Lauderdale, FL, where the identical vehicle can likely be found for about $3K less?

For $3k less, that's a small warranty wouldn't you think.

Anyone ever had any dealings with Rolling Wheels Inc.? If so how was it?

[Brian Carlton]

Originally Posted by 300SDLTOM

Anyone ever had any dealings with Rolling Wheels Inc.? If so how was it?

The SDL came from Rolling Wheels. The vehicle is generally a good vehicle, however, I definitely screwed up by buying it from the photos. The following items were not disclosed, originally, due to the dealer not knowing about them:

1) Cruise inoperative
2) Rear window defroster inoperative
3) Driver's seat spring broken
4) Window washer inoperative
5) Rear springs sagging
6) Bent tie rod, right side
7) Needed front brake pads and hoses


The following items were not disclosed, originally, due to the dealer ignoring them:

1) All four tires grossly out of balance
2) Vehicle pulls severely to the right on heavy braking
3) LCD temperature display inoperative

The following item was not disclosed, originally, due to the dealer being fraudulent:

1) The odometer was not working when Rolling Wheels purchased the vehicle. The took the unit out of the vehicle and had it repaired by Fort Lauderdale speedometer. Of course, Carfax backed up the 103K mileage claim, and Rolling Wheels was confident that the mileage was correct! Naturally, Florida has a law that all vehicles that have more than 100K are sold "mileage exempt". This means that the dealer is not representing the mileage in any way, shape, or form.

He managed to get the cruise fixed prior to me taking the vehicle on the day I picked it up. But, unless I was willing to stay there for additional time (time that I did not have), the remaining items became mine to fix.

Like just about every other dealer, don't buy it without somebody taking a careful look at it.

Brian, Reason I asked is that this is where I bought my '86 300 SDL. My first buy of a car on E-Bay. First thing I noticed that the dash was cracked, he didn't list that on E-Bay. He failed to mention that the seats had been dyed. He didn't mention the transmission leaking. The Odometer was only 134,000 miles, I have my doubts, but i've heard it's nothing for Floriada cars to have low milege. He stated that it was a non-smoking car. I noticed burned marks and the smell of smoke in the car. Outside had been repainted. Although it was a good paint job. I'd love to recarpet my car if I could. Sliding sun roof doesn't work. No records of previous owner. I was a new owner of a Mercedes, i over looked alot of that in hind sight. I'd have done things differently. Now i'm really enjoying it because I'M doing the work on it. I KNOW my car and what it's doing. Well sometimes doing. Anyways, I'm happy with the car. It runs just fine, other than a few bumps here and there.