I have a chance to purchase a 96 e300D for my wife. The miles are high (230k), but I have serviced it since new! This car is so dry under the engine, I could park it in Bill's garage and it wouldn't leak!

How much is it worth? There is nothing to compare it to.

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Benzmac:
Donnie Drummonds
ASE CERTIFIED MASTER AUTO TECHNICIAN
MERCEDES SPECIALIST 11 YRS

Wow, that is a tough question. I guess the 2 downsides would be first year of a new chassis, and 4 times the mileage you would expect. I have been looking at the local MB web site over the last several months, and even with lower mileage, they seem to be doing a $2-3,000 discount over the '97s on this model for some reason. First year issues? The Edmond guide in my zip places the dealer retail value for this model/year at $26,000, and if in top condition and normal miles and starmarked, at $30,000.

The max they take off for high miles is $2500, whether for 100k or for 230k miles. Some of the diesel people seem to feel that the life expectancy on diesels is 300-500k miles. If so, the car is at 2/3 - 3/4 of expected engine life.

Soooo, I think my offer would be the $26000 retail, minus $2500 mileage, minus an extra penalty for limited life expectancy, call it 1/4 - 1/3 the cost of engine, trans, suspension, and differential rebuilds, which sounds like will be sooner rather than later. About $18 - 20,000 for a WAG (wild ass guess) ??? (which is all I know about the value of used high mileage MB diesels or the cost of engine and trans rebuilds!)

[Edited by JCE on 01-23-2001 at 01:30 AM]

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John

2003 Firemist Red/grey leather SL 500
2015 Palladium Silver/black mbtex GLK 350
1987 Smoke Silver/burgundy mbtex 300E Sportline (SOLD)

Click to see 87 300E

Well the Kelly Blue book list trade in value at $13600.00, retail at $20650.00. That's in good condition, given that you have serviced it since new one can assume that it is in a lot better shape than good. This pricing is in LA. so it may be a little higher in GA. where you are. I would offer about $17K and work from there. IMHO.

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Keith Schuster
2006 E350 98K miles
2013 Ford Explorer 15K miles

I tend to agree with JCE's approach, however I would point out to the previous owner that driving a car to 230K miles that they got their monies worth. Based on the mileage, I would think that 12 to 15K would be a good start since not many people would make an offer on a car with such high mileage.

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Ray
1998 Mercedes E320, 200K Miles
2001 Acura 3.2TL, 178K Miles
1992 Chevy Astro, 205K Miles

Donnie,
The most recent Black Book I have is September 2000. This book shows a loan value of $21,965 before deduction for milage. The max milage deduction shown is $3,375 for a car with up to 130,000 miles. The value for a car in average condition also shows relatively the same amounts. Depending on whether you are buying wholesale or retail, I would think a reasonable offer would be between $13,000 and $16,000. The question you may ask if you haven't already is: How long do you plan to keep the car? If only a couple of years and then resale, then resale could be difficult. Some people may not be inclined to buy a car like this, unless they have previously owned a MB diesel(BTW, my 300sdl has 268k miles and is still a wonderful car)

Also, just as an FYI, there is a 1995 MB E300D listed in the GA Auto Trader for $21,000 they did not list the miles, but listed the car as "extra clean", their phone number is 770-631-0307. Best of luck with your decision. Sorry, for the long reply.

Ken Yancey

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1987 300SDL
1990 300E
1989 300E
1986 300E
1981 300D
1983 240D

I have followed some of the high bids made for vehicles on Ebay Motors web site.

A 1996 E300D with 118,696 mi. was bid at $21,900 on 11/1/00. There was no reserve but the high bidder must have backed out because the same car was immediately placed for auction again. The high bid the second time was $20,300. This was a Dallas car sold by a wholesaler. Silver metallic with grey leather.

A 1997 E300D with 169,000 mi. had a high bid of $17,600 and did not meet the reserve. Auction ended 10/30/00. The seller was Marietta Sportscar Co. 770-612-0075. Black with beige interior. Maybe you could give them a call to see if they sold it and at what price.

A 1998 E300TD sold 12/21/00 at $23,800. It had 102,000 mi. New York car with memory seats, slip control, heated seats. All books and records.

There are two 1995 E300D's currently on Ebay. You may want to observe how they do.

You are in a unique position since you know the vehicle better than anyone. Very few people would even make an offer for a car with 230k. I would rather have fewer miles and would consider the 124 chassis especially since the 2.5 turbo has better performance than the 6 cylinder non-turbo.

A 1992 300D with 139,000 mi had a high bid of $11,548 in 11/00. The reserve was not met.

I personally would not pay over $14 to $15,000 for the vehicle you are looking at. There are too many alternatives. Hope this info. helps.

Jack

Higher miles, newer car, you've serviced it since new. You could say you know this car inside and out. We know low blue book is in the 13K range and high ~20-21K. How eager to sell is the owner? Have any feeling how much the owner expects? Start at 10-11K and finish somehwere about 15K. I'm betting he only expects 20K on a good day, given the mileage.

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Mike Tangas
'73 280SEL 4.5 (9/72)- RIP
Only 8,173 units built from 5/71 thru 11/72

'02 CLK320 Cabriolet - wifey's mid-life crisis

2012 VW Jetta Sportwagon TDI...at least its a diesel

Non illegitemae carborundum.

A recent issue of the "The Star" had a 1995 E300D listed
for sale with 315K miles. Yes, that's a 124 chassis,
but it is the same OM606 engine and transmission as the
1996 model year. I don't recall the asking price, but
all the prices in the MBCA club magazine are pretty
wacko anyways. I agree with the opinion expressed by
previous posters that the 1996/230K mile car likely has
a lot of life remaining, but will be impossibly difficult
to sell down the road.

- Jim

http://www2.nadaguides.com/GlobalFrame.asp?UserID=0507B35E89F&DID=36914&Type=IM&GCode=UC&wSec=1&wPg=1008&Com=0079&Year=1996&Model=02007903191&S=ShowValue

Retail - $23,600
Trade - $20,125

Averaged - $21,862.50
Deduct - $ 4,850.00 (for mileage)

$17,042.50.

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Scott Longston
Northern California Wine Country...
"Turbos whistle, grapes wine..."

When I was in the market for E300(october..my local dealer had a 1996 Silver/gray car ..bought and always serviced at the dealer..but it had had some body and pint work done...mileage was 118K and the price was $23,900(firm)..I offered 21,000 even...They declined
This dealer is always high on price but usually only deals with cars that were both bought and had complete service history there.So I think the car you are looking at should be at a mid teens(15-16K) price...because if they traded it the dealer would probably give them 10K

Is it really worth anything to the P/O? He would NOT be able to trade it in (could you imagine the laugh he would get at a new car dealer!!), privately have a hard time getting anyone to even call...even Ebay users would be shy of 230k
I can't honsetly put a price on it, and neither can a "book" price due to the mileage. It is a rare car and if you want to take your chances with that it is your call. I would never touch a newer high mileage car unless it was less then half price of market value no matter what kind of car it is. Being the cars mechanic certainly gives you insight, but how was it driven? I bought a VW Jetta turbo diesel a few years back, it was a little over 2 years old, 100000 miles, and I got it for less then 40% of it original cost, and drove carefree for three years and another 100k. I would jump at the opportunity again, but it was a $6000 car and a cheap rebuild if anything went wrong! I would never be able to afford a Merecedes rebuilt for that new a model/rare an engine. I think you have to look at it as how much will you have to invest to keep it going vs what should I pay for it, then decide if it is worth pursuing. Is it worth owning a high mileage car that is going to be expensive to maintain vs an older Mercedes diesel that costs much less and is much cheaper to maintain.
Greg

Boy, I'm tellin' ya, this is a rough crowd, a really rough crowd. I tried ta sell this guy a car, and when I told him it had leather seats, he asked me for the name of the cow they came from, THEN he wants ta know, if BOTH of the parents were registered Herefords...

I'm tellin' ya, no respect, no respect at all...

Pay a fair price for the car, one you can BOTH live with. What is it worth TO YOU? Whatever happened to "The Golden Rule"? What would you want to get for it if it were yours?

BTW, The NADA Value IS for a car with that mileage, and is a guide used by dealers. If you work for a dealership, why not ask the sales manager there what he suggests is a fair price for it, or if he can get you a better deal as an employee. Like wholesale?

[Edited by longston on 01-23-2001 at 09:05 PM]

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Scott Longston
Northern California Wine Country...
"Turbos whistle, grapes wine..."

I did purchase the car for a VERY resonable price. You guys are in the ball park of 10 to 15k. He was offered 11k on trade on the 98 E300D he just purchased.

I wanted the 210 chasis for the air bags and updated styling for my wife.

This car has NEVER missed a 3k mile oil change done by me! The enigne is perfect and dry. The water pump and radiator are both new.

It is a keeper.

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Benzmac:
Donnie Drummonds
ASE CERTIFIED MASTER AUTO TECHNICIAN
MERCEDES SPECIALIST 11 YRS

I could see that car hitting 500K with your care brother!

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1989 300CE - 269,000 km
1994 SL600 - 59,000 km

I would roll back the meter and sell it on ebay. since you did all the work on it wouldn't show up on carfax. (I think?) no one would know the difference.

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Current Stable:
01 ML55 AMG
92 500E (a few mods)
87 300E (lots of mods)
00 Chevy 3500HD Diesel Box Truck
68 18' Donzi Marine
06 GT i-Drive7 1.0 Mountain Bike (with GPS!)

PREVIOUSLY OWNED:83 300SD, 87 420SEL, 88 420SEL, 90 420SEL, 86 560SEL, 86 190E 2.3-16V AMG, 94 E320