I've been very lucky on my last five of 6 used car purchases, an 84 240D, an 85 300D,an 87 300D, 91 Volvo, an 86 Corolla, and a 95 SAAB ..
On the unlucky choice, my 240D, which had a bad engine, I was lucky because it led me to Shop Forum.
On all of those cars, I did do a thirty minute visual inspection and a test drive, but I did not do compression tests, high speed driving /braking tests, or any prolonged technical inspection.

Thats not too say I'm lazy, over confident or naive. I think the reason I bought those five vehicles was based on instinct, and I wonder whether any of you do the same? I'll bet more of us use Instinct to buy used cars than we think.
Instinct is hard to define, but I guess some of it is based on our judgement of the owner and our feelings about the car and then you throw in things like how much you have slept and ho much coffee you have drank.(Too much coffee would lead to incorrect instinct.) I'm wondering whether my continued use of Instinct in buying used Diesels or cars in general is valid and whatyou feel about it.
( In my case, I'm surprised I didn't make more mistakes, because I am very naive. )

I bought my 240D with a tired leaky engine and a POS tranny that flares between every gear if I don't feather the go pedal.

I am naive.

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1982 240D.
My name is Michael, and I am an 18 year old binge-drinkin', cigar-smokin', novel-writin', all around unsavory and unnattractive guy. I tell long-winded stories, and I only shave once a week, although I've had to do it every day since I was 16.

no..a real slick salesman will pretty up a car and make it seem like you found a diamond in the rough.....


A good deal without a PPI is a matter of luck...not intuition.

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Proud owner of ....
1971 280SE W108
1979 300SD W116
1983 300D W123
1975 Ironhead Sportster chopper
1987 GMC 3/4 ton 4X4 Diesel
1989 Honda Civic (Heavily modified)
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Section 609 MVAC Certified
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"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche

I've never bought a new car but in my purchases and sales of '78 yota landcruiser, '80 subaru wagon, '84 landcruiser, '67 landrover, '66 landrover, '88 saab, '86? volvo, '94 landcruiser, '92 Honda, '01 VW, and '85 300d I'd say I've done OK. I don't buy and sell cars often, I'm just old...The best deal to date was the '66 landrover. I got it for free, gave a few parts away, sold a few parts, and sold the remainder for $200. That was a couple of of years ago and the new owner just emailed me some pictures of a pristing reahb he's in the middle of....

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Rob M
Norwich, VT USA
1980 240D Euro delivery 4 speed manual silver/blue
~160K miles

is not to be confused with experience. i have owned close to 100 vehicles in my life so far, all but two bought used. i have only once that i can remember doing a compression test. and the results of that test were misleading and i bought the car inspite of what appeared to be low readings. it turned out to be fine.

i did get burned on a ford van with 6.9 diesel. it had a broken block, and i can't be sure but i think it was when i bought it. it ran beautifully. i neglected to look in the radiator for oil.

for others i always recommend getting a compression test. i suppose that sounds arrogant but i dont know what their experience is so i recommend it as a precaution. i am more willing to gamble with my own money than to recommend someone else gambling with theirs.

most of the time if a car looks good runs good etc. it is ok, but not always. and with a benz, it is difficult to evaluate a lot of things because they drive really well even when they have a ton of miles.

tom w

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Just a question...would our Diesel head experience/intuition would help us overcome that? What I am kind of trying to say is your daughter brings a boyfriend home. When you are 35 you are less likely to assess him correctly but when you are 65, you will spot a snake anyday.

Problem with relying on that is the very reaction that dealers prey upon....the gut reaction of Feeling you gotta have that car when it appeals to you....

The love at first sight thing....if it catches your eye they can sell you a polished turd.....even if you are normally a knowledgible person...the key is being able to be detached enough to not care and walk away at the first sign of something wrong. I got burned on a 1953 Willys years ago for that very reason....

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Proud owner of ....
1971 280SE W108
1979 300SD W116
1983 300D W123
1975 Ironhead Sportster chopper
1987 GMC 3/4 ton 4X4 Diesel
1989 Honda Civic (Heavily modified)
---------------------
Section 609 MVAC Certified
---------------------
"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche

makes good points. that is why i prefer to buy cars from private parties. they aren't as good at hiding things.

tom w

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Why do people have to be lying sacks of s.h.i.t. ?

Wouldn't it be nice if there weren't slimy worthless *********s who try to decieve people....

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1982 240D.
My name is Michael, and I am an 18 year old binge-drinkin', cigar-smokin', novel-writin', all around unsavory and unnattractive guy. I tell long-winded stories, and I only shave once a week, although I've had to do it every day since I was 16.

I ABSOLUTELY purchase a used car on instinct. Sure I check it out and look around, but while I am asking questions about something I already know or is not very important to me, I'm really checking out the seller. Some of this is experience too, as I've learned how to spot dishonest people pretty well. Only once did I buy from a dealer, and that was a used minivan with 90K which was pretty much a commodity, not an emotional purchase. I've never compression tested a vehicle on a PPI.

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'82 300SD - 361K mi - "Blue"

"Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement."

listen, look, .........and duck.

They don't even have to lie.....if you find the car of your dreams at what appears to be a bargain price your excitement makes you overlook the obvious....like forgetting to look under it and see the frame is totally rusted away.....and stuff like that...

Simular case with women.....ever hear the term love is blind? for guys that applies to cars too, not just women.

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Proud owner of ....
1971 280SE W108
1979 300SD W116
1983 300D W123
1975 Ironhead Sportster chopper
1987 GMC 3/4 ton 4X4 Diesel
1989 Honda Civic (Heavily modified)
---------------------
Section 609 MVAC Certified
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"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche

I do have some rules that are part of my Instinct:
(1) Noone ever sells a good running used car unless they are CRAZY or unless they have just bought another Car and the present one no longer meets their needs.
(2) My assessment of the individual selling it
(3) Mechanics NEVER sell you good used cars!
(4) I only buy from private sellers. I assess them as well as the car.
(5) I never buy from dealers or second party sellers
(6) There are honest and semi honest people out there
(7) I talk to the seller at least 3 time over a span of time because sometimes their behaviour changes and you can spot that.

when I bought my TD. I ended up rebuilding the engine, and I have a substantial amount of body work to do before I paint it. I had been looking for a wagon for a long time (several months is a long time for me) and I finally located one within a two hour driving range. I still think that the seller wasn't dishonest about the condition of the engine, he was most likely just ignorant. Furthermore, it did run okay, I'm just too much of a perfectionist to let a partially dead cylinder slide. But I digress. This was the first Benz I ever drove and I immediatly fell in love with the thing. Looking back this was a stupid move, I should have test driven every benz available (sedan or wagon) just to get a feel for them and what they are worth. Finally the PO had just bought an 85 CD so that substantiated the no longer needed=must sell.
On a happier note I have had good luck buying behicles with known problems. For example I bought a 96 Ford Crown Vic last year with a dented rear door and a slight tranny shudder from a dealer for $2500 with only 75,000 miles. A junkyard door and a filter replacement were all that was needed to get this car in perfect condition. Point is you can get a good deal if you know up front what is wrong and how much it will take to fix it.

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For Sale: 1982 MB 300TD
1995 Chevrolet Suburban 6.5TD

Sold: 1980 IH Scout Traveler- Nissan SD33T Diesel

Why do people have to steal from salvage yards?

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1983 300-D turbo
1985 300-D turbo
1959 Harley Panhead chopper
1929 Ford coupe restored
I hang out with Boneheaddoctor at Schuman Automotive OBK#5
All liberals are mattoids but not all mattoids are liberal.

Well they DID charge a $7 fee...

Anyways I sold this $hit box for $150
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v644/NathanEbert/truck03.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v644/NathanEbert/miles.jpg

I considered it a $150 truck... ran decent, untill u did a WOT run and backed down in gear, then it backfired (when I say backfired, i mean back FIRED... loud like a shotgun, and shot a inch flame out)

anyways it ran ok, had a good interior, everything turned on, and worked (except the ac... blew HOT)
but I did do some cobbled repairs on it to keep it running... Spark plug number 2 didnt go in all the way because of the hellacious amount of build up in it (backfired out of #2 I THINK)

How I bought it was a visual inspection (even held a strait edge up to the frount part of the frame... definetly tweeked about half an inch)... I said I think its worth about $40 bux how it sits...(flat tire, garbage filled interior, overall needed a substancial cleaning) After a ton of haggeling and debait he said... fine

I took it for a test drive after I bought it (Illegally... no lisance, no plates, lights didnt work) and decided that I can fix/clean it up so its better.

I cleaned the interior with "spot shot" which is a nasty carpet cleaner that foams... and man it works good on plastic...

SO yeah, dont buy from a mechanic, you dont exactly know what cobbled repairs youll get...

Dont buy from a minor

Dont buy any vehicals from me unless your paying more than $500... because I beat the crap out of that truck for darn near 6 months, and sold it splitting my cost ($150 on truck, $150 on plates... I love WI ... but then again, my mom bought me the plates)



So you can get a rough pos, and sell it as a less rough pos if you know how to haggle, and your not afraid to get your hands dirty...
And unless you know the maintance history of the vehical, you could be in for an expensive supprise

~Nate