Any thoughts on this car?
 

Found this Ebayer while killing time at work ... very close to me, close enough that I could drive down and give it a glance. Not sure what the reserve is, but if it goes for cheapo, $500 or so, would it be worth it to have as a beater-type vehicle? I love 115s and mine is so far from moving anywhere I can't even really fantasize about driving it. I thought this one doesn't look too bad. My questions would be the validity of the rebuily engine and the shenanigans with the glowplug relay (confused by his description of that). Anyone have an expert opinion to talk me down?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1,1&item=4626624725&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT

With two 115's in your garage why not. It has a newly rebuilt engine and appears to have a lot of other good parts. As long as your body is good on your 240 you might be able to make yourself a really nice 300D. The seats aren't the best but the dash and all that looks really nice. But as for the rusted body. That looks like it is about done.

LOL ... if you think THAT body is done, you ought to see MINE!!! The pluses on my 115 are a near perfect interior (despite badly leaking weather stripping), good wheels and, as far as I know, probably many usable engine/mechanical parts.

haha...thats not good. :)

I grew up on the Oregon Coast and saw a lot of rusted cars. Sure that is saveable but it is always disheartening to see and means a lot of preventative work and a close eye for the years to come.

The really sad thing about my 240d is that it was a perfect car when left where it still sits. My mom hooked the bumper on something and ripped it off way back in the '80s, and my dad parked it with intentions of fixing it ... and never got around to it. It's been sitting there ever since. My family is really weird like that ... we end up with a lot of junk because of it. I can't complain because while they might neglect cars sometimes, both my parents gave (and still give) me and my sisters all the attention we could ever ask for. But I do still give my dad a hard time about the poor Mercedes ... where he went wrong was probably letting my mom ever drive it in the first place ... she doesn't seem to have much luck behind the 3-pointed star for some reason. :P

Back to the auction car, though, I'm not sure the rust would be the big issue with me. I have enjoyed tampering with POR15 and amateur rustwork and wouldn't mind having a beater to really let loose on in that department. I don't care if it looks a little sloppy, as long as it isn't structurally unsafe. I could get a better feel by looking at and feeling around this car ... the photos aren't real informative as far as the extent of that rust. This would just be something to have for fun for a few years and not as a daily driver.

You should take a sharp instrument and probe through the undercoating at all kinds of locations. Have seen the undercoat looking just great but unfortunatly there is sometimes nothing but oxide underneath it. Also the 114-115 like to rustout the front subframe where the steering box fastens to as well. Check it. Although if car went through a legitimate safety inspection by someone who is even a little familiar with these cars perhaps it's okay. Go check before auctions end though and hope turns out not too bad. Major rust equals parts car.

I don't really understand why someone would put $4K into an engine rebuild for a rusty car without spending a few $1000 to fix the rust. :confused:

Could be he had a rust job in mind for the future, but attended to getting it running first. Description says the owner had a major back problem, and it doesn't really sound like a sob story designed to sell the item. My guess would be he may have had other plans for the car and just got derailed.

Or maybe that was his last $4,000. :cool:

If the engine and tranny are as good as they claim, it might be worth a look. If it sells cheap (maybe $1000) you couldn't go too far wrong. The engine alone should be worth that much. If the rust isn't fatal, you could fix the interior/rust/paint and end up with a pretty nice driver for maybe $3-4K.