Need some advice on mileage... - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Nerd of nerds · #1 08-07-2006, 10:58 PM

Yo guys, i was just searching google and found your forum, seems like a GREAT place!

I've been looking for a nice deisel car that i could convert to run on veggie oil after a while and in my search i found that, surprisingly, mercedes-benz seems to be relativly affordable in the used diesel cars dept...

I know nothing about diesel engines so this is going to be a learning experience...

My first question is this: How many miles is too many for a diesel car? I've seen a lot of afforable 300D and 190Ds on ebay but a lot of them seem to have a ton of miles. the one i'm currently watching the closest has around 150k miles on it but looks to be in fantastic shape.

I'd like this car to last as long as possible and i'm fully commited to maintaining it.

networkboy · #2 08-07-2006, 11:25 PM

It's all about the maintenance.
I just acquired a 300TD (my first diesel) with 234K miles and excellent service records. Had a mechanic give it a once over and everything was cherry on the engine and transmission except a few minor things. All the expected stuff was worn: linkage, most of the rubber bits and such, but I'll be fixing those myself :heh:

If you have a chance I would have the buyer allow you to take it to a mechanic and the sale be contingent on that. $100 will buy you lots of confidence or save you many times that by allowing you to lower the price or walk away from the sale.

Nerd of nerds · #3 08-07-2006, 11:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by networkboy

It's all about the maintenance.
I just acquired a 300TD (my first diesel) with 234K miles and excellent service records. Had a mechanic give it a once over and everything was cherry on the engine and transmission except a few minor things. All the expected stuff was worn: linkage, most of the rubber bits and such, but I'll be fixing those myself :heh:

If you have a chance I would have the buyer allow you to take it to a mechanic and the sale be contingent on that. $100 will buy you lots of confidence or save you many times that by allowing you to lower the price or walk away from the sale.

Sadly this car is on ebay and is 400 miles away from me 0_o my sister will be visiting the town its in a week after the auction ends (luckily) and she knows a LOT more about cars than me.

The car appears to have been well maintaned and looks flawless from the pictures (a tiny tiny bit of surface rust) and claims to have been regularly serviced. The car has had 1 owner...

at 150k miles, how much do you think a 190DT is worth?

Eskimo · #4 08-07-2006, 11:49 PM

Welcome to the forum. Nerd!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nerd of nerds

the one i'm currently watching the closest has around 150k miles on it but looks to be in fantastic shape.

I won't offer an opinion about "how many miles is too many", but I will quote myself from another thread:

Quote:

Originally Posted by eskimo

This has been stated many, many times on this forum, but I'll state it again: Unless solid information is available to verify it, do not assign any extra value to one of these cars solely for showing "low miles" on the odometer. The odometers are notorious for failing spontaneously. They're also notoriously easy to reset to any particular desired mileage.

You mentioned 300D and 190D in your original post. My personal experience is limited to the (W123 chassis) 300D; I don't know if the odo on a 190D is as prone to failure or as ridiculously simple to mess with. The point is not to caught up in the notion that claimed (but unverifiable) low mileage is by itself a good predictor of the true condition of the car.