Ran across a real cream puff today! 300SD
 

Saw it from the corner of my sight sitting on a street that was to my left. I turned around and stopped to look at it and, man, it's a nice car! Navy blue with the gray interior (leather, and very, very GC). 163,500 miles.

I live in Dayton, Ohio and the car had New Jersey tags on it so I was too curious and I called the number on the window sign. It was bought brand new by the father of the lady that I spoke with and she had brought it back here at the request of her mother to sell it. She said it has always been "meticulously maintained" and serviced (I did forget to ask her if she has all records of service though!) and that it was always garaged. (It was pretty obvious since the paint appeared to be the original finish and not faded at all). Then she commented that she hated the fact that it had to be sitting outside since there was not a garage for it here. There does not appear to be any rust on the vehicle. Just very, very nice.

I tried to act as though I was only mildly interested but wow, if I could swing a great deal...! She said the asking price was $6K. If she would get down into the $4K's I might just have to think seriously about selling off the 123...? What do you guys think one of this calibre might be worth? :confused: Is she 'on the money'? Or she a bit lofty?!

There's a 126 SD for sale here in Denver with 120k miles or so--$10k.

Yeah, it doesn't surprise me. The market seems to fluctuate so frequently on the MB's - some times they are selling high and other times, not so high! I always go to eBay and see what's happening with the ones listed there. I did that with this one as well but they do not seem to be bringing as much as I have seen in the recent past. :confused:

If it's very clean and has proper maintenance records and the front end has had some work done along the way and the a/c is functioning properly and the paint is excellent, it's worth the asking price.

Such vehicles are very hard to find and people will pay more than this figure for an example with 100K miles or less. But, it's mileage will prevent it from getting over $6K.

kerry_edwards: Are you talking about the blue SD by Ken Caryl? That one is $10k and it's beautiful...

what year is the SD? 6K does sound like a lot for a 617.... however, IF it's really in superior shape, it should be worth it. like brian said, look over the front suspension. look at the body mounts and all the moving parts, look for new rubber in there, if it's all cracked and leaking, know you will be spending another 1500.00 or so getting that fixed. you could find a lower quality one, and put well over 6K into getting it in great shape, or just get this with the quality already there. good luck! and let us know if you get it or not.

Haggle with her and pay her in $100 bills. Many people will lower their price to a good buyer who'll not cause any problems.

I saw it on Craigslist and exchanged some e-mails with the owner. It's blue but I thought it was in Golden. I was considering it for a while.

FWIW I paid 6750 for my 86 300 SDL about a month ago. I would rate everything in "very Good" condition on the car. There is a tear in the seat, and there is one small pin sized rust spot on the door and several door dings that need to be knocked out. Other than that the car is in very good condition. It had 153,918 when I took ownership.

Did I over pay? Maybe, but I really wanted the car.:D I figured that if I got a car that was well maintained and in very good condition it would save me money in the long run.

Good luck with whatever you do.

Sorry guys, but I JUST realized I never mentioned what year it is!!! :stunned:

It's a 1984 300SD TurboDiesel...:D

I'm 'gamblin' that it might sit for a little while so I'm going to let it be for now...with an observing glance in its direction now and then of course!:)

Sd
 

You could always call her back and explain that $6k is out of reach for you, but you might be interested in the car at around $4400 (or whatever). That might interest her in taking your number as a hedge against even lower bids .... and leaves the door open for you to spot negatives and lower your actual offer when you inspect the car more closely.

She may be overestimating the local demand, and she might not know how to advertise it nationwide.

Many people become frustrated at the work of trying to sell something like this, and welcome having a solid offer to fall back on - one that looks better and better as time goes on and advertising costs and time invested mount up.

Update..
I called her back Saturday to ask three questions -
1. Does the cruise control work? (No, it does not);
2. Does the climate control unit function properly? (Yes, but it does need a compressor. She stated that the 134 conversion was done BUT then the compressor went south and that her mechanic said it needs a compressor.) BIG $$$ here I assume!?;
3. Are ALL service records available "from day one"? Yes, all records are there.

I also inquired about having work done on the front end and she said there has been front end work performed on the car along the way, also - exhaust system, motor mounts. (How much maintenance can I expect to encounter on the front end of this car?)

I told her I was struggling with the $6K figure and that if she were down around $4K I might consider it more seriously. To that she said (in a somewhat noticable plea!) that if I would come drive the car and examine it that she would be happy to entertain an offer. She knows that I am currently an owner of an 'older' diesel MB and somewhat knowledgable about some of the issues and said she "would like to see it bought by someone that would appreciate it and take care of it..."!

Based on this further info, what might I consider as a starting offer? If all these issues went away on this car, it would likely bring the $6K she is wanting. BUT repair costs are easily going to reach $2K. I'm thinking an offer of $2.8 - $3K might not insult her - too badly! Then again, she might throw me out of the car! :D

Some more thoughts please would be helpful! I'm nervous getting rid of my 123 since I 'know' it better than this one of course, but I do have AC (cruise has not been tackled yet!), it also is a rust free body and chassis! What to do. What to do...:)

You have already tainted the deal to some degree by starting at a WAG of $4000 before you have done any research.
The car is from road salt country, New Jersey...I would crawl all under this thing to identify any concerns or issues before starting any real offer.

Does she have the title and registration?
What will the repairs cost for known problems?
Ever been dinged or damaged and repaired? (Are you sure?)
When were the major repairs done to the car? (helps to evaluate when they will need to be done again)
Does documentation include repairs to the following parts or their subsystems:
Transmission?
Drive train?
Half-axles
Radiator?
HVACC controller?
What about shocks/struts?
Brake rotors, pads, and master cylinder?
Wheel bearings?

Date and mileage of any of these are important to establish the risk for having to replace them and to estimate expected costs for attending to them when they occur.

Begin by handing her $1900 cash while asking for the key...I would go no more than 2500 or so. Depends on how well you can negotiate a deal.
Remember, the seller has no true vested interest or actual money invested in this item and will be happy to take what they can get to get rid the car. It is all a matter of being an informed buyer and not being emotional or afraid of walking away if they don't accept your offer.

The value is in the eye of the beholder ...the worth is what a buyer agrees to.

g'luck

With the limited information that you already have, the value has dropped from $6K to less than $4K depending on the condition of the body. If the body is good but not immaculate, the value is about $3K. The cruise and the a/c will set you back $1.5K by the time you are finally done with it.

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