Think I got it....for now. New listing is 1986 Mercedes Benz 300SDL and when I search for 300SDL it shows up. But I'm sure the bots will eventually hunt me down.

__________________
14 E250 Bluetec 4Matic "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 154k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 172k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver on Tan, 142k mi, wastegate conversion, ALDA delete

19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife

options; change your IP by logging in from a wifi spot, change your email, and get a google voice phone number and set it up to forward to your cell. google voice is a wonderful free service.

I had never heard of ghosting so i did some quick research- sorry about your problem but i kinda' like CL's approach spammers and customer service.

Apparently it will be a complete waste of your time to try to challenge or question this, they will ignore you or provide vague non-answers.

ghosting is liberally used and somewhat arbitrary.

But when you consider that CL remains free and effective and has managed to surrive spam, it is an impressive tactic.

Apparently changing the IP address can actually increase the likelihood of ghosting!

You make a good point. CL has been bery, bery good to me....sold four cars on it, no success on Ebay (yet). I'll probably just chill for a while and try selling the again in a few months.

__________________
14 E250 Bluetec 4Matic "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 154k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 172k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver on Tan, 142k mi, wastegate conversion, ALDA delete

19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife

Because, like you, i was born without the letter 'R' (i'm from New Bedford), i cloned your entire listing on my blog.

Mercedes on Craigslist | Welcome to Old RV dot NET. Dedicated to the care and feeding of vintage campers and motorhomes


The link and the photos can stay there indefinately. Figure out hot to link to it without irritating CL.

good luck

I searched for 300sdl and also 300SDL (different search) and couldn't find you ad. Maybe the bots already got you. Maybe it is the bold font. Hmmmm......ebay doesn't like a reference to an outside website; it barks everytime I give the URL to PeachParts.

Maybe the external pics are the cause of CL ghosting your ad????

__________________
daw_two
Germantown, TN

Links:
Sold last car --- 05/2012 1984 300D Light Ivory, Red interior
Cluster Needles Paint
New Old Stock (NOS) parts

Past:
3/2008 1986 300SDL "Coda"
04/2010 1965 190D(c) "Ben"
& many more

I think that's a possibility....although it's never happened before. AND Craigslist even provides instructions as to how to use external pics.

__________________
14 E250 Bluetec 4Matic "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 154k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 172k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver on Tan, 142k mi, wastegate conversion, ALDA delete

19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife

Go back to plain text.
It looks like the SCREAMING FONT may be an issue now...



.

1986 Mercedes-Benz 420SEL

1986 MERCEDES BENZ 300E

Maybe....but the more I read about ghosting the more conjectural the explanations seem to be....there are so many possible causes. In my case, I think one of the issues may be the similarity of this ad to another ad I recently ran.

__________________
14 E250 Bluetec 4Matic "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 154k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 172k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver on Tan, 142k mi, wastegate conversion, ALDA delete

19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife

I count at least six font sizes on your page.

.

Well, all I can say is that Craigslist provides the instructions as to how to vary font sizes and my ads have worked well in the past.

__________________
14 E250 Bluetec 4Matic "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 154k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 172k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver on Tan, 142k mi, wastegate conversion, ALDA delete

19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife

I altered your personal contact data in this post...

Here are my suggested changes.


FOR SALE
1986 Mercedes-Benz 300SDL
Grey with Palomino Leather Interior
Current Odometer Reading: 195,000 miles

Rust Free and Leak Free
Clean, Non-smoker
126.125 chassis, 603.961 engine, 722.321 transmission
25 mpg mixed, 30 mpg highway

Location: Barrington, RI
Price: $4950
Call or text David at 000.000.0000 or email BlAnK@GooFyAddress dot org
Numerous high-resolution photographs available at Photobucket.com/Mercedes300SDL

This SDL is performing to very high standards. Suspension is tight, acceleration is excellent, shifting is smooth, steering is responsive, braking is perfect. It really is a joy to drive. . .especially on the open road! I love the strength and feel of the 603 engine!

APPEARANCE

Cosmetically the car is, overall, in very good condition. . .see photos.

A few words about the paint. . . The car was repainted some time prior to 2005. When I purchased the car, I thought it was the original factor color: anthracite grey (MB paint #172). However, when I applied some factory touch up paint to some very small chips in the paint, I discovered that the paint is a slightly lighter grey. . .still a very nice color. (I'm certain that it isn't due to fading since the color is so uniform). Some sections of the car are in excellent condition, but there is clearcoat peeling on parts of the hood, roof, and trunk. When I purchased the car.

The chrome and the wheels, are in good shape.

The interior leather has the hairline cracks you would expect but there are no holes, rips, or tears. Surprisingly, the dash is in great condition, with none of the major cracks you expect to see on the SDLs. Trim work, carpet, etc. are in good condition.

FUNCTIONALITY AND MAINTENANCE

The climate control is in excellent working order. Heat is hot, A/C is ice cold, variable fan speed works perfectly, the center vents work (often they do not on these cars), and the blower motor does not squeak.

The cooling system is operating perfectly: temperature stays at a rock solid 82C. And there is no evidence that the car has ever overheated.

Some particular things to note about the car:

It has the upgraded Euro headlights. . .a definite improvement.

EGR has been deleted.

Oil changes have been every 5000-6000 miles with either Shell Rotella synthetic or Mobil 1 Turbo Diesel Truck 5w40 synthetic. Due to the EGR deletion, soot levels remain below 1% at these intervals and you could probably opt for longer drain intervals; 6,000 miles is very conservative with a good synthetic.

There is NO RUST and, to the best of my knowledge, the car has never been exposed to road salt, even during its years in New York.

There are no leaks.

It has a zambrano wood shifter. . ..not a big deal, but looks really cool!

It is missing the hood pad and the encapsulation panels (belly pans).

It has a #15 head, which is an improvement over the #14.

Little things work that don't normally work on these cars: for example, the clock, the cruise control, and the exterior temperature gauge. The cruise control amp was rebuilt in 2007 by GDL (the recognized experts in Mercedes cruise systems) so the cruise (in my opinion, a MUST for a highway cruiser like the SDL) should work well for many years to come.

This is an unusually fast SDL. . ..0-60 in just over ten seconds! If your impression of an older, full-size Mercedes diesel is that it's slow, you are in for a nice surprise!!

The car comes with a maintenance history of the last 95,000 miles (and I had very extensive conversations with the previous owner prior to purchase).

All fluids and filters have been recently changed.

Rhode Island inspection valid through June 2014.

Maintenance Highlights from Previous Owner:

Dec 2011 New Tires (Michelin Hydroedge, 80,000 mile rated) and Alignment
Nov 2011 Monovalve Renewal
Nov 2011 New Front Brake Rotors, Pads (Akebono ceramic), and Calipers and Fluid Renewal
Nov 2011 Repack Front Wheel Bearings
Nov 2011 New Delivery Valve Seals
May 2010 AC Evacuation and Recharge (R134a)
Jun 2009 New Fuel Pump
2007 Rebuilt Cruise Control Amp
Jun 2007 New Driveshaft and Flex Discs
Apr 2006 New Brake Master Cylinder
Jun 2006 Differential Fluid Change
Nov 2005 New Rear Brake Calipers and Pads
Aug 2005 New Climate Control Unit
May 2005 New Rear Springs
Apr 2005 New Differential Mount and Subframe Bushings
Apr 2005 New Upper Control Arms
Apr 2005 New Battery Tray
Feb 2005 New Multifunction Relay
Oct 2004 New Front Shocks (Bilstein)
Oct 2004 New Block Heater Cord
Aug 2004 New Driver's Seat Spring

One item a new owner might want to address: the ABS (antilock braking system). When the previous owner replaced the front brake calipers, he found that the two ABS speed sensors had deteriorated enough that he simply discarded them. He was fine living without ABS on the car and so was I. However, I did purchase a set of working sensors that the new owner may want to install. In any event, the ABS lamp does not illuminate so there are no issues in passing inspection if you elect not to install the sensors.

Finally, a note about the right rear window. At one point, I could hear the motor working but the window would not move up and down, though I could manually slide it up and down (in other words, the window had not fallen down). Then, after fiddling with it for a while, it somehow "reconnected" and I was able to raise the window. At that point I decided to leave it alone, secure in the raised position. I suspect that, if the new owner desires to use the rear window, he will need to replace the regulator or perhaps simply one of the sliders.

CONCLUSION

If you have questions, please feel free to ask.
My goal is to provide you with as much information as possible before you invest the time to look at the car in person.

This is a classic S-class diesel that has been well maintained.

Cash only. Feel free to contact me by phone, email, or text, but I will want to have a phone conversation to ascertain your serious interest before setting an appointment to see the car. If you can see this ad the car is still available. Thanks for looking.

Thanks, Roy. And a shout out to Roy for taking the time to give me a phone call to provide a better understanding of how Craigslist works and some pointers as to how to craft a better ad.

Back to the drawing board....perhaps my frustrations, once resolved, will be of some help to others. I'll keep everyone posted.

Thanks again, Roy.

__________________
14 E250 Bluetec 4Matic "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 154k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 172k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver on Tan, 142k mi, wastegate conversion, ALDA delete

19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife

Glad to help.
I hope it is one of the easy issues we discussed.

.

So far so good....Roy, I used your suggested text almost verbatim with no pictures and it's showing up. I think I'll leave it alone for a while then think about gradually adding pics, etc....

1986 Mercedes 300SDL

__________________
14 E250 Bluetec 4Matic "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 154k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 172k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver on Tan, 142k mi, wastegate conversion, ALDA delete

19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife