From what I know, if a vehicle is totaled by an insurance co. then rebuilt it gets a salvage/rebuilt title. That could be collision, flood, fire, that usually is greater than 50% of the vehicles value. Yes ask for an explanation and photographs, and who rebuilt it.

The seller is telling me the front bumper and grill was replaced. I think I will shy away from other than a clean title. That kind of damage sure seems to be less than 50% so why the rebuilt title?
Shopping for a newer used car is no fun, just can't seem to trust anyone.

Mercedes dealers get 2005-6 e320 CDIs in stock from time to time and they tend to be fairly priced. A dealer maintained vehicle with service history is a good foundation for a used car. You can also negotitate getting some preventative maintenance done if necessary.

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-- Chris

'95 E300, 216k miles, Silver Surfer
'05 E320 CDI, 138k miles
'07 S550 4matic, 69k miles

Gone but not forgotten:

'76 300D, 350k miles?, SOLD in 1995
'75 240D, 300k miles, SOLD in 1991

Not on a Mercedes. You can do 5k in body damage easy and not do any structural or engine damage. My sister hit a deer in her 06 Cdi. She moved to New Zealand and was going to give me the car in two weeks. My luck. The insurance company at first wasn't going to total it out. Then they did. 6k in damage.

1998 and 1999 are great but the spring perches rust out up north Ivee heard. If you. It a southern one and coat it or keep an eye on it you would be ok. I've had 4 w210s and none of them were rusty. But I live in TN.

That said any Mercedes or Vw is going to be expensive to maintain relative to a American or Japanese car. They just have too many expensive parts that break . You can buy a perfectly good minivan that won't ever break for the price of one trip to the dealer for your Mercedes cdi.

Our 06 had 600.00 central gateway at dealer. 900 sbc pump at Indy. And ball joints -- 500 just for parts. Oh and fuel injector seals -- 100 in parts and lots of work and a special injector puller tool. Oh and navigation antenna and coupler. That was only in like 2 years ownership.

Buy one with higher mileage. It will have more stuff fixed. A Mercedes with 120,000 on the clock is a money pit. One with 175 and a good maintenance history is about right assuming the tranny holds out. Which they usually do if the fluid is changed.

You need expensive, like thousands, for the mb star scanner, maybe cheaper options now but I couldn't find anything that can program the gateway or sbc when I was looking.

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What Would Rudolph Do?
1975 300D, 1975 240D, 1985 300SD, 1997 300D, 2005 E320 , 2006 Toyota Prius