Diesel Dilemma

[Phillytwotank]

Seeking input here,

A friend of mine is wanting to part with his ‘99 E300D
He’s had it about a year after getting it from the original owner who was the epitome of maticulois. Records and receipts for EVERYTHING. First time I saw it I was blown away by how clean and nice it is. Seriously the nicest one I’ve seen.
The car is still just as nice. Second owner has continued to treat it just as well.
Up to 118,000 miles now just got new tires and front brakes.
Darker silver paint with black interior. Everything works. For real.

My friend wants me to buy this car from him and has offered me a great deal.
About 12% down and 7 monthly payments to pay it off. Interest free.

I’m sooo tempted by this even though I don’t currently “need” a new car.
I’m heavily invested in my ‘92 at this point. After numerous repairs intended to keep it on the road for the long run. It’s up to 385,000 now.

I feel like it may even be worth it to get the ‘99 and store it for a time until the day comes when I do need a new ride.

Another thing I’m wondering about is the price. I know what he paid for the car and now he’s asking less than that.

What do y’all think a mint condition ‘99 E300D with 118k,brand new Michelin’s, new front brakes and complete records since the day it was bought is worth?

[BWhitmore]

General thought - sounds like a great car with a fair deal; however, purchasing a car from your boss can be a little tricky from an employee-employer standpoint.

[sloride]

No mention of his asking price. 05-06s with 200k going around 5k now. That makes me think it is fairly priced around 4k. If you can afford it grab it, should get you an additional 200k easily while doing it in comfort at around 30MPGs. Doubt not many Honda Accords can do that for that price.

[Phillytwotank]

Purposefully did not mention the asking price as to limit bias in any responses. Price is FIRM i know that.

[mbolton1990]

If it's under 4k I'd snag it without a second thought, sounds like a gem and it being a TD really makes it nice, will be alot better car than the 92 most likely.. really depends on how bad you want it at the end of the day, sounds like your keen

[97 SL320]

Originally Posted by Phillytwotank

I feel like it may even be worth it to get the ‘99 and store it for a time until the day comes when I do need a new ride.

Driving the new and old car on a 6 month rotation would keep both cars moving and allow you to enjoy both.

If you do get it, be sure to get full insurance coverage at least for the loan period / 1 year so you can walk away if something happens. Your choice if you continue coverage.

Originally Posted by Phillytwotank

Another thing I’m wondering about is the price. I know what he paid for the car and now he’s asking less than that.

As a jumping off point, I'd look up a 09 to 12 " E class " at this is still new enough to generate meaningful price guide info. Look at the % change in value from a year up / down and miles then apply this % to the friends original purchase price and current price. In the absence of any other data, this would be at least something.

[83w126]

Originally Posted by Phillytwotank

Purposefully did not mention the asking price as to limit bias in any responses. Price is FIRM i know that.

The value of these has drastically decreased over the last few years so that definitely makes a difference. They used to be hard to find under $5k, now they sit on Craigslist for months at $2500 even for a reasonably good one with under 200k miles. Do you know if this one has had the glow plugs changed yet? The one I used to have came with a receipt for about $2800 to have a shop change them (including pulling the head to have several broken ones removed).

[engatwork]

I'd like to get his contact info and find out more about it before making a comment on price. Please pm to me.

If as nice as you say get it. You won't regret it.

[shertex]

Sounds like a great opportunity. But in terms of market value, everything earlier than W211 is getting squeezed by the 05/06 CDI pricing. So, unless someone actually prefers the W210, makes sense to spend a few dollars more and get a CDI...IMO a better car in every respect.

[jay_bob]

My seat of the pants market estimate
W210s 2k-5k depending on age, mileage, if it has a turbo or not. Personal data point, my 98 E300 is sale pending at $3k with 253k miles and just did the glow plugs last winter.

W211 05-06 (OM648 “CDI”) are now anywhere from 4-8k from what I was seeing while searching for a car a couple months ago

W211 07-09 (OM642 “Bluetec”) are now $5-10k. I bought an 08 E320 last year private sale for $9k

And I just bought a 2013 E350 BT from a MB dealer CPO for $19k so there’s another data point. This is the last year with the OM642. Non CPOs of this MY or especially the 2011-2012s with more mileage (thus disqualifying them from CPO) can be had in the mid teens.

The 2014-2016 E250s with the OM651 are commanding mid-upper 20s into the low 30s from MB dealers selling as CPOs.

The W212 diesels don’t stay in stock long at the dealers. I literally had to call and get my name in as soon as I got the email alert from the MB CPO site. I lost out on a few before jumping on it radio station contest style.