Carfax shows that mileage was reported as 136,503 on 10/03/93 and then reported 44,260 on 3/17/1999!!!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2417490604&category=6330

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85 300CD Signal Red/Tan sold
83 300D Manganese Brown 109K
97 E420 Midnight Blue 197K sold
98 BMW 328i Vert White 100K, sold
95 BMW 525i White 125K, sold
93 BMW 525iT Red 193K, sold
95 E320 Green Wagon 125K, sold
94 E320 White 127K, sold
85 300SD 156K Grey (Annie), sold
84 300D Lapis Blue 170K (Judy), sold
99 ML 320 Black (lease), 1998 C230 White (lease)
00 Honda S2000 Red (lease)
86 Mercedes 300E (sold)
84 Porsche 911 Red (sold), 1965 Porsche 911 White (sold)

Don't be too quick to hang them. In the description of the car they specifically state that the true mileage of the car is unknown.

Scott

I'm not trying to defend this person regarding the mileage disclosure. They should have disclosed that in the mileage section at the top of the page and not included a picture of the odometer. You definitely get the impression they are trying to direct your attention away from that fact. Also, I agree that their description of the car is somewhat misleading. For example, when describing the interior, they state there are no cracks in the dash pad NOT dash board. Someone might overlook this detail and think the dashboard is in great shape. Most people care about the condition of the dash board and realize dash pads don't crack often. Though everything is accurate, I think it is designed to throw people off. I definitly would not be comfortable dealing with this person.

Scott

The condition of the car looks like it has 160,000+ miles as well.. in no way would I belive it had only 61,000 original miles.

It is my experience that on the ones with higher mileage the 1/10's indicator on the trip odometer looks like the one in the photo. If the car is truly a low miles car the 1/10's indicator is NOT dark/discolored.

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Jim

I don't have any specific comments about this car, I just wanted to say...

Carfax ain't always right!

We had a Buick one time that showed up as a possible odometer rollback. If you followed it along (using mainly emission testing readings, plus our bill of sale) they all made sense up until one reading. The dolt at the emission testing place dropped the first digit! So the readings went something like 158.000 km, then we bought at 160,00, then the next emission was 70,000km (and flagging odometer rollback), then a year later it was 185,000km. Obviously (to me) the reading in the middle was wrong. But, I was shocked when we went to sell the car and ran it through carfax and discovere this. There is no way to correct it once the error is made!

Anyway, jsut a story to share with you, because as soon as we see a flag like that we tend to dismiss it as a fraud..

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Natalie

I would think that these dealers would subscribe to carfax for knowledge when they purchase cars to buy. I think the odometer picture is an intent to mislead...

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85 300CD Signal Red/Tan sold
83 300D Manganese Brown 109K
97 E420 Midnight Blue 197K sold
98 BMW 328i Vert White 100K, sold
95 BMW 525i White 125K, sold
93 BMW 525iT Red 193K, sold
95 E320 Green Wagon 125K, sold
94 E320 White 127K, sold
85 300SD 156K Grey (Annie), sold
84 300D Lapis Blue 170K (Judy), sold
99 ML 320 Black (lease), 1998 C230 White (lease)
00 Honda S2000 Red (lease)
86 Mercedes 300E (sold)
84 Porsche 911 Red (sold), 1965 Porsche 911 White (sold)

I agree that this seller is looking for the next greater fool. I also agree with jassz that carfax can be wrong. My 82 year old father moved to Florida and reregistered his car. When asked what the mileage was he guessed because he was too lazy to get the exact mileage. His guess was about 30,000 miles too high. Now I have a car that I am trying to sell for him that has actual mileage that is less than his 2 year old title. Who's ever going to believe that one? Carfax is great but there can be legitimate reasons it's not accurate.

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LRG
1987 300D Turbo 175K
2006 Toyota Prius, efficent but no soul
1985 300 TDT(130K miles of trouble free motoring)now sold

It may have been a previous owner who rollbacked the odometer, but I DO think it was tampered with. And I DO think that the current dealer is aware of this flaw and I DO think he is trying to mislead with the odometer picture:

CARFAX searched over 2.16 billion records from nearly 800 sources and found 7 record(s) for this 1985 MERCEDES BENZ 300 TDT (WDBAB93C8FF038539).

Date:
Odometer Reading:
Source:
General Comments:

10/03/1993 136,503 New York
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Great Neck, NY
Title issued
Loan or lien reported
Additional loan or lien reported

03/18/1998 New York
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Manhasset, NY
Title issued
Loan or lien reported

03/17/1999 44,260 New York
Inspection Station
New York City Area
Passed safety inspection
POTENTIAL ODOMETER ROLLBACK

07/15/2002 61,124 New York
Inspection Station
New York City Area
Passed safety inspection

09/17/2002 61,240 Auto Auction
Sold at auction
in Eastern Region
Listed as
a dealer vehicle

01/02/2003 61,665 Auto Auction
Sold at auction
in Eastern Region
Listed as
a dealer vehicle

01/02/2003 Auto Auction
Sold at auction
in Eastern Region
Listed as
a dealer vehicle

That car looks like it's spending more time on the auction block than on the road.

Looks like the 1 was possibly dropped from 93-99

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W126 1983 300SD 286,000 miles and ticking
Baby blue exterior Grey MB tex
Recent work:
Replaced air cleaner mounting brackets and heat shields
Replaced alternator, fan and power steering belts
Replaced positive battery terminal
Replaced negative battery terminal and cord
New Duralast Battery

My car needs work.

Well I guess enough of us have emailed him (including me) and "mentioned" the issue. He has now added a LARGE disclaimer to the bottom of the Auction page. He pointed this out to me in his return email. He also said he would NOT remove the odometer pic as I had suggested in my email

I emailed back that it would be a much more presentable package to take out the disclaimer along with the odometer pic, and change the millage listing at the top of the page to list milage more accurately.

He has since returned my last email and stated he agreed but you cant change an ad once the auction starts cept by adding to the area where he put the disclaimer.

so... guess he is trying to be up and up, he also said he had not seen the carfax. I emailed the copy listed here to him.

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"If anyone knows other lessons I need to learn, please tell me. I'm tired of learning them the hard way".
by JerryBro

The Glow Plug Wait: This waiting period is a moment of silence to pay honor to Rudolph Diesel. The longer you own your diesel the more honor you will give him". by SD Blue

My normal daily life; either SNAFUed- Situation Normal... All Fouled Up, or FUBARed- Fouled Up Beyond All Repair

62 UNIMOG Camper w/617 Turbo, 85 300SD daily driver- both powered by blended UCO fuels

Well, some good has been done before this auction ends. Now potential buyers are on notice.

You all did a great service in bringing this mileage issue to this gentleman's attention. I'm glad to see that he has responded and clearly added a disclaimer at the bottom.

I've actually seen much worse when it comes to a dealer's misleading wording about a car on Ebay. At least this seller did show some good pictures of the rust. Looks to me like the car has some rear end suspension issues that are past due.

I wish Ebay had an ignore feature where one could blacklist sellers that appear to be suspect.

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JD

eBay has a bid blocker feature, its hidden away somewhere.
They want to make as much profit as they can. it is to their advantage to allow a sale to progress at the highest price possible. CAVEAT EMPTOR = BUYERS BEWARE!
Dieseldiehard