Rest of the story:

I'm about ready to give up.

He lists it at $1890

Then he whips out all the receipts for the work he's had done, and starts to get all sentimental, 'not sure I want to sell'... blah blah blah... goes in his house, takes a moment to "think" about things, blah blah blah... and decides he wants $2100.

Now he's calling me...

Either he thought you were a sucker and were going to fall for it or he shouldn't have bothered to list it. I think it was the first one, I mean if I'm attached to a car $300 doesn't mean a thing. If someone offered me $5k for my talon I'd laugh, if they offered $5,500 I'd laugh even harder! Finding a good car for sale is pretty hard to find, that is a shame how people lie like the rust issue just to get you to look at it. How could they not know it was there?!? As for finding a good one, there aren't a whole lot of them out there because if the car was so good why would they be selling it? I've found the best way to get the best vehicle is take your sweet time and don't feel pressured by time or anything to buy one, just always keep your eyes open you never know what you'll find. There are good ones out there, but finding one can take some good time, I'm sure if you keep looking you'll find the one you want.

Good luck,

__________________
Jeff M.
Mercedes W123 DIY pages are now located here.
1983 / 1984 300D Sold
2000 CLK430 Cabriolet ~58k Sold
2005 Avalanche 4x4 ~66k

Unless you are in a hurry I would look further. There are many rust free ones available. Bad paint is another issue. A prime car would not cost too much more. Body work and paintwork are very expensive.