I found a 1987 Mercedes 300D turbo diesel 4dr at one of our local Honda dealerships yesterday on the back wholesale lot while driving through. It has 268K, dark blue w/tan interior. The car is 100% rust and dent free, but the paint has scratches and beginning to fade w/clearcoat coming off of the hood. The front seating has some splits on it, but the rear seats and carpeting in the entire car is still in good conditions. The salesman said on the phone today that the car belonged to a friend and he knows that the car runs good, but low on the appearance side. He said they would not set a car in that condition on their main used car lot and the car would normally be sold to one of their wholesalers if I did not buy it. He said for me to look at it and drive and it and make a reasonable offer and they would probably take it. He said he knew how much invested they had in it. I would like to offer $500, but do not want to insult. I hate for someone to say "make an offer". KBB trade-in shows the cars value at $775. So if they go by KBB- then they probably have $800 at the most in it. If the car runs good, should I mention to the dealer that I know the KBB value and offer, say $230. above that? That would be $1000. I am not sure about these cars- what trouble areas should I look for? I am just wanting to buy a economical car to drive to work for now, as my Lexus, Buick and Pontiac are gas guzzlers. Thanks in advance.

__________________
2004 Toyota Sequoia Limited 4wd
1991 Lincoln Town Car Executive
1991 Cadillac Sedan DeVille
1988 Mercedes 300SEL
1972 Chevrolet Caprice Kingswood Estate 9-passenger wagon
1973 Pontiac Grand Ville
(Prior MB's: 1974 240D, 1985 380SE, 1984 190D, 1993 400SEL)

Offer $350, or whatever the wholesale value of the car is, if they are just going to sell it to a wholesaler anyways...

Trade-in value is $775. Is wholesale lower than that? I do not know where I can find the wholesale value. Thanks for the reply.

__________________
2004 Toyota Sequoia Limited 4wd
1991 Lincoln Town Car Executive
1991 Cadillac Sedan DeVille
1988 Mercedes 300SEL
1972 Chevrolet Caprice Kingswood Estate 9-passenger wagon
1973 Pontiac Grand Ville
(Prior MB's: 1974 240D, 1985 380SE, 1984 190D, 1993 400SEL)

Just offer $350, and see if they will take it. You can maybe even offer $100 and see if they will take that, since they are a Honda dealer, and don't know anything about MB's

Don't go by the Kelly retail book to make an offer on a car that will be, essentially, given to a wholesaler. They don't want the car and the combination of the compromised cosmetics and the high miles mean they won't be able to sell it off their lot. If you insist on buying the car, then offer somewhere between $250 and $500. So far you haven't mentioned service history or records, which brings to mind the old saying 'there is no more expensive car than an an inexpensive Mercedes'...

__________________
Richard Detoy
'84 300SD
'76 Moto Guzzi 850 Le Mans

I went through a negotiation course about 12 years or so ago. One of the many rules of negotiation is to always try NOT to give a number. In some cases you have to state the first number. When you have to, NEVER worry about insulting the other fellow with a low ball offer. In fact, if you make it so low that he thinks it's ridiculous, then you can force him to give a number.

Don't dare bet that he gave anywhere close to the book price on a trade in. In fact if you're going to bet, bet that he got it for nothing. That's the way most trades at dealers go.

Also, it sure would be nice to know the maintenance history OR do a compression test. But, if you're getting it cheap enough, if it is worn out, you can just dump it.

My brother in law bought an '86 or '87 300D with almost 300,000 miles. I thought he was crazy when he did it in spite of the fact that the car was in pristine cosmetic condition. That was about six years ago and he's still driving it. It's in great shape to. Of course, he is a tech at an MB dealership so he knows how to maintain it and keep it going.

Good luck,

Local Toyota dealer wholesaled a neighbor's '89 500 TD (I didn't know they were thinking about getting rid of the car) for $755 before I could get hold of the dealer. The car had 105,000 miles and had been garage kept, being used for vacations and short trips out of town only. So make a $300 offer, you can always go up, but you can't go down.

__________________
'10 Chrysler T&C Stow-N-Go White. Grandpa's ride.

'13 Chrysler 200 Touring Candy Red. Grandma's ride.

Age and cunning will always over come youth and vigor.

Thanks. I think I will go look at the car and make the very low offer.

Some of you may remember that I was interested in a local 86 560SEL in GC, with 188K for $3500. I thought that was way high for the car. It has been there for a while. I looked at it again today, as I noticed a new sign in it and they have reduced it to $2500. I am guessing that if I offer her $2000 (it was a donation car at the local salvation army), that she may accept it, since the was was given to them anyway. The car is 100% dry underneath and I was unable to spot any leaks. I will look at them both and pick the best deal. If I buy the 560, I will not get the "good mpg" car that I want, since it is a V8 gasoline. Thanks again.

__________________
2004 Toyota Sequoia Limited 4wd
1991 Lincoln Town Car Executive
1991 Cadillac Sedan DeVille
1988 Mercedes 300SEL
1972 Chevrolet Caprice Kingswood Estate 9-passenger wagon
1973 Pontiac Grand Ville
(Prior MB's: 1974 240D, 1985 380SE, 1984 190D, 1993 400SEL)

The benefit of the 560 is that it will make the Lexus seem like a downright "fuel efficient" vehicle!

Larry is a wise man and this is the best advice I've read yet. Read it a few times and get the full impact.

As far as insulting them, who are they to you? IT'S A CAR DEALER. Unless these guys sit next to you in Sunday school or something, I wouldn't be too concerned with their feelings (even then, I wouldn't get too uptight). They're in business to sell cars and you're looking to buy. They'll forget about you five minutes after the deal's over.

__________________
I'm wanted in four states, but it's all good. Got me a new driver's license and a sweet new pickup. V-8, Baby, five-hundred horsepower. Oh, and four of them mudflaps with the naked ladies on them. GRRRRRRRR, MAMASITA!!! And the best part is, it's all free!!! Yeah, well, for me at least!!!! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!!!!

And, if you are not very good, and/or very careful, they will the the one's laughing all the way to the bank!

Working with car dealers on a daily basis, you would be simply amazed at what these dealers give on trade-ins. That 87 300D they may have taken in at $100 to $500. They are looking at a 17 year old car with almost 300,000 miles.

I tried getting an old Subaru GL wagon from a dealer last month, and I tried offering them $50, and they were insulted. They probally didn't pay a thing for it when they took it in for trade. The interior, and exterior didn't look to good, but it ran fine, and had 200,000 miles on it. They wanted $500 for it, and that was about all they would take for it...

And you're missing the point. WHO CARES WHAT FEELINGS A CAR DEALER OR SALESMAN HAVE IN THEIR EMPTY LITTLE HEADS? Insulting those turds is not even in my realm of thinking. Offer whatever you want to offer. If they don't like it, TOUGH. They'll get over it.

__________________
I'm wanted in four states, but it's all good. Got me a new driver's license and a sweet new pickup. V-8, Baby, five-hundred horsepower. Oh, and four of them mudflaps with the naked ladies on them. GRRRRRRRR, MAMASITA!!! And the best part is, it's all free!!! Yeah, well, for me at least!!!! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!!!!

Jim, my notation, above, regarding them laughing all the way to the bank was an addition to your already perfect statement.
Not only do you not care about insulting THEM, but you need to be careful that they do not take YOU!