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  #1  
Old 11-04-2003, 10:35 AM
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Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Massachusetts
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300E Advice!

Ok, I found a beautiful '88 300E with 62,000 miles and nearly perfect appearance inside and out. Test drove it and it seems pretty good, though I bet it will need a general service and maybe a rear shock on one side, not to mention the usual used car items (little nit-picky things). I believe it's a one owner as well; I'll be checking a carfax to look deeper.
Here's the problem: No service book, no history from the local Mercedes Dealer on this particular car. The dealer that has it says he has no history other than what's in the car (Owner's Manual only). It's a small dealer that sells mostly 1990's Benz's.
Asking price $6900.
Would you be comfortable pursuing such a car? I will schedule a complete PPI at Hatch and Sons if I can just make up my mind as to whether it's worth the time on this one. It would be nice to have a clean relatively modern car with low miles at a fair price, but I'm nervous about this service issue.
Thanks!

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  #2  
Old 11-04-2003, 10:47 AM
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fwiw- an '88 car even with 62k on the odo is still on '88 vintage car that will need an ongoing attention due to its age

Sounds like the asking price is on the high end, I'd figure that $5k is fair if in fact there is 62k on the car and its needs just minor refreshing.

Hatch and Sons will do a good PPI for you along with Carfax.

hope this helps and let us know what turns out.
-fad
2x W124's
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  #3  
Old 11-04-2003, 10:48 AM
A. Rosich's Avatar
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No, not comfortable at all.

Usual a car that you are not able to trace its history at all is a car that is trying to hide something.

What? Who knowns, its your luck.

Mercedes-Benz cars are excelllent at hiding their age, high mileage or accident damage (if repaired decently). Hence, do not be fooled by its mileage if there is no recorded history of the car.

Be very suspicious of everything, have a good mechanic check the whole car, and then make your decision to buy or not.
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  #4  
Old 12-16-2003, 06:53 PM
volosong
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Got an '89 300CE last December with 74K on the odomerter. Main reason for getting it was that the PO had all of the scheduled maintainance done on time. Within 10K of driving, I had to have the valve guide seals replaced. Enrique at MB Motors did the job and he said that the original seals only last about 75K. Subsequent seals will last about 100k, according to him. So . . . expect a $300 job in short order if you get this car.
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  #5  
Old 12-23-2003, 12:38 AM
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You are wise to get a PPI first by someone you trust. W124s are nice cars but they can easily be money pits, even if they look to be in great shape.

So long as you don't expect "Honda/Toyota-like just add oil and gas" operation. You'll be happy. Be sure to get a sniffer test for the AC evaprator. The year you are looking at also can have problems with valve guides - they wore out prematurely in these cars. Wiring harnesses are another thing to check as well.

You might want to do a Carfax on it as check registration history.

All that said, the W124 is a very enjoyable car - it's one of the last of the "real" Mercedes (before MBZ started to so glaringly cut corners) IMHO.
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  #6  
Old 01-03-2004, 04:23 PM
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Wise man who subscribes to this list before buying the money pit from hell.

I paid 3.2k for a 88 300e with 134k. I've put about 4.5k into repairs and such. I figure I have about 1k to go to get it up to near original condition.

I am not unhappy with my car. In fact, I really like it a lot. It is reliable, comfortable, responsive on the interstate, and looks great. I just spent about $3k more than I should have, given what I've read here.

If I only been patient and wise, I would have subscribed to this forum and read everything. I would never have bought this particular car. I'd have waited and opened my search radius to nearby cities. Oh well.

Get a feel for what's out there by looking at ebay and the for sale section here. Asking for advice here is like putting your mouth to a fire hose.

Good luck.

Botnst
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  #7  
Old 01-04-2004, 09:28 AM
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Then there is always another side. Bought a 95 E320TE late in 02 for 11K. Had 74K on the clock and NO service records. Took it for a drive and looked it over myself and bought it. Has been just a wonderful car with no real problems. Have put less than $600 in it since I bought it, so once in a while you can get lucky. Car was bought in N. J. but spent most of it's life in Florida, according to the PO.
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  #8  
Old 02-08-2004, 04:58 PM
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Quote:
Originally posted by A. Rosich
No, not comfortable at all.

Usual a car that you are not able to trace its history at all is a car that is trying to hide something.

What? Who knowns, its your luck.

Mercedes-Benz cars are excelllent at hiding their age, high mileage or accident damage (if repaired decently). Hence, do not be fooled by its mileage if there is no recorded history of the car.

Be very suspicious of everything, have a good mechanic check the whole car, and then make your decision to buy or not.
Generally true but not always.

We just picked up a '90 with 190k on the click with no service records but in excellent condition (save for the improperly serviced brakes - someone turned the freaking rotors).

We found a CarFax in the car from last year and it was clean and accurate milage. We also found most of the dealer receipts including those for the new wheels. I took this to mean it had seen normal dealer services before the used-car dudes fooked it up.

Have it checked out by a mechanic and spend the few bucks on a CarFax, it can reveal some interesting info (a pal is looking for an E430 and found some interesting stuff). I just re-ran the report on our used car and it was good.

Buying a used car (heck a new car) is a gamble. If you have the service records that is premium info.. but honestly.. even though our new ML is serviced at the dealer regularly I found that they never stamped or removed the tags from our service book.. :/ The docs never tell the full story.

And finally, go with you gut on the car. If you have some reservation about it, walk. There will be others.

- David

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