Hul-lo there,

In the spirit of Rich's "Parts "Bucket Brigade" service wanted", here is a similar idea. Since many of us look for 'Benzes in areas beyond easy driving distance, I could see there being value in having a list of members who would be able to inspect cars in their areas. For example, I would be willing to see if I could inspect vehicles in Eastern MA/Southern NH/Rhode Island/Southern Maine (the tip of it) for the price of fuel (be it diesel or gas). Should we build up a list of people across the country who would be willing/able to inspect vehicles, maybe including location, distance that can be traveled from that location, reimbursement wanted, vehicles most familiar with etc.? What do you guys think?

For example, for me:
Location (doesn't have to be exact, can be something as vague as the general region): Chelmsford, Massachusetts
Distance willing to travel: 30-45 minutes on short notice, my arm can be twisted for longer trips .
Reimbursement wanted: Cost of fuel and -- if it is a longer trip -- like $10 for food. I can estimate the cost of fuel beforehand and you can just pay that.
Vehicles most familiar with: W123 & W126 Diesels; would at a minimum inspect every vehicle using Popular Mechanics' Used Car Checklist and map out a vigorous test drive beforehand.
Misc.: Will most likely not be able to do much before January 20th, 2014, but feel free to ask anyway... things may change. After that, thing relax a bit more.

__________________
"Senior Luna, your sense of humor is still loco... but we love it, anyway." -rickymay ____ "Your sense of humor is still loco... " -MBeige ____ "Señor Luna, your sense of humor is quite järjetön" -Delibes

1982 300SD -- 211k, Texas car, tranny issues ____ 1979 240D 4-speed 234k -- turbo and tuned IP, third world taxi hot rod

2 Samuel 12:13: "David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die."

I would be hesitant to participate in case I missed something and the new owner was unhappy. We have had good people on this forum have intra-forum car sales go awry, and I would hate to be stuck in the middle. But in a perfect world, it is a very good idea.

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1968 220D, w115, /8, OM615, Automatic transmission.
My 1987 300TD wagon was sold and my 2003 W210 E320 wagon was totaled (sheds tear).

Hmm, that's true. Obviously a disclaimer would have to be involved, such as: "I am an amatuer mechanic who may well miss something, and will not be held responsible for any unnoticed problems, although I will attempt to be very thorough." I'd be willing to risk taking heat from an upset member; if someone's going to dump on someone for that, I'm not sure how buddy-buddy I want to be with them anyway.

Are you thinking of the same OD thread I'm thinking of?

__________________
"Senior Luna, your sense of humor is still loco... but we love it, anyway." -rickymay ____ "Your sense of humor is still loco... " -MBeige ____ "Señor Luna, your sense of humor is quite järjetön" -Delibes

1982 300SD -- 211k, Texas car, tranny issues ____ 1979 240D 4-speed 234k -- turbo and tuned IP, third world taxi hot rod

2 Samuel 12:13: "David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die."

I'd be willing to get on the description in the OP, but in the Washington DC, Northern Virginia, Metropolitan Maryland, Delaware, and southern PA area.

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Onus probandi incumbit ei qui dicit, non ei qui negat

I recondition w123/w126/w124/w140/r107/r129/ steering boxes!


1984 300D "Elsa" odo reset 6/2011 147k
1983 300TD "Mitzi" ~268k OM603 powered
1995 E300 "Adelheid" 262k [Sold]

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/open-discussion/346194-i-bought-car-ebay-had-forum-member-established-mechanic-inspect.html

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With best regards

Al

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/open-discussion/346194-i-bought-car-ebay-had-forum-member-established-mechanic-inspect.html
Yup.......saw how that one worked out................

Find a shop where the car is located. Call the shop and setup an appointment to have the car inspected. Prepay for inspection. Ask owner to take car in for inspection appointment.

Yup, but my grandfather died in a car accident and I still drive.

__________________
"Senior Luna, your sense of humor is still loco... but we love it, anyway." -rickymay ____ "Your sense of humor is still loco... " -MBeige ____ "Señor Luna, your sense of humor is quite järjetön" -Delibes

1982 300SD -- 211k, Texas car, tranny issues ____ 1979 240D 4-speed 234k -- turbo and tuned IP, third world taxi hot rod

2 Samuel 12:13: "David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die."

This is your best bet, however don't be surprised by what you off-load.

In 100% of the remotes I've been involved with or read from trusted individual(s) these too go awry, one way or another.

I think it's a good idea myself. I've had some good results contacting people on here to look at cars that I was interested in. A sub-forum or some kind of registry that you could add your name/location to if you were interested in looking at cars for members would be nice to see.

I wouldn't expect a thorough PPI from a forum member though, just a quick look/test drive/basic function check to see if the car was worth spending $150-$200+ for an independent inspection. A VIN check is a must beforehand regardless. No sense having someone go look at a car for you, only to find out later it has major accident/salvage history.

With that said, I don't think it's possible to check/catch everything & everybody has different standards/things they look for in a car. Nothing like being able to inspect a car yourself, but for some (most?) it's impractical to travel all over the country looking at potential cars.

Just to chime in - this somewhat dovetails into my needs somewhat. I'm a Canadian who's on the lookout for a decent W123 300D with little or no known rust.. but still within my budget. Unfortunately, this basically entails buying from somewhere 8+ hours south, and driving it up.

This also means for me to look at a car would require me to fly down there prior to inspecting myself in addition to paying for a PPI.

What it comes down to is I would happily pay someone time, gas money and a case of beer to someone familiar with W123s to go look at a car for me. I wouldn't close the deal based on that alone, but hey - any red flag that saves me money on a PPI or a flight is very helpful.

I think as long as people understand that the people checking aren't mechanics, and *will* miss things, at least it will help provide a first line of screening of potential cars. It would be especially helpful to have a dedicated forum where, if the initial member decides not to purchase the car, these forum member 'reports' could be posted for the rest of the site to see in order to help / warn other potential buyers.

In other words, I'm using my first post to give a big +1 to this idea, and I'll throw my hat into the ring if anyone needs a car in Eastern Ontario looked at.