hello all..i hope this falls into tech help..
i am currently considering a 1990 300CE w/ 128,000 miles as a second car to my C36. the owner is asking $15,000. i know that the wholesale is around $8,800 and dealer bluebook must be less, perhaps $6,500-7,000. anyone have experiences with the 300CE? is it as reliable as the 300E? perhaps more power?

the owner also did a lot of AMG upgrades. AMG body, monochrome painted all black, 18" AMG monoblocks, AMG muffler (maybe whole exhaust, not sure)...how much should this add to the value of the car?

i was thinking of offering $9,000...max $10,000.

any advice would be great!!!

Unless he had AMG engine work done it wont go much faster for all the extra looks he added. If he had them add enough bite to match the bark it ought to be fun. If memory serves the popular tweak was enlarge the 3.0 to 3.6 with the usual hot-rodder tricks.

On most cars that are modified as you describe take a HUGE loss in value. Ask a local dealership what they would give you in trade for that car (or one like it) and stick close to that point.

Hope this helps...Lee

hi lee...thanks again!
well, i dont think any engine work was done..only bolt on back end breathing...
body upgrades..and rims/tires...
definitely not done by AMG...not sure if it is genuine AMG parts...but its does look good...

i guess i will see if the car is in good shape...i will give a little above wholesale..

Lee, how much life does a 300ce have already driven 128,000 miles?? can i get an other 80k? 100K? will i expect a of things to go?
a/c, electrical?

thanks!!

whan,
Very hard to say how much life is left in a car without being able to really go through the thing on a lift, road test, etc. Even then it is only a semi-vague guess. What kind of service records are there? 3K-5K oil changes, 15K services, and 30K services on-time are very important to longevity. Has the car ever been hit? When he has had to replace items did he replace with OEM or OE quality parts? What kind of tires and oil does he run? Though not super important, it will tell you what kind of person he was for the car. If he runs Mobil 1 and has Michelin tires its a good sign. Generic brand oil with Falken/pepboys/etc tires is not as good a sign. What kind of shape is the interior in? Has it had gentle loving care or was the car used to kennel several large dogs? The older a car gets, the more important condition is. Some stuff can be detailed out, but wear/tear cannot be fixed. What does the paint look like? Is it cracking in places (hood near hot-spots is a good place to check)? Is it beginning to look scaly? Things like that are very determinate to a car of that age.

Hope this helps...Lee

lee...
this helps tremendously.
i will compile a list of things to look at and take a lot of the points you told me. the C36 wasnt so hard since it wasnt driven that much and it still has 3 years left on extended warranty. this car...due to age...is a big concern and i totally agree with you. i am checking the car out on saturday. i will let you know how it goes.

thanks again buddy!
whan

Whan..
You may want to go to http://www.nrauto.com and check out the pricing for non-AMG and AMG replacement parts. It may give you an ideal how much it costed the owner when he bolt those add-ons, and may help you to decide to go with the car or not. My two cents and hope this helps.

95 SL320

thanks elau...
good info..
i just got to be smart with this deal...
i dont think he would a lot of people willing to buy a 10 yr old 300CE, 128K miles for $15,000....

thanks again!
whan

Don't know how much research you've done on a 90 300CE but I owned one back in 94. The engine is the M104 rated at 217hp with a 7000 rpm redline and it would do it. If you were rolling with full throttle and stayed in it, it would redline every gear! The car also had the 4 piston front calipers for great braking. A kat back exhaust would give this more power as it's the same motor from the 300SL of that era. Great car after I put 7x16 8 hole wheels on with 205/225-16's.

If it's clean it could be a good buy as it was a limited production car. Some were ugly with their strange two-tone red and blue paint jobs.

I bought another 6 mos ago (an '88) because it was so clean and had all records, never hit with original paint. Just needed some minor fixes but worth it. I paid $5k less than local tax assesor value for it. Am now
considering a motor transplant of some sort...again!

Good luck
TobiasMB
300SE, 300CE, 190/5.0

hi tobias...
thanks for the info..
i guess you give the thumbs up for this car eh? i guess if a 1990 300CE is kept well, 128,000 miles is still ok.
how many miles does your '88 have? if you dont mind me asking, how much did you pay for it?
what do you think is a fair price for this car?

thanks!

Whan,
The 88 300CE I found had 161k miles on it and it is black with tan interior...not my favorite color but for the money? Can live with it...not the worst! I've put MilleMiglia2 7.5X16 wheels on it as the originals were cruddy and had worn out Pirelli 6000 on. Asking price was 10,500 and I gave him 9500 for it. Main problem was old German fuses, replaced with Buss glass/SS type. Fixed all electrical woes! Both flex lines from trans into radiator were leaking, and the throttle was only opening about 70% so it was'nt run hard! Local tax appraisal here in NC says value is 14,300. Oh, the car came with built-in phone, new car cover, new floor mat set, has heated seats and rear shade. The only other thing I've added is keyless entry.
Let us know how the 90 CE is.

TobiasMB
300SE, 300CE, 190/5.0

Just FYI, I have a 92 for sale with 139k. If the cars are properly maintained, I wouldn't be afraid of the miles. I certainly wouldn't pay top of the market prices for one with very low miles. The cars are quite reliable, with the exception of radiators of course, HVAC panel switches and a few other small things. I have bought and sold similar cars with miles over 200k. If you have a major component failure, it won't be an engine, but a tranny. And that's an easy, albeit somewhat expensive, fix. Look it over top to bottom, check the records, look and drive some more and see what you think. The car I have with 139 is better and tighter than a similar one which I drove with 89k a few days ago. Good luck.

hey guys..thanks for all the feedback..
i am checking the car saturday 12/10/99.
i will let you know what happens...
tobias...when did you aquire that car? 1999 or 1998?

whan
I bought the car in March, 99. How was the condition of the one you went to look at?

TobiasMB
300SE, 300CE, 190/5.0

hey bros....
thanks for all the input and advice however i regret to say that it was all in vain. the darn seller never showed up! i waited for an hour and called his cell phone several times with no answer. later that day i dropped him an email and no show. so, i guess its better this way. this perhaps shows how responsible he is with upkeeping the car...i am treating this that the car is a piece of crap...

but guys...us MB dudes stick together and thanks for all the good info...

take care..
whan