1995 E300 Diesel for sale Virginia Beach, VA. - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

JimFreeh · #1 10-09-2013, 01:50 PM

Well folks, looks like it’s time to let this one go.
I’ll spare the hyperbole about the car, if you’re reading this I’m sure you already know what this car is.

History:

This car was purchased by a rural real estate agent who lived/worked in eastern North Carolina.
He owned the car from 1995 until 2002, when the car was traded in with 165,000 miles on it.
Averaged 23K+ miles per year. The apparent reason was a leaking evaporator core.
The warranty book is stamped through 158K miles, documenting mileage and dates of services.

The second owner bought the car for his wife, replaced the evaporator, and proceeded to average 5k miles per year for the next ten years.
I’ve known the second owner for many years; we are both members/officers in our local MBCA section.
During Bob's ownership, the car had 5k Mobil 1 oil changes, and Bob replaced the vacuum pump, alternator, glow plugs and starter, fuel lines, oil cooler lines and any maintenance repairs required.
Last year, the car was rear ended, and declared a total.

After the insurance settlement ($6k), he kept the car, and I bought the car (215K miles), no branded title, and clean signover from second owner.
I’d be happy to provide contact info to the buyer if they wish to talk to the 2nd owner.

I proceeded to have the fenders pulled out, and then did a short clip.
The bodyshop did a great job, pulling the fenders, and installing the virgin clip, very little putty was used to smooth out the welds.
Shut lines are very uniform. See my repair story at:

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/322612-just-picked-up-smacked-95-e300-diesel.html

I wanted to save this car, partly because I knew it had been well maintained, but also because it’s a rare car, and I was ready to get back into diesel ownership.
The previous owner is a diesel head, and I knew he had addressed a lot of the unique to the OM606 problems, like fuel lines and the coolant/oil heat exchanger in the oil pan.
And he maintained the car as an engineer tends to do, regular maintenance, and fixing any problems as they occurred.

Since I started driving the car in early October last year, I’ve addressed maintenance items as needed.
I installed new engine mounts, new brake pads, replaced the antilock actuator, Bosch icon wiper blade, and other maintenance stuff.
I also did some cosmetic upgrades, such as a very nice leather wheel and replacing the original wheels that had a poor finish (bad clearcoat).
I added a factory CD changer in the trunk, and left the original analog Batphone in the console for nostalgia’s sake.
I replaced the rear tires a few thousand miles ago, and just installed new front tires.
Tires are a matching set of Bridgestone Turanza Serenity plus, in the original size, 195/65-15.

Turanza with Serenity Plus Technology Tire | Bridgestone Tires

Appearance:

The pictures tell the story. The interior of the car is very nice, never smoked in, very clean. Front seats and center armrest are all in very nice condition.
The right hand B-pillar has a small tear (<1/2") near the bottom toward the rear, otherwise no other ‘Tex issues.
Headliner is recent, the original started to sag. There are some cracks in the wood trim clearcoat (but don’t they all).
The carpets are in nice shape, and she comes with a set of 4 OEM velour carpet mats. I don't think kids or pets were ever in this car....
The paint is not great. I’ve included two pictures that show the cracking on the horizontal surfaces.
The cracking appears on the hood and on the sunroof panel.
The car was given a repaint 5 or 6 years ago, and shows some age.
The partial repaint of the rear of the car is less than great, looks like the paint sank in several areas,
revealing the sanding marks. I also had the bumpers repainted when I fixed the car, they look very nice.

Summary: from ten feet (even 6 or 7), it looks great, but the paint falls short on close inspection.
The interior requires no apologies.

Mechanicals:

The engine runs well, very smooth and I’ve logged some pretty good mileage numbers.
I've never averaged less than 30mpg driving it to work and around town and on trips I’ve been between 32 to almost 35mpg.

The transmission shifts crisply, does not have a noticeable lag going into reverse. I don't have a record of a trans exchange, but there is no misbehavior in how the trans operates.
The rest of the driveline is smooth, no excessive driveline lash or noise/vibration.

Driving the car is a pleasure. She tracks nice and straight, brakes haul up straight, no pull, and the steering is nice and tight.
The only thing I've noticed recently, is the front strut makes a bit of noise when going through an extreme compression/rebound. I notice it when I go across one particular RR grade crossing
Brakes/suspension/shocks are in good shape, the car just passed the Virginia State inspection last week.

Here’s a list of the attributes:

http://www.vsp.state.va.us/Safety.shtm#InspectionProgram

Overall, the car runs very well.
So well, that it has become our defacto car of choice when travelling since we got it.
We’ve had out of state numerous times without any problems.
This truly is a car you can just get in and drive anywhere without concern.

Accessories:

The significant items are all in good working order.
The HVAC works correctly, the evaporator has been replaced and all the pods function as they should. The heat comes out the bottom, the A/C comes out the face vents, and when you push defrost, max blower and heat hit the windshield. I've not had to top off the A/C since I bought the car, and there is no history of any leakage.
The A/C is c-c-c-c-cold.
The cruise works well.
The original radio operates well; even the troublesome volume knob is good. And I've got the code for the radio.
The CD player works and the car has the subwoofers in the front doors.
Door locks function correctly, fuel door and trunk work as well, the rear defroster operates correctly.
The power seats operate in all directions, with the exception of the driver’s headrest.
I have a spare grey seat with excellent MB Tex that should yield the required gear to fix the headrest.
This seat will go with the car as a spare if you ever wear out the front seat...
The tambor door on the center console was just replaced with one in excellent condition.
All the switches, windows (4), sunroof, and inside/outside lights operate.

Current need list:

Well, here we go, seems all used cars need something….
*EDIT* It turned out that one glow plug had failed, and I've just replaced it this weekend. Also installed another oil pressure sender, and oil pressure at hot idle is 2 bar, hits 3 bar by 1,000 rpm.

I've only noticed the car leaking any oil on two occasions. Both times I had leakage was when the car was parked at an extreme nose down angle. When horizontal, I've not noticed any leakage from the car. Front crank seal perhaps?[/I]

I believe it’s still on the original wiring harness, not that there’s anything wrong with that…..

Questions:

Has the vacuum pump been replaced?

Yes. 000 230 30 65. By the second owner.

Does the head gasket leak?

Don’t think so, no gross oil leaks around engine.

Any rust?

This was never a salt area car, so no. Very clean underbody and hardware. W124s can look pretty nice on the outside, but be a rust disaster underneath when they are from the rust belt or the northeast. This car delivers on the rust free promise.

Salvage title?

No.
Free and clear Virginia title, ready to sign over to the new owner.

If I buy this car, can I drive it home?

Yes.
I’d drive it anywhere. And I have.

Trades or payments?

Payments, no. No trades either.
I need to reduce my fleet, or I’d be keeping it.

Is the clear coat failing?

No.

Any noises when driving the car?

Under certain conditions, the left front strut will make a noise when it compresses.

What's the current mileage?

231K miles and counting. I'm still driving this car to work.
That's ok, I enjoy driving this car...

Last oil change?

230K, Mobil 1 and german filter.

Have you disclosed all the problems with this car?

Everything I think of. I'll edit the description if I think of any other things.

I'll offer this; I'm not a professional car hustler. This car is my primary transportation right now, and
up until a couple of weeks ago, I had no intention of selling it. I maintain it to a degree that assures me trouble free and
reliable transportation.

I was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year and the radiation treatments have sapped a lot of my resolve, not mention spare cash. I've been doing some rationalization with my fleet, focusing on downsizing quantity and adding quality, so to speak.

As this sale is an "As is, where is." type of sale, I cannot offer a guarantee that nothing will ever go wrong with this car. I can offer 11 years of known history with the car, and my belief that the car will continue to be reliable for it's next owner, as it has for me and my wife. If you buy this car and think that I have fundamentally misrepresented it, I'm willing to let you out of the deal with no financial loss.

Reason for sale:

I had planned to keep this car for a couple of more years.
When I woke one morning two weeks ago I had no idea I would be buying another car by the end of the day.
By that afternoon, I had committed to buying a CDI.

Price:

$4200.00
Or, make me an offer. No lowballers please, this is not a needy car I need to bail out of because of upcoming repairs..... You might find a cheaper one, but you'd have difficulty bringing it up to this car's level without significantly overshooting my price.

Car comes with two keys, and the complete owner’s packet with all the original books in the black MB zipper case.
Factory toolkit also comes with the car.
It’s also a no smoking car, ashtrays and lighters are unmarked.

Jim