I'm considering getting back into W123's and spotted a wagon with around 100K on it and 2 owners. Interior is a little faded, a little dirty. Paint a little faded and there's some stain on the bodywork coming down from rear driver back window by the power antennae (not sure if it's rust or not). It originally came from Nebraska for 1st 60k miles. Looks like it was stored well (no cracks in dash) and again, it has only 100k which checks out on veh history reports. Nothing major seems wrong except the clock and cruise not working. I am planning to drive 2.5 hours over to check the compression and look under the floormats. He's asking 10000 for it and is acting firm around that price (though I think he would give a bit). This seems a little rich to me ... however given it's good 'bones', is this car worth even close to that price? I know on Ebay these tend to do pretty well, but people on Ebay often look at the tire shine on engine hoses and buy on emotion. Any thoughts?

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Maintenance records, Maintenance records, Maintenance records.

If it needs filters, glowplugs, valve adjustments, SLS work, etc then it's not worth anywhere near 10k.

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'80 300SD - '83 240D - '00 E55 AMG - '02 G500

He said there were a few recent records and they had the booklet from the car's early life (oil changes etc). It did spend the second half of life at least in the southwest. I've sent an email to ask about what type of work was done. Assuming filters, glowplugs, and SLS work is in good shape (and acceptable compression) I have a feeling this is still a bit overly optimistic price point . Although with 300td's, it seems prices are highly subjective. I was thinking offering 7500 if everything checks out all right - but they said they turned someone away already for 8500 who offered that sight unseen on the phone. I imagine things might be different with cash in person.

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Other question is... what is that color ? I first though light ivory, but it has a little too much yellow for that.

I would suggest a pre purchase inspection where you pay half and seller pays half. The other part that I did not see is what is the intended use. If you are looking for a W123TD for sentimental purposes and it will spend most of its time in the garage and you are loaded with disposable income, or will it be your on the road daily work vehicle. What i mean by that is if you just want a TD a two and a half hour drive for a nice one that you can inspect is better than a crap shoot on a flea bay buy, if you just want to have one.

I bought Newport (59k-mile 300TD, 1982) for $1,200. The car had a previous collision, some dog damage, rust on the rear fender lips and the spare wheel well, and had been sitting for the longest time... still, I drove it home.

For the next two years, and with the help of my mentor Jim and TylerH860, I spent close to $10,000 to make it perfect. Sold it on eBay for $14,750.

A showroom condition 300TD Turbo with under 100k miles and perfect records (read: Mercedes Motoring type of quality) will set you back $20,000 to $25,000 for a perfect example. On these photos I see potential, but don't see a $10,000 car (discoloured seats, wrinkled door panels, questionable stains, potential leaks, engine bay dirty, cadmium plating faded...). Your offer is most reasonable.

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[GONE] - 1995 Mercedes E300 Diesel - 130k miles - Smoke Silver (702) over Mushroom leather (265) - Bladder blasting, coast-to-coast work machine.

The major issue IMO is RUST. Is there any rust whatsoever. Having a car without any rust (exclude maybe a paint chip here or there) is the starting point IMO. If you can find one of those rare survivors, then it's worth at least a look. However, I cannot see any non-restored W123 fetching $10K unless it's really low miles, all original and pristine condition. So, if I saw a rare survivor with 20K-50K miles documented on the clock and well taken care of, then yes $10K maybe but you really do not ever see those often. However, virtually anything made out of rubber or interior items or anything which can "rot" over the years will need replacing if your doing a purist, pristine restoration. So, add at least another $10K (excluding paintjob) on top of your purchase and that's a lot of your elbow grease.

You can find really nice "rare survivors" here and there for under $3K.

My w123 sedan cost about half that, but was partially restored with ~130k on the clock. I've spent probably 7k on parts for "deferred" maintenance to make everything work perfect, including stuff like fixing the "working" AC - turns out it didn't work on hot days very well. I could easily spend another 2k or so on new glass and a few other things. My original budget was something like $1000 dollars to put new tires on it and fix a few minor things.

This is just a warning to expect WAY more work than you think, especially if you want everything to function like a new car. If you just want something to drive, and don't mind a few worn out parts, you can save a lot of money.

Seriously get it up on a lift and inspected, and take it on a long test drive. Check stuff like steering play, make sure all the heater/ac controls work as they should, make sure all the windows work well. Mess with every single control on the car.

My wagon was disassembled and about half that w 127K when purchased. Have easily put that much into it again to make it a daily driver and get the "to do" list under 12 items. So me thinks the market is between his list and your offer. Happy negotiating!

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Scott in MD/DC
94 E320 Wagon
"Money can't replace it, no memory can erase it
and I know I'm never gonna find another one to compare"-LW
85 TDT project (stay tuned)
W201, W202, W126 and lotsa VWs

Not a $10k car. It needs substantial paint work (detailing), that stain on the back is likely rust under the trim (very common wagon spot). You need some serious maintenance history to come up with any value like that-injectors serviced, pump calibrated, frequent fluid changes (not just engine, but brake fluid, trans, coolant).
Judging by the pics, that car will need months worth of tender loving care, everything under the hood looks original and not likely up to the task of a daily driver (30 year old hoses).

Yes, a good starting point, but not a finished product.