Every bicycle ride I take is also a car shopping trip. I always route my rides past the local lots and I stop if I see anything interesting.

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Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.

When I bough my project Jeep I was really only looking for a clean frame/ cab, and a title. The working gauges, axles, tires, running engine, operational trans, and functional exhaust were all bonuses. 5 mins spent on inspection, 30 minutes spent BSing with the seller :p

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$60 OM617 Blank Exhaust Flanges
$110 OM606 Blank Exhaust Flanges
No merc at the moment

...if first impressions are not good you'll have lost the sale within the first 5 minutes or even sooner!

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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

Went to look at an FMC motorhome. Owner told me to test drive it. Brakes went to the floor at the first stop sign and the oil light came on with the gauge registering zero. His response--just gear it down to stop it and the oil light has always done that. I checked the master cylinder--dry as a bone with rust on the walls. I ask him when it was last full. He replied that he doesn't know because he never checked it. I check the dipstick--no oil showing. I ask him if it leaks or burns oil. Again, he doesn't know because he's never checked it. I walk away as he insists that adding brake fluid and engine oil will solve all the problems.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

I was looking around for a replacement 190E for my sister (she wrecked her 190E). Saw different 190E's around and none of them were good enough (for the price).

Went home disappointed, then they tell me there's a 190E that just appeared on CL. We call and look at it. Seller wanted $1000.

It had aftermarket rims, on generic bolts (not even lug bolts) - I could use the one in her former car and transfer those over I thought. Mileage was 147k at the time. Started rough, car was tinted all around except windshield. A/C blew COLD, even had original R12. Interior was rough. No rust, in fact the car was pretty clean body-wise.

I asked if the title was in his name. He said it's under his wife's so we had to wait for her to arrive. I look at the registration and it's probably expired or non-op (I forgot which). Mention to him and he said he'll do $900 for it.

So the PPI was pretty fast, but the waiting time for his wife to arrive took forever!

My sister still drives it today and it has 197k miles already. I told her if she wrecks it again she's on her own finding a replacement.

On the contrary, when we purchased the 1990 300TE with 223k miles in 2006, it was a quick test drive around the block with my father, and we sealed the deal pretty quick. My mother still drives it today, 290k miles.

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http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7271/7...144c3fc1dc.jpg

Not at all - it was pretty fancy infact. fancier than my hole in the wall

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2012 BMW X5 (Beef + Granite suspension model)

1995 E300D - The original humming machine (consumed by Flood 2017)
2000 E320 - The evolution (consumed by flood 2017)

Well it goes to show you never can tell. Fancy house - crap car

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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

Stable door - horse...

...ummm which way round was it again?

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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

Today I was going to see a W114 250C.

I'd sent an email to advertiser last night to ask if I could see it. Advertiser replied saying call me on my mobile telephone number...

As usual I pretend that I am hard of hearing because here in Holland I can easily spend the purchase price for a car on telephone bills! Bloody mobile telephones stick 'em up your ######es. So I ask for his address and a time for the appointment - hey I'll be there with bells on I'm keen to see the car.

Get just a postcode and a house number back.

Hmmm OK - look up where it is and work out train and bus combination.

It is in the middle of nowhere. Not surprising considering chap's attitude so far - he obviously can't cope with people!

Send back a mail saying that next week I'll probably be able to borrow a car and come and see it then.

I then get an angry response effectively saying "you'd better hurry up the car will be gone".



So my conclusion - seller is a first class dick head. If the seller is a wanker then the car will be crap (my first rule of car buying!) Not worth the effort going to see that one then.

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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

A w114? Let me save you some time - it's rusty.

Yep but then so are all of the

W111s, W112s, W115s, W116es, W123s, W124s, W126es, W201s, W210s, w202s, W203s, and the W140s I've seen so far.

What a climate!

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1992 W201 190E 1.8 171,000 km - Daily driver
1981 W123 300D ~ 100,000 miles / 160,000 km - project car stripped to the bone
1965 Land Rover Series 2a Station Wagon CIS recovery therapy!
1961 Volvo PV544 Bare metal rat rod-ish thing

I'm here to chat about cars and to help others - I'm not here "to always be right" like an internet warrior



Don't leave that there - I'll take it to bits!

If the seller is a wanker I don't even care about the car. Life is too short.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Let's see ---- my first Mercedes, Elegant Madame, I bought sight unseen; however, another forum member did take it for a test drive and sent me 8 pictures of her (the car). I think the entire purchase between the Seller and I was drawn out over 3 days.

In regards to my present 87 Champagne, I had the 5 minute inspection complete before the seller showed up with the key for the test drive. The Seller had previously sent me a cell phone pic of the #20 head. The short test drive sealed the deal when he accepted my offer of $100 below the asking price.

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daw_two
Germantown, TN

Links:
Sold last car --- 05/2012 1984 300D Light Ivory, Red interior
Cluster Needles Paint
New Old Stock (NOS) parts

Past:
3/2008 1986 300SDL "Coda"
04/2010 1965 190D(c) "Ben"
& many more

Back when I was really into Triumphs around 1993 or so I saw an ad in Autotrader (this was before Al Gore invented it, so it was a black and white newsprint book then, available weekly) I spied a TR250 in Ft Lauderdale, for a decent price (must have been $2K or so). I called the guy. he said it was decent no rust, blah blah blah. I was working in Daytona at the time, it was the middle of summer. I jumped in my trusty MR2 at about 4PM (this may have been in the 55mph days) at arrived in Ft Lauderdale with just enough time before dark to see holes you could put your fist trough in several key places. I don't recall if I got out of the car. My head hit the pillow home after midnight. Never again would I drive that far....

Thankfully technology has made that sort of snipe hunt less likely.

On the other hand, ebay has made it possible to buy an expensive box of rocks.

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80 300SD (129k mi) 82 240D stick (193k mi)77 240D auto - stick to be (153k mi) 85 380SL (145k mi) 89 BMW 535i 82 Diesel Rabbit Pickup (374k mi) 91 Jetta IDI Diesel (155k mi) 81 VW Rabbit Convertible Diesel 70 Triumph Spitfire Mk III (63kmi)66 Triumph TR4a IRS (90k mi)67 Ford F-100 (??)

More than half of a pre-purchase inspection occurs when you talk to the seller on the phone and size him up.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13