Is there a reliable way, other than the odometer, to determine the mileage of an 88 300e? If there is not anything else that "counts" the miles, is there anything on the car that would look a certain way at, say 150k or 200k miles, that would be difficult or impossible to replace?

I think I may be reaching...

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headrivenoise... listen.

It will be easier to reach for a car with an odometer you can trust

Sixto
95 S420
87 300SDL

send me the vin and i will run a carfax, we can see if the mileage is consistent
with your findings. Ray
mercedessd@cox.net

For a really, really smart person there can be clues - what the courts would probably call circumstantial evidence. This is principally in the condition of rubber, and whether it's original, and how worn out or dryed it is. It's very much guesswork because so much depends on how the car was driven and the climate, etc. The fact that you can't really tell is another indication that miles really aren't that important - what matters is the condition and how well it's been maintained. Few people really grasp this and therefore the perception of mileage matters, which is where CarFax comes in handy. CarFax doesn't really provide much proof of anything anymore but you wouldn't want to buy a car with a CarFax problem - cars are hard enough to sell these days as it is.

I have always looked for wear and tear on the rubber brake pedal and also the steering wheel as the ridgid surface tends to get smoothed from use.