Looking at '93 300E - what should I look for?
Guys I am a new member here. I am looking at a '93 300E with 116k miles, $6500. This will be my first Mercedes.
The car has a clean Carfax. The owner is selling it due to age (they are seniors). The car has no maintenance records; at least that's what she says. I am going to look at it on Saturday. They bought it without the maintenance records and haven't driven it too much. The Carfax says it wouldn't pass smog back in January of this year but the next entry says it did pass. I really wonder about the accuracy of Carfax becuase the only information in there is whatever was reported to the DMV.
It looks really clean in the photos. Owner's daughter is using it as a daily driver until it sells. Daughter has four other Mercedes. She says it drives perfectly. Owner's daughter says none of her Mercedes have Carfax maintenance histories either because the local MB dealer (Sangera) does not report data to Carfax, and neither do the local indy service shops.
I have studied the forums here looking for problems indigenous to the 300E and I haven't found any (yet...). What do I need to look for on this vehicle? Does this car have the infamous wiring loom insulation problem? Or the head gasket problem? Or the AC evaporator problem? I am a pretty good DIY mechanic so I could handle most problems that come along, outside of a transmission rebuild or anything that requires an $800 special tool.
Thanks for any thoughts or ideas you might have about this particular model - I really appreciate your help and time.
Pete Chandler
Bakersfield, California
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