Mike,

It was from a private party. The prices at dealers were $1500-$2000 more. CarFax checked out. I went under the car after I bought it, and it "looked" like a low mileage car. I think I got a pretty good price for a variety of reasons. Here in SoCal there are a LOT of used cars for sale. Cars with lo lo miles go relatively quickly but for everything else, buyers have a commanding position. Seller was the son of the owners and he had bigger fish to fry and he had a busy schedule which puts off a lot of other buyers. Main driver of the car was mom. The car had a few door dings that would make a man cry. Paint was overall excellent but some good scratches in places. It may been that other potential buyers were looking for a more cosmetically pristine car figuring that with the Mercedes there is really no difference with a 35k mileage car versus a 60k mileage car. My priorites were the opposite so the car was perfect for me (my wife, actually). In my search, the first car I narrowly missed was a 1999 C280, 35k, for $14,500. I never saw this car but from the ad, I got the feeling it was pretty much pristine.

glenmore
1991 300CE
1990 LS400
2000 C280

Mine was also from a private party. I tell people I bought it because it was cheaper than any similar Honda or Toyota I could find. They laugh but the fact of the matter is it is absolutely true. Here is Seattle Hondas and Toyotas sell at a premium. I got sick of looking at 98 and 99 Accords and Solaras for 12-14K and bought my 98 C230 for 8500 from the original owner. Wish I had the 6 though, except when I am buying the gas...

Mike

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1998 C230 330,000 miles (currently dead of second failed EIS, yours will fail too, turning you into the dealer's personal human cash machine)
1988 F150 144,000 miles (leaks all the colors of the rainbow)
Previous stars: 1981 Brava 210,000 miles, 1978 128 150,000 miles, 1977 B200 Van 175,000 miles, 1972 Vega (great, if rusty, car), 1972 Celica, 1986.5 Supra

I purchased my 97 C230 last year at an auction and have been very, very pleased by it... smooth ride, reliable... pretty easy to do normal maintenence..

Given what the price of gas is now >> and what it's going to escalate to >> I bet-ya it's over $3.00 a gallon in a couple of weeks > given the media hype of Katrina... I like the economy of the 4 cylinder engine >> as a matter oif fact > I'd think I would choose a C230 over a C280 >> just based on economy. The C230 has adequate power > it's no screamer > but it has enough power..

my .02

THE answer is called a C 230 K.
Economy of a 4 cyl., Power of a 6 cyl.

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2007 C 230 Sport.

Get the VIN and call MBUSA or MB Canada, as the case may be. When I bought my 1994 (back in 2000) and took it in for my first service, the dealer was able to pull a complete vehicle history right away and tell me about any campaigns my car had been part of and if there was any outstanding recall work I was eligible for.