Mossimmo...

94 with 98 thou.?

I suggest you have that ABS light checked into first..or ask seller for consideration if the repairs are steep.

If this a private sale, take the car to a licensed MB dealer and have it checked at your expense, of course. They will perform an insepection on the car and tell you obvious problems, but usually don't go further than that.
I bought my car 88 300 CE on ebay and had it inspected by an MB dealer. The punch list they gave me was a great aide in determining further repairs seller had to make to close my deal...
The cost to do this was around $150-200 (2 or 3 hrs shop labor).I consider that money very well spent.

Remeber a dealer will also point out things that the average Joe can't inspect..exhaust sytem, alternator output, condition of hoses, belt, brakes pads, etc. Also keep in mind that they are trying to sell services and not everything they find fault with will be either serious or of major concern to you.

Price... check kelley blue book at www.kbb.com or Edmunds for used car prices. Also, check ebay autions to get a feel for what these private sales are getting.. there are usually 3 or 4 300ce auctions running at any given time.
I paid 13.5k for my 88 with 41,400 miles which was at the top end of the blue book price range for that year in VGC. But eh, what the heck..it's gourgeous!!.
MY guess for this car $17-20k DEPENDING ON CONDITION..

CAVEAT EMPTOR my friend!

If you do buy it, you'll love driving it !!

Jim

Thanks dynalow, I love this car. The color matched trim, I belive is all stock.

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Tim
300CE
280SE 4.5
Sandals (size 11)

My "new" 92. Eibach springs and 97 E320 16" wheels sure make it look better than stock. What better car could you buy for less than the price of a new Honda Civic! Craig

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90 300SL Pearl Gray
92 300CE Smoke Silver

Beautiful car. What springs do you have and how do you find the handling? I really like the slightly lowered look. If you ask me, it doesn't get much more classy than an E coupe.

Ty

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1994 E320 Coupe 56k

Thanks Jim,

I ended up not buying it, not because the car had a few problems, but because I purchased a 1997 E320, my friend works at an MBZ dealer, and told me about the trade in. I paid only a little bit more for a much newer car, and fewer miles. Granted, the 94 E320 Coupe is probably a more enjoyable car to own, I was looking at the long term financials, I can probably sell the 97 easier and faster and for more money. My eye is still open for a coupe.

We have a 92 CE .. Arctic White/Satograu Metallic.. w/75 thousand miles.. 16 in chrome 8 hole wheels.. Near show condition.. got it a while back to replace my wifes 78 300CD, that replaced her 53 356 porsche that replaced our 1937 BMW 327 roadster.. They all set in the garage under cover.. Now the 92 spends most of its time setting under cover.. Its a weekend driver or trips.. We use my 85 TD w/89 thousand miles most of the time when using a car, that replaced my 66 250S, that replaced my 57 220... However our motorcycles get most of the miles.. Cars are just bad weather stuff like jackets and rain gear...

Ken Downing
Yreka Ca

Nice to see a coupe thread. Here's some pictures of my 1990 300CE on Hack's website - they generally go from older to newer:

http://www.dhc.net/~pmhack/mercedes/300ce902.htm

It just turned 94K the other day.

Now the Euro wipers are in place with the proper painted front fascias.

FYI - the best leather treatment I've found is from www.leatherique.com. Time-consuming to apply but wonderful results and smell. I do it yearly plus an extra dose every six months on the driver's seat.

I also recommend Redline's Water Wetter for the cooling system - it was worth a 20 degree average drop in water temp.

Jim

Jim! I like those wheels so much.

I think I E-Mailed you a long time ago with the same message pretty much!

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2008 BMW 335i Coupe

I have a 91 300CE with 51,000 miles. Pearl Grey Metallic with grey interior. Options include ASR and passenger side air bag.
Car is in mint condition and 100 % original.

I purchased the car in Oct. 02 from the original owner that has 3 M-B and a Lexus. The original owner spent over $ 5000.00 at the Omaha M-B dealer at 46,000 miles getting new head gaskets, fuel injector,all shocks, motor mounts, filters, all fluids changed, new M-B battery, and detailing and new tires also.

I got all the maintenance records from the M-B dealer.

The car is a dream to drive and a color you don't see much.

A real keeper. AJ

--------------------------
1991 300CE Coupe
1992 190E 2.6

I love all the coupes everyone has. Jim your coupe is one of my favorties....

of course mine is my favortie.

Be on the lookout here for new pics to come when I have finished my bumper lights install.

Alon

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'92 300CE - Sold
2004 C240 - 744 - C7 Wheels - Android Radio
2002 C320 - 816 - Sport Wagon

Hi All ~

I've been away for awhile, but I'm back.

Sign me up with my 1991 300CE-24 Euro version. Brilliant Silver with Blk Leather. 165,000 Km.

I'll post a picture in later today.

Chris

Naples, Italy

New to the forum and proud owner of a '89 300CE in black metallic with grey interior and approx. 74k miles.

Got the car only 4 weeks ago. Seems to be in good shape.
Previous owner has H&R springs installed. Koni's are ready
to go in shortly. Will need a better sound system so.

Will post a picture once weather allows me to take some
good pics.

Stefan

Hi All -

Since I am in the process of shopping for a 300CE, this site (and particularly this thread) has been a treasure trove of info.

Here is my issue (and question)

I have found a 91 300CE with 51k, but spotty and incomplete maintenence records. I am going to have a VERY THOROUGH PPI done on this car (incl compression leakdown, valve cover removal, etc) and felt like this might overcome the lack of records. Looks very good, mint exterior and interior, engine bay looks good but not detailed.

Should I continue to pursue this, rely on mechanic (good MB guy) to let me know the condition or leave it alone and get something with records?

(I asked this on the Tech portion of this site, but since you folks are completely dialed in on this model I would appreciate your thoughts, too!)

Thanks,

BCA

Have the car thoroughly checked. IF the mileage is original, you may have found quite a gem.

I would have the head gasket checked, and the AC system checked for leaks.

IF you buy the car, make sure to have all fluids changed, and all filters, and all basic ignition components changed. Cap, Rotor and plugs.

Have suspension bushings checked too, as age can also cause them to go bad.

Have the tranny checked for proper shifting and smoothness as well.

If you are in the los angeles area, I got a guy who you can take it to for a PPI who knows these cars inside and out.

If you have any more questions, I'd be glad to help in any way I can.

Be sure to run a carfax check on it too, just to see if there arent any mileage discrepencies or accidents.

Alon

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'92 300CE - Sold
2004 C240 - 744 - C7 Wheels - Android Radio
2002 C320 - 816 - Sport Wagon

BCA,

This is always a tough call, in my opinion. That's very low mileage for an eleven year old car. It could very well be a very good find. When you say spotty and incomplete maintenance records, do you mean that some of the scheduled maintenance (eg, oil change every 7500 miles, etc) in the service coupon book are missing? Or that you don't have the service work orders?

If the scheduled oil changes weren't done or recorded, this points to a car that maybe was abused or neglected....may be trouble.

On the other hand, if all the coupons look good, and you're missing some work orders, you may be able to slueth those with a bit of work. And at the same time, it gives you a good bargaining point to lower the price...because without records, they can't prove to you if the radiator has been replaced (the upper neck is almost garanteed to break by 100k miles), or if the head gasket was replaced (high incedence of head gasket failure on the M104 by approx 90K). So without proof you could justify reducing price by $400-500 for radiator and $1000 for the head gasket.

Have your mechanic look at all the body parts to see if they are original (same vin number) and unrepaired, although I wouldn't necessarily turn down a car that had good body work done, for minor damage (depends on the color...solid colors are ok, metallic colors are riskier, in my opinion).

With all of the above in mind, I'd say if your instincts tell you the seller is being honest and a very thorough PPI turns up no red herrings, I wouldn't necessarily walk away from a car with spotty records. Good Luck!

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Steve

1992 300CE Sportline Sophie
1990 300E Emma - in the family
1979 240D Josephine - sold, but not forgotten
2004 Pacifica AWD

http://web.mac.com/dakota/Mercedes/Home.html