Has anyone bought from a salvage yard called MB international ?

[97 SL320]

They are in Rancho Cordova, CA . I'm sort of looking at a broken car and the seller is quoting parts from them in an attempt to set a cost of repairs.

[anziani]

I'd contact MAVA on the Benz forum. He lives in the area. And what "used" parts are you planning to replace? I'd be suspicious.
Anziani
'97 Cl600 56K

[97 SL320]

The car has a bad engine according to the seller whom admits they are not mechanically inclined. Given they selected a salvage yard thousands of miles away tells me they picked the first one that popped up on Google.

I contacted the salvage yard and they didn't have the mileage listed in the cars file. The parts guy put me on hold to " ask one of the guys " . Less than a minute later he replied " 150,000 " . I don't trust those numbers given how the conversation plaid out on a 25 year old engine.

I'm pretty sure this is the same car I was chasing 4 years ago and I sort of recall there may have been issues. ( Person A buys it from E bay and finds it is less than advertised then puts car up listing known faults, person B buys the car 4 years ago. )

In any event I consider the car salvage value and will see if they take an offer just above what a salvage yard would pay otherwise I lose interest.

Thanks

[anziani]

97 SL320, 150K is not unreasonable. My car is 18 years old and had only 46K when I bought it last year. You don't tell us where you live but "salvage" title cars here in Kalifornia are sort of impossible to get rid of. There is a salvage yard in the San Fernando Valley that is highly regarded. They also rebuild Benz transmissions. And MAVA on the other forum is an expert on salvage yards.
Anziani
'97 CL600 56K

[97 SL320]

Thanks. The mileage seems reasonable, the issue is it was not in the car file and the time between "I'll ask the guys" and 150,000 miles was too short. ( RE they made up a number. )

The car supposedly has a good title.

In any event, I'm letting it stew a bit as I'm not overly hot for the car and the local market for MB is soft.

[Benz Mondi]

I've known Alex at MB International for over 12 years. He heads up the service counter there and he's usually the one making the deals in there. I'm in there at least every couple of weeks getting parts for my 91 300SL and now my 03 CLK430. I've worked with him at the 3 previous MB yards he worked at before, all in Rancho Cordova, 20 minutes from my house. He's as straight a shooter as it gets. Many of the cars they get in are "mileage unknown" on the pink even though the car has a working odometer, so they do their best to estimate it based on other factors. It's a gamble any way you look at it. MB International is no worse than the others, and in my experience, if Alex works there, it's one of the better ones. The buying experience there is not like going to the dealer where everything is polished and smooth. It's more casual and free wheeling and dealing. I have no hesitation working with them.

[97 SL320]

Thanks for the inside story. ( Though I won't let the car seller know that. )

[MAVA]

Originally Posted by 97 SL320

They are in Rancho Cordova, CA . I'm sort of looking at a broken car and the seller is quoting parts from them in an attempt to set a cost of repairs.

Looking for another SL320? what are you looking to pay?

PM-me

Martin