I just bought this car on Ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2472984120

Any advise as to what to look for before I make payment and pickup the car would be appreciated. Its hard to believe that it only has 130,000 miles based on the condition of the seats but seller has some service records that seem to confirm the mileage.
Are there any major trouble areas on these cars? Any engine or rust problems? Seems to be a southern car. Wha t kind of mileage should I expect? Frank Barett's Guide on Mercedes states that the S class in the best long distance car ever made and one of the safest. Kelly Blue Book lists trade-in value as $8000 so maybe I will be able to get it reconditioned for the difference.

Well usually I don't advise people on cars I havent owned, but I have to say- please throw away Barretts book. Its ALMOST completely worthless.

Better read up (search the forum) on early 140 cars.

This chassis mercedes is different from many others in that if you couldn't afford it new, you probably dont want to buy one used.

They do drive very nicely though...

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'90 300SE 298k
-300K and it gets put into retirement.
'80 300D 255k Purchased new by family in 1980.

Had a:
1973 220 (gas)
1980 300SD
1992 400E

What are some of the major maintenance items that would be more expensive in the 300SE vs. the 320E with the same engine? Are there any good aftermarket warranties that should be considered?

If everything works on the car and it is in good condition it shouldn't be to expensive to own. However once you start fixing things and fix the seats you probably will double your purchasse price. These cars are a completly different animal than the W124's. Do some search's and site back and read, the W140 is an awsome car but they can be huge $$$.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

I purchased a similar car on e-bay about 2 months ago,
92300SE,135000 miles,from a dealer in IN. for 7200$.I had a
lot of old Benze's so far,never a w140.Car is perfect,after 3000 miles
of driving I only spend 36$ in it,for a cabin filter,because the
previous owner was a cigar smoker,just about to do my
first oil change...since I bought it,fantastic car,maybe I was lucky
(bought it from a new car dealer as a 1 owner trade in).After
talking with my mechanic(who only works on MB from 1971),
I found out that the early 300SE its not so complicated like
the V8(no self leveling suspension,no traction control,simple
fuel injection,no wire harness problem like 93-95 models),if the
head gasket is good and transmission shifts reasonable and air
was previously rebuild,it is a good car,kind of sluggish at low rpm,
gas mileage is incredible(on my car I get 24 mpg hwy. if I do not
exceed 80 mph,18mph city...),I had a ton of problems with my
W124 300E86-90 I had before,I had to find a different one every
six months,they all needed a lot of atention,this car is way better
build and feels great.
not so hard to

SHouldn't you have done the research and questions before bidding? I mean bidding is entering into a Contract.....

Let us know how the car turns out when u pick it up

IT does look nice in the pictures...

Thanks for the information, makes me feel better about my decision. It was somewhat of an impluse purchase as I've always wanted one and didn't have time to do much research before the auction closed last night. I realize that I entered into a contract but since it has not been finalized I wanted to make sure that the car has not been misrepresented. Sounds like you got a great deal. Does your car have a 5-speed tranny that starts in first? If not that might expalin the sluggishness. The car I bought does have ASR-was there an issue with this? What would be a good way to check the head gasket and A/C assuming that there are no receipts? Your mileage is excellent-as good as my 300TD. However, I expect my maintenance costs to be much higher on the 300SE. Simple is beautiful sometimes.

There is no way to make shure the head gasket will not fail
you can look and see if there is a problem: when you take
delivery of your car:with the engine off and cold open the overflow tank for the antifreeze
and see if the liquid is clear,no oil floating on top,also if there are no grease/dirt marks on the inside walls of the recipient,also
head gaskets might leak oil/antifreeze on the outside of the engine,below mid-engine block down.easy to see on this car where is room to put another engine next to the existing one...ASR
should not be a problem and if there is, you just gonna have a
car without it...like my car,it will not affect the regular performance. This car starts in the second gear...allways,that is
why sometimes its sluggish,also it will not shift in the fifth gear till
about 55mph,so,in the city driving 35-45 mph its a little noisy.

Thanks again, great information. Not sure at this time if I'm getting the car as it is located in Texas even though the item location on Ebay said Denver. I would have to get it inspected by someone independent in Texas before they ship it here.

On my Q45, I installed a later model transmission computer which allows for a first gear start. Maybe something similiar is available for the Benz. Not sure what the downside would be on a car with ASR as it would likely increase the life of the transmission and the ASR should control any slip on the wet stuff. do the latter models have the first gear start?

q45denver, I always thought that the successful bidder on e-bay had a contractual commitment to close the deal. If the owner misrepresented the location of the car you may have an 'out'. Let us know the outcome.

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Fred Hoelzle

Man, I would hate to be in the car sales business on ebay with buyers like this... It is so clear that Agreement on Ebay, that it is a CONTRACT... it isn't an optional CONTRACT.. I think the only way to legally backup is to go see the car and that it doesn't match description for some significant reason.

I think I am going to go create Ebay signons and bid on one Unit per Mercedes Model and see how many bids I win

I haven't been able to get ahold of the seller since they haven't responded to my E-mails. Apparently they are using the website for a local dealer but he claims to have no affiliation with them other than their using his business name.

Honestly, if you still have the 1990 it would be better to rebuild the engine in that one when necessary. The styling is timeless, which can't be said for the 140, and the ride in that chassis is one of the most refined ever.

I think Ebay rules allow 3 days for buyer and seller to get together after the end of the auction. Since the auction ended Tuesday night, they have until Friday night to get ahold of you and arrange for delivery. You probably should have arranged for inspection prior to the end of the auction. All of my auctions state that and if it were my car that you won, I'd be inclined to hold you to your end of the contract.

For what it's worth, I've had my 300SE for almost 2 years now and it's been a dream. The only items outside the 52.5K and 60K service I've had to replace were one window regulator and the AMM. Best road-trip car I've ever had and I've had just shy of 70 cars.

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2002 500SL(Black/Black)
1992 300SE(Black/Black)
1992 190E 2.3(White/Navy)
1999 VW Jetta TDI(Pearl Green)
1986 SAAB 900 Base 3 door(White)
1983 Porsche 911SC(Chiffon)
1977 VW Scirocco(DiamondSilver)

This seems to be the quinessential ebay attitude, and clearly the reason so many deals are not completed. Buyers often seem to view winning the auction as winning an option to buy the car - if they like it when they see it or further inspect it. And buyers think they can pawn anything off on an unsuspecting public. It's not at all clear to me that these are real contracts regardless of what the ebay language might say. If these are real contracts there's an awful lot of them being breached with impunity. The only thing that is clear to me is that ebay buyers and sellers deserve each other. Ebay as a used car marketplace is an unnatural act.