Personally, I would never buy a car without having driven it first, and having it inspected. That being said, the more photos and detail in the item description the better. Someone who takes the time to detail and explain every little fault will likely be more trust worthy. On the other hand honesty is not your only concern. You don't know the person who is selling the car and even if they are honest they may not have a clue what is wrong with their car (muffler about to fall off, that squeek and crunch they have lived with so long they forgot to mention it). Do you live in a major city? I would suspect if you do there will be plenty of 300Ds for sale near you that you can actually inspect and drive before you buy. Probably won't cost any more either.

__________________
Jason Priest
1999 E430
1995 E420 - retired
1986 420SEL - retired