One thing to keep in mind is that these cars are so expensive to repair and that they have low resale value. Therefore, a car can get "totaled" very easily with relatively minor damage because the insurance company will only pay up to a portion of the market value for repairs before "totaling" it. That means there can be some very decent totaled/rebuilder cars out there.

With that said, it is over-priced. That price is pretty high for a lower mileage example that has not been salvaged. I would not pay more than $4-4.5k. There are too many other good examples around that have not been wrecked.

Transmissions on these cars can be problematic. From what I have read, this transmission series had known weaknesses that were not worked out until late 99 or 00 when they got the needle bearing issue sorted out. If the fluid has never been changed, I would do that right away. MB is backing away from their "sealed for life" claim. The harsh shifting during the warmup cycle from 1-2, and even 2-3 at times, is normal. If it does it after the car is warmed up, walk away.

Your really need to have the car inspected by an MB expert. You can easily exceed the purchase price of the car if you get a lemon and run into problems.