Before I go on, he didn't even mention whether there's anything else wrong with it and it's worth the breath fixing. C-Classes are cheap enough to buy in good shape already. This was my main concern and I should have elaborated more.

I'm also talking about private sellers, not scrapyards. Yards WON'T allow you to "test drive" because most yards now cut the battery cables for liability reasons.

Let's say since independents charge around $130.00 an hour [the rates are typically "adjusted" frequently ] and it takes them 8 hours in and out. $1040.00 labor right there. Between the engine it'll be $3700.00 roughly if it cost a little more than that "quote" his mechanic gave his neighbor. A C-Class can easily be had cheap to keep this for spare parts and have a really good running car and a spare scavenger car. I'm just curious and asking him if it really is worth the cash.

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Only diesels in this driveway.
2005 E320 CDI 243k Black/Black
2008 Chevy 3500HD Duramax 340k
2004 Chevy 2500HD Duramax 220k