Use this as an opportunity. When you said great price, you didn't say what.

Offer the guy $200.00 or $300.00 as is. If the rest is O.K. you can always part it out for a real profit. Or? Have you ever had a total engine rebuild project? Everyone should do at least one!

Have you dipped anything into the spark plug holes to see if any water or anything else comes out. May have been this way for a while and could be very bad in there on one or two. If the other suggestions were not the problem, I would suspect blown head gasket reason for the plugs out and then abandonment mid stream. No one would push this thing around auction and dealer lots by hand when $10.00 would make it run.

But go with plugs in hand. Run a compression test, that’s real easy with a second person to turn the key. If you find a problem, only buy if you want to part it out. There are a lot of nice MB's for $3000.00 or so out there in great condition. Replacing that motor or major parts will easily put you in that neighborhood.

If you just put plugs in and start it and it's total bad news the dealer may accuse you of cross wiring the plugs and breaking his pride and joy. Then demand big money for his broken car, use caution! Get things in writing like waivers of liability? or at least photo's and a reliable witness prior to doing anything? Never trust a car dealer that is not married into the family! You sort of got to work with the latter until the divorce.

Scott