Nice Car? in Dallas

[bbeardb]

Anybody recall seeing this car on ebay?

http://www.ebizautos.com/dallasroadster/detail.cfm?iid=531505

It seems vaugly familiar. I'm not a dealer fan but the guy said he's sell it for $2950, it's a one owner car and he has all the records. He said the books is all stamped and it's been in the shop every 3-5000 miles.

I'm thinking of driving down this weekend and picking it up maybe. Seems like a reasonable price. Came from Pennsylvania though, so I wonder if there is any hidden rust... hmm. He claims everything works.

See post 23 for the Germany update.

[SD Blue]

If it is a car from Pennsylvania that has been stored in the winter, it may be in better condition than some in this area that have been ravaged by the sun.

I know that most of my interior replacement parts come from "northern" cars in the bone yard.

[Brian Carlton]

Check it carefully for rust.

Make sure the entire climate control system works as it should.

Make sure that it produces power with the turbo. 0-60 in about 12 seconds.

Take one of the front wheels off and look at the front suspension. See if any parts have ever been replaced. Look at the brakes while you are there, however, brakes are cheap.

See if you can start it cold. The crank time should be very minimal (2 seconds or so).

Check the transmission carefully when you drive it for flaring on the 2-3 and/or 3/4 shifts. This will be especially prevalent in moderate (not heavy) pedal positions.

Check the axles to see if the rubber boots are intact or have holes in them.

If it was properly maintained, there will be some new parts around. Maybe a master cylinder, maybe a radiator. Look for this. These vehicles can cost you a fortune if you have bought all 19 year old parts.

The vehicle is white in color. It's not a favorite of mine because, unless the paint is absolutely pristine, the color is unable to hide any blemishes or fading. You can never get it to look fantastic without a repaint.

And, finally, take off the rose colored glasses. Evaluate it objectively and walk away if you find more than $1000. worth of items that need your attention immediately.

[bbeardb]

I would do that if it were local, but it's not. If I am going there it is to buy it. I've looked at all the local cars there are to look at. There aren't that many. So I'm looking elsewhere. More supply = cheaper cars.

I don't want to buy a car sight unseen, but it's probably what I'm going to do. I'm going on the premise that if the previous owner took the car in every 3-5K miles, then he cared about his car. Also the mechanics would have him replace this and that as the years went on. That's their job, to fix cars and make money.

I personally think white is one of the better colors. I don't know if there is a mercedes specific problem with white, but white hides dirt and body damage the best. Not good for trying to see the belmishes in the car one is considering buying though. But the darker the color the more shows up. Look at a jet black car, you have to wash it all the time and any little dent or scratch shows up. I think that is kinda annoying myself. White "stays" clean.

I have no problems walking away. I've walked away from a few already. And I really liked a couple of them. I would suck after a 13-14 hour drive though.

[Brian Carlton]

Originally Posted by bbeardb

I have no problems walking away. I've walked away from a few already. And I really liked a couple of them. I would suck after a 13-14 hour drive though.

Boy do I know the feeling. I've flown down to pick them up. The SD was exactly as advertised, nothing more, nothing less. The only exception is the oil leaks. The moron took a great effort to state that it did not have any oil leaks.

The SDL, as you probably have already read, was not. But, the paint was an 8.5 and the engine was flawless and the transmission shifts flawlessly. So, given the fact that I needed to get to Atlanta within two days, off I went.

It's easy to walk away when you live 20 miles away. It's a hell of a lot harder when you live 1000 miles away.

[JimmyL]

bbeardb,
I live in the Dallas area and could go by and look at the car. I am no mechanic, but I do have a good idea of things to look at, and could also drive the car and see how it does. Understand, I will be comparing it to the piece of junk wagon I have, and I've also driven a 240. I've never driven one with a turbo, so it would be enjoyable to see what that's like.
How quick are you thinking of pulling the trigger?
Jimmy

[bbeardb]

Originally Posted by JimmyL

bbeardb,
I live in the Dallas area and could go by and look at the car. I am no mechanic, but I do have a good idea of things to look at, and could also drive the car and see how it does. Understand, I will be comparing it to the piece of junk wagon I have, and I've also driven a 240. I've never driven one with a turbo, so it would be enjoyable to see what that's like.
How quick are you thinking of pulling the trigger?
Jimmy

Sent you an email and PM. They say the same thing.

Thanks,
Brandon

Brandon, nice looking car. Did you get to go down and look at the car? What information did you find out about it?

[bbeardb]

Originally Posted by 300SDLTOM

Brandon, nice looking car. Did you get to go down and look at the car? What information did you find out about it?

Jimmy may go look at if for me if he has the time. All I know about it is what the ad says and the dealer told me. He says everything works, ac, windows, even the antenna. Tires are great, leather has no cracks/splits, does not "smoke at all," no rust, great car, blah blah blah. I told him to go see if there are any records since it's a one owner car, there should be some. He called me back and left a message saying he found a ton a records, the original badge and germany transfer receipt or something, and the book was all stamped every 3-5K for maintenance. Then he said, of course, there are alot of people looking at the car and he thinks it will go quick. Well, sell it to one of them then if you have so much heat on the car. Nah, he wasn't being a pushy salesman, I just hate that. "I have some people coming to look at it this weekend... Lot's of interest... I've got a guy that's pretty serious." Actually, I hear this the most from private dealers. And they may be telling the truth, who knows, it just irratates me a little.

Brandon, Did he state the condition of the suspensions system, tranny and a/c and heater? I hear those guys sometimes advertise that, "it's in good condition", but once you get there it's a different story, or it seems that way when you drive off and find all the underlying conditions. If you don't feel right about it don't jump into it. Be deligent and patient.

[bbeardb]

Originally Posted by 300SDLTOM

Brandon, Did he state the condition of the suspensions system, tranny and a/c and heater? I hear those guys sometimes advertise that, "it's in good condition", but once you get there it's a different story, or it seems that way when you drive off and find all the underlying conditions. If you don't feel right about it don't jump into it. Be deligent and patient.

Jimmy did a kick butt job! Thanks alot Jimmy. Take a look at this report:

Looks nice, paint a little flat, dealer will shine it up. Definitly repainted. Bumpers a little faded and scuffed. No cracks in headlight assembly. AC compressor works, but not cold. ACC controls work though. Slight drift to right while driving, does not pull though. Best brakes on any car he's ever driven. Leak in the trunk, wetness in the trunk seal, only on drivers side, no rust though. Except drivers rear door (jamb.) Kinda nasty rust. No rust anywhere else. Grill is in good shape. Tires a little cracked, but still have half their life. Sunroof slows on the last 1/3 of closing (is this normal?) Oil pressure at 2.5-2.75 at idle, AC on. Passenger floor mat torn. Rear boots cracked but not torn. A little bit of a tranny drip and oil drip, nothing exsessive. Shifts perfect, kickdown works. Cruise works. Small rip in headliner.

Drove really nice. Jimmy was really impressed with how it drove. He hates his TD now. Sorry Jimmy! Seats could be Mb-Tex, but couldn't tell. Pretty good though, seats firm. Great door panels except drivers door wood is bad/toast. Dash has a crack or two. All windows work. Wheels are in good shape. Front brake calipers may be new. Motors mounts rock solid. No shake at all. No smoke at all, at start up or flooring it. Dealer started it cold without using glow plugs, still turned over in about 5 seconds or so. Shocks worked nice going over railroad tracks and such. Jimmy kept remarking on how well it drove.



Well is that not a kick-butt report or what? He even took some pictures with his phone and sent them to me. I think I may call the dealer and tell him how crappy the rust, AC, cracked boots are and how can he make it right, etc.

uh... I can't seem to figure out how to attach a pic from my desktop. I thought I was computer literate. I even searched. hmm......

Ah-Ha i fingered it out

[JimmyL]

I hated my wagon BEFORE I drove this car. Now I don't even want to look at it when I pull in my driveway. I still miss driving it for sure, but WOW, what a difference between the 126 and 123 MB's!!!
That car drove like any current modern car, very tight and very quiet even. Since my MB is a non-turbo, I don't really have a good reference point, but from 0 to 15-20 this could be the slowest thing I have ever driven. Then the powerband and/or turbo kick in and it accelerates very nicely and smoothly. The brakes are rediculous! Mine actually work well on my wagon, but these are over the top! I've never used the cruise before, and it worked fine and even accelerated and then held speed when commanded to do so.
Car had been repainted as there was some spray around window rubber. Window rubber and door rubber in good shape. Drivers seat comfortable. I didn't really notice if it was leather or MB-Tex, but I believe it to be the latter. Never used an ACC before as mine is crudely bypassed, but all vents work as they should. Compressor comes on, but air not cold. Switched over to heat and back. antenna only went up about 8 inches (insert joke here) and radio reception poor. Clock numerals were backwards on middle digits. Both vanity mirror lights worked. Very small dime size rip in headliner, behind sunroof. Sunroof opens and closes consistantly, and slows with 1/3 travel remaining, yet does NOT stall or hesitate in any way. Consistantly. My sunroof is manual, so I don't know their normal operation characteristics.
Engine bay was not steamcleaned, which I believe to be a plus as you can really see "what has been going on". Inside surfaces VERY clean, with the valve cover being slightly icky (pardon the technical lingo). Engine had NO vibration whatsoever, aircleaner doing a slight booty dance. Engine temp aroung 90 I guess, and oil pressure at idle with compressor on was 2.5-2.75. My guages are non-metric, so that was kind of different looking. I don't have a tach either, which is nice to have for sure.
All lights/lenses and grill in great shape, all windows work. Oh yeah, tranny worked perfectly. Perfectly! Steering wheel would start to move a "little" around 85, which by the way, didn't feel like I was really going that fast. Odometer DOES work.
Heck yall, just a really nice car. Except for the rust spot on rear driver-side door frame, NO RUST ANYWHERE.
Sigh, back to my smoke infested rattle-trap world. Buy 'em nice and keep 'em that way. Where was that advice back in May
I should probably add some sort of 'buy at your own risk' disclaimer as so many do, but if I had the money I would buy that car post-haste!
Jimmy L

[bodyart27]

Jimmy - that was a very cool thing to do for a forum member. Nice recap.

[JimmyL]

I wish I had lurked here before I bought one, and had been an informed buyer. I've learned everything 'after the fact', but I have many years to keep plugging away with mine. Just wish I could get it running correctly, it's ugly duckling appearance doesn't bother me. I was originally looking for a 240 Volvo wagon. Even drove a diesel one of those (which showed me that my situation could be worse). The diesel MB wagon was somewhat of an impulse buy, as it was near the price of the Volvos, but as many have said "there is nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes".
I know with time and a zillion dollars I'll get mine going, and I know I will get help with it too. Just a nice community of folks here, and I was honored to be able to help out. I'm not super-technical, but I am visual
Jimmy

You know Jimmy, that's very polite for you to do that. Sounds like good informatin on the car. Question is Brandon going to buy?