Last week, we saw this '87 300TD wagon be shill bid by two no-history buyers up to $15,000. I am willing to bet that it reappears for sale sometime in the next 2 weeks if recent history is any indication.



For example, the now famous deutscheserzeugnis who always runs "private" MB diesel auctions that almost always end up in the $10 region. He listed this '87 300TD wagon which closed for $10,200 on Jul 18th. A fantastic price for one of these cars, especially this one with the $100 paint job. Yet, lo and behold, here it is for sale again. Same ad, same VIN#.



Here's his '85 300TD wagon famous for it's water-filled headlights and non-stock parts, the car is feverishly bid to $9,800 yet somehow does not make the seller's reserve price. Of course, the car is now relisted.



Another not-to-be-trusted eBay dealers, frontline-leasing, sold this '80 300TD wagon for $6,500. But, I swear it was listed 3 times with the bid price being something like $8,600.



This '85 300TD wagon sold in Oregon 3 weeks ago for something in the area of $7,200 or $8,200 using a different seller name, now it's relisted. That last sale was the third time the car had been listed, if I remember correctly. The first time, he said the buyer fell through. The second he pulled early, and then the final sale.



The last month or two, I've noticed that almost all the 300TD wagons selling for $7,000 or more are relisted within a few weeks. While those selling for $6,000 or less are never relisted. Coincidence?

I can't find the expired sales for some of these even though I know I followed the auctions. I wonder if the sellers shill-bid them up to goad someone into overpaying and then if nobody tops their fake price, they cancel the auction. Would that prevent it from showing up in a serach of completed auctions?

Yeah, I saw a 300SD that went for over $6k, and was relisted at least one time. It would suck for the seller if these are legitimate bids, and the people just back out. I am sure it is a pain to deal with ebay and try to get out of paying the ebay fees. I wonder if ebay ever does anything to people who bid up an auction and then never pay for the item?

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87 300D - Running on Veggie oil; 260,000 plus miles; Original #14 head

So I guess the point of this post is that used car salesman sometimes use deceptive sales practices? It's certainly shocking to hear of this unexpected turn of events.

I know it's done all the time but IMHO anybody that is seriously considering purchasing a 25 year old used car from a seller 1,000 miles away without doing any sort of on-site visual inspection or even a test drive deserves what they get. Which most of the time is unexpected problems and headaches.

I think that eBay just makes things worse because they allow private bidding, and don't try and verify that one person has several user IDs and is bidding on their own auctions.

You guys are awesome that you have rooted out these dirtbags and shown them for what they truly are. It is used car sales in the 21st century, and people are naive enough to believe what these sheisters are saying. I also noticed that Deutscherzeugnis also charges a processing fee on top of the outrageous prices he is getting for the crap he is selling.

The bottom line is never purchase a car without seeing it in person and having a trusted mechanic check it out. It is hard for me because I love these cars like you guys do, and I have to keep my emotions out of it.

I think eBay should crack down on these guys but it will never happen because it is all about listing fees, and they could care less about someones lying sales tactics as long as they pay their listing fee.

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Doug

1987 300TD x 3
2005 E320CDI

I just sold my wagon on ebay -

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320010304573

No shilling, no bidding by me or anyone I know. The buyer is paying me in full today with a scheduled pickup later in the week. In addition, I recall a yellow 96k mile wagon in Florida that sold for $16k about two months ago - it was bought by a member of this site.

My point is, the real wagons that are in individuals hands that are documented are still fetching top dollar. The idiots (like the nimrod in Florida, above) are getting hosed by themselves. Good.

Ebay sucks - my experience was a D- due to scammers and bait-and-switch operators. In my one week auction, I uncovered three VERIFIABLE scams surrounding my auction. Ebay sucks - it's full of crooks.

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- Brian


1989 500SEL Euro
1966 250SE Cabriolet
1958 BMW Isetta 600

Good job on the listing and excellent photos.

$16K.........amazing...........

Looks like you worked for that 16k....good job, nice rig. Bet you're sad to see it go.

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79 300SD - $50 out of pocket purchase
03 Dodge Ram 3500 CTD
2003 VW Jetta TDI