Whew!!! Better hurry, only ~7hrs left!!
 

UNBELIEVABLE! $$$$$ :eek::confused::eek::):confused:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1985-MERZ-300-SD-TURBO-DIESEL-GARAGE-KEPT-53-000-MI_W0QQitemZ230141781932QQihZ013QQcategoryZ6330QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

PS: Happy Fathers Day to all you Dads!

That's nothin'...check out THIS ONE on CL!
 

that car has a HUGE amount of red flags all over. it lacks the pedigree without full service records, some of the lower body panels look off (on a perfect MB there should be NO gaps, unlike a lesser built car where that might be tolerable). Add to that no pictures of the engine compartment, nor the customary shot of the dash while the car is running at temperature. Finally the seller has 0 feedback.

Don't get me wrong, interior looks great, but quite frankly, could buy a kit for $2500 + new window switches and come pretty darn close to looking like that in a photo.

I gotta believe the seller is accurate in his description,,, it would take a helluva lot of new parts to get any car looking so nice. The seats look nice, the center armrest isn't torn, the carpet,,, everything is sweet.

So he's a newbie, that's probably why he didn't take a picture of the instrument cluster with the car running,,, he's not a car buff (so he says) but a financial adviser,,,

I say he's legit,,, no I don't know him,,, my 2¢

Those body panels show evidence of major work having been done. The trunk is not aligned and the passenger side is so badly mismatched it looks like it was put back together by a blind body man. The rear door and rear end of the car is a different color than the front and the front door isn't even flush with the rest of the car.

If it looks that wrong in photos I can only imagine what it looks like in person...good luck to the poor guy who buys it. If the body work is that bad I bet the mechanical work was no better...this is one I'd run away from - FAST!

The vinyle is ripped next to the seat belt, and the floor mats suck. Would it have killed him to spend $100 on a nice set of OE floor mats?:rolleyes:

Looks clean though, I'd have to see it in person before bidding.

I'm not sure I know what you guys are seeing body gaps, or the trunk misaligned. Where? The plastic moldings expand in the southern sun. The interior will also bake.

I do think the passenger side looks suspicious however. Notice the darker hue in the rear door vs the front. Wasn't blended correctly. And personally for that kind of money it had better darn well be original, if not, a professional (no-less-than-factory) restoration with virtually no any one way to tell the difference.

I ran a carfax report on this SD, and it appears to be a one-owner vehicle in Allen, Texas since it was purchased new. No flags. FWIW.

Really, more documentation and some engine shots would be nice but it looks pretty good to me.

I still wouldn't pay $10,000+ for any pre 86 diesel, though.

The gap on the left side (driver's side) of the trunk lid between it and the rear quarter panel is much smaller than on the right side. It is also lower on the left side than on the right. Then look at the very first photo...see how the front door, front quarter and hood all look lighter than the rear door and trunk. It is not just the way the light reflects, that paint does not match. The door is not straight, look at the shot looking down the passenger side (the 4th photo he added). It was no aligned carefully after repairs...it never would leave the factory like that.

"Take a future value calculator and enter inflation and the dollar devaluation, this car is cheap!"

Says the seller, a financial advisor. :D

Not surprising price for that car. Now that CD link in SF CR - that price is crap.

Nice car for a salvage car? To find out something like that after purchase at this kind of price could easily frost the family jewels. Only on ebay I suppose. I also find it signifigant the oil change booklet from mercedes is not present. It runs to 100 k or better and was always kept in the glove box of most mercedes at least till it was full. Why would it be Missing?
A car kept in a garage most the time could easily look like this inside with 100k plus with a caring owner. I have one with 156k indicated that looks that good or better inside. An allowance has to be made because it is vinyltex. Still as brand new though.

Let's see, someone ran a Carfax and it came up clean. Car has been registered in Dallas area all it's life. The interior is spotless with the exception of the tear in the vinyl seat belt cover. The bolsters in the seats are still visible and look great.

While the first thing I noticed was the color deviations in the first picture, they don't seem to hold true on subsequent pictures.

The guy didn't take the pictures, his wife did....probably NOT a car buff either, so probably didn't know what to shoot.

The carpets, while not looking great, do look like OEM, as you can see by the shot taken from the back seat looking at the drivers side carpet...it has all the right cuts, just like the ones from my car.

All in all, I think the guy is legit....

that being said, I can't afford the car, so I'll not bid, but nothing I see would keep me from bidding if money were no object. It's a nice clean car and it is another example of what mine should look like! (Same color combo....)

I'm not seeing any problems with the body. I think the color change is because of the light, angle, and camra.

The only other problem I can spot is the wood on the glove box is starting to peel up. Notice its not in line with the latch. Not a big deal, but he is asking a lot so I would expect a lot.

I'd pay $15k+ but I will expect:
A perfect no BS car, the story and paper trail should match and make sense.
A full dealer service, I want all fresh fluids, filters, new battery if its old, and new tires if they are older. New quality floor mats as well.
Also I want those little interior imperfections dealt with.

The point of paying a lot is to get a car thats perfect and doesn't need a lot of work. If I am going to have to fix things I'll pay less.

The winning bidder bought another SD about 2 mos ago and got it stolen about a week after getting it. Interesting to see the feedback about this one.