What do y'all think of this W210 turbo?
 

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?car_id=222888323&dealer_id=29680869&car_year=1998&model=&num_records=25&make2=&start_year=19 81&keywordsfyc=&keywordsrep=&engine=&certified=&body_code=0&fuel=Diesel&awsp=false&search_type=both& distance=25&marketZipError=false&search_lang=&make=MB&color=&page_location=findacar%3A%3Aispsearchfo rm&min_price=9000&drive=&default_sort=priceDESC&max_mileage=&style_flag=1&sort_type=priceDESC&addres s=11771&advanced=y&end_year=2008&doors=&transmission=&max_price=14000&cardist=13

About 17 miles from me. I am crazy considering it, especially since I am basing my price opinion on research I did two years prior when I purchased my 190D, but looking at ebay they seem to go for about $15K. :confused: 60K miles could probably be dumped on it and still worth 9K as long as nothing major goes wrong. :confused:

Looks good to me...
 

If you want it go for it! It only has 109k on it so it should still be OK. I would ask to see the owner's manual and service records. If they are in the car and up to date it might be worth it. Or you can turn it around on ebay and make 3 grand...

From the pics, the body is not perfect, even the description calls the body "pretty good". Certainly not like some of the pristine looking ones on ebay. If anything I would offer $11K.

Looks like a reasonable example of a 98/99 turbo that is priced appropriately. I agree you might get it a lil bit cheaper.

Check if GP's have been R & R'd sometime in the past, that top of spring perches remain sealed up good with factory sealant/coating (no splits or tears) and that AC blows cold.

Those are the major issues with the W210; the rest of the 606.962 engine issues are generally easier DIY type repairs.

99 they offered rear head protection air bags; 98 had front seat only.

Just my 0.02, but I would avoid a car that's lived in CT for 10 years. My '91 Golf was only there for about 8 and that was enough to make many simple repairs challenging due to frozen hardware. In my book it's worth paying a premium to find a California or SW car.

I'd look it over and have an MB shop do a PDI with emphasis on the spring perches. If it is clean, I'd start with 10500.

Not bad. Not a perfect car but priced right. Go for it if you want it.

3rd rule of acquisition: Never pay more for an acquisition than you have to.
I'd start at 10500 and work my way up if you have to.

141st rule of acquisition: Only fools pay retail.
Find out what trade in is and work from there.

218th rule of acquisition: Always know what you're buying.
Know all the problems of the vehicle. Talk to MB and see their service records. Find as much fault as you can with it.

how old is the autotrader listing i ran the carfax and as of 02/05/2007 it had 110,024 miles

04/14/1998
Delaware
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Wilmington, DE
Registered as corporate vehicle

04/14/1998 11 Miles
Delaware
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Wilmington, DE
Title #00525761 Title or registration issued First owner reported

10/23/1998 8,598 Service Facility Vehicle serviced

02/03/1999 12,965 Service Facility Vehicle serviced Brakes serviced

04/19/2000 26,751 Service Facility Vehicle serviced Cooling system serviced
Air conditioning serviced Brakes serviced Engine serviced Suspension system serviced

07/01/2000 29,917 Service Facility Vehicle serviced Electrical system serviced

05/28/2001 39,232
Delaware
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Wilmington, DE
Title #00525761 Title or registration issued

07/02/2001 42,094 Service Facility Vehicle serviced Engine serviced

11/12/2001 50,105 Service Facility Vehicle serviced Electrical system serviced

06/25/2002 58,559 Service Facility Vehicle serviced Engine serviced

11/15/2002 62,983
Delaware
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Wilmington, DE
Title #00525761 Title or registration issued

09/13/2004 85,711
Delaware
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Wilmington, DE
Title #00525761 Title or registration issued

11/22/2004 88,471 Service Facility Vehicle serviced Suspension system serviced
Engine serviced Cooling system serviced Brakes serviced Electrical system serviced

02/05/2007 110,024
Delaware
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Wilmington, DE
Title #00525761 Title or registration issued

08/21/2007 Mercedes-Benz USA, Inc. No recalls open for repair

Blacksheep5 - thank you very much for the information. :cool:

I see DE all over that report, no mention of CT. :confused:

And how the heck does it have less mileage now than in Feb of this year? :puzzled:

BTW, do services have to be done at a MB dealer to be on the report?

alkim- getting a good deal is my primary objective in nearly any purchase especially since this is something I do not need.

Between the body imperfections, etc offering $10.5K sounds reasonable. What is the best way to put that after the test drive?

Will you take $10.5k cash?! Cash talks, excuses walk.:D

I'm in sales, DUH!:P:D

Probably you should act now if you are interested.
 

Maybe they are mistaken about the Conn. ownership? It is very possible the car may have been a company car licensed in Delaware, as Delaware is the state where many large corporations are registered, and due to the special tax and incorporation laws of Delaware which protect them, and make it so attractive to register their corporation, and maybe even their company cars.

Just a guess.

It sounds like an average or slightly above average car with average mileage for its year, with a slightly optimistic price.

If it is not far from you in NY, I would definately drive it and try to look at the books and records. If it is only the 2nd owner the dealer got it from, they might still be there.

It should be inspected for rust and the spring perch problem.

If you like it, and the price is reasonable, I would make the offer. They are in VERY high demand, these days, so the price won't be TOO soft. Try to portray yourself as viewing the car as a hunk of iron you need to purchase, with reluctance, but that you really DO need to buy one, and would do so today if a reasonable price could be reached. That will be a bit hard because good cars of this kind are in high demand.

Should you like the car, I wouldn't worry too much about paying a little bit high for the car. What you paid for the car today won't matter too much if you like the car and kept it for a number of years after you bought it
.
Sometimes it is said a fair deal was had if BOTH sides go away from the deal a little unhappy.

You should be able to nab this one. It should clean up really nicely, and the color is quite attractive.

Cars like this have been used from new as Taxis all over Europe, so they have to have some real toughness for that.

Sixto has been looking for a car like this in the San Francisco Bay Area for awhile, and reported that that they have been selling almost instantly when a nice one turned up.



Is there a service booklet with dealer or shop stamps in it, when you look at the car? With just two owners before this dealer got his hands on it, there is a good chance it would still be there, unless the dealer or the previous owner threw it out. It would tell whether the car lived in Ct. by the stamps in the booklet.

Getting the VMI would be helpful in that regard, for its location during its warranty was in effect, if any claims were made on it.

There, fixed it for you.
:)

Car looks fine. Being a CT native the car looks pretty good :-)

If you're a shadetree mechanic and like tinkering. Make a good cash offer and use the saved money and replace the usual wear and tear items on your spare time and change that oil with some good diesel rated sweetness and you're all set. If I still lived there I'd probably jump all over that. It's got OEM xenon's and leather seats (no heating though). Tough to find that combo stock....

My $0.02 :singer:

Dude, MBz harware dont freeze like that in a 9 yr old car. Aint a Vdub.

He has less than 10K in the car. Make an appropriate offer after inspecting it. Looks like a nice ride.

I just bought mine a couple weeks ago from autotrader also. Same model and year, 148K mi. Black/black, a little less road rash, no rust, leather, alpine stereo, roof. I paid $10.5K plus $1K shipping to va. from CA. No records, divorced wife burned the records! I love mine, check the stuff mentioned previously, SERVICE the TRANNY! With those miles 10.5-11K sounds like a good deal (if everything works).

Yep, never had a problem working on 10 year old MB suspension parts. Its the 20 year old stuff that's frozen.

Thanks for all the replies everybody! :)

So I went to check it out, I found the following:

-100+ tiny stone chips in hood.
-Small piece of grill bent.
-Little dents here and there.
-Glow plug light went off, then came back on while engine was running.
:confused:
-A/C worked, but could have been colder (IMO).
-Rear pass. side window does not work.
-Drivers seat back unscrewed and on the floor. :confused:
-Pass headlight cleaner broken.
-Drivers side of skirt appears to be spray painted (over scratches).
-Rust around trunk key.
-Trunk lid re-painted (drip marks under license plate).
-All alum. under hood looks quite weathered (oxidized).
-Wheels extremely gouged and rim actually dented in a few spots (worse than I have ever seen, even a couple of the wheel faces were rashed).
-Plastic (simulated wood) piece closest to armrest cracked.
-Nicks here and there on the armrests.
-No manuals in glove box.
-Entry molding missing from rear pass. side door jamb.


Front spring perches did look good to me, original sealant appeared to be in place, paint was peeling off springs and rusting.

And it did have a Mobil-1 synthetic sticker under the hood. :D

The nice salesman agreed with me that the car has defects, and said his boss who was not there "because he is in a little trouble" today will call me tomorrow. :cool:

So much for company paid, no expense spared, maintenance.

I'd pass based on what you saw.

There are others out there that have beeen cared for better.

If you can get it cheap enough it's still worth pursuing. Nothing on that list of "defects" is uncurable. Remember, with any 10 year old car you will be chasing down issues...use the condition to your advantage and offer $9K for it. If you can get it for under $10K you can still fix it up and have a pretty darn nice low lmiles car for $12K or so and you will know it is fixed up right if you do it yourself.

+1

GPs coming on with engine running is not necessarily a defect, as long as this "afterglow" doesn't last more than 20-30 seconds (60 tops). It's intended to smooth out a rough running engine, so you would expect it to happen more in cold weather than warm.

I don't believe this is correct. If the light comes on again after the engine started it is usually a sign of a bad GP and the light is a warning, though I could be wrong. I've never seen my GP light come back on after the engine started in nearly 3 years...even in -10F cold weather.

Bad glow plug/plugs if the light is on after start or flashes. Should be a code in the Freeze Frame data as well.

Mine did that when there was a bad GP.

The glow plug light was on until I shut the engine off (15 mins total)? Prob a fault as mentioned above. Prob no biggie.

I was actually thinking $9K too, though another fellow here got one with 150K miles for $10.5 with much less road rash. Can $1,500 offset all the things wrong with this one even with the lower mileage?

Honestly seeing that many defects is a turn off unless it is a smokin' hot deal. Our 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee with 175K is in just about perfect shape, detailed and it would look nearly new, I have seen many other 1998 vehicles that look great.

The paint and body imperfections are the worst IMO, repaint would be $$$, wheel repairs or replacement would be $$$.

After I told the salesman the list of defects I found, he agreed with me and said something to the extent of "forget this car, I am going to wholesale it, I can get this price doing that" :confused:

I then offered him $9K if he did not want to go that route, he is going to ask manager to call me tomorrow.

Did all that just sound contradicting or what? HAHA. :cool:

-John

Lil nagging things wrong and poor quality repairs speaks volumns concerning the PO's idea of maint and care.

Makes me wonder how many times the owner was too busy to worry about topping off or changing the oil as well.

I'll stand by my "pass" personally.

If you do pursue it I'd suggest you have the seller have the glow plugs replaced prior to you buying it...that way if one breaks off it is not your problem.

You know there's a problem with the GP system and at least one is bad. It could be broken off already in there...so I'd revise my last statement and say other than the GP problem I'd say everything else is easily fixed. The broken GP is a potentiall costly repair (head removal).


Used wheels for these cars are plentiful in good shape. You can buy a set, probably with good rubber on them for $100 each used. A good body shop can respray the hood and touch up other spots without repainting the entire car, but even if the whole car were repainted it would then really look "like new" and be better than others out there.

Without seeing the car it's impossible for any of us to judge it as well as you have, so, passing on it may be the right call, but I always love a challenge.

If a glow plug broke off already wouldnt it damage the cylinder, valves, turbo as it makes it's way out of the engine?

Hmmm, if the car was "clean" or in nice shape what should I expect to pay for it?

I agree.

The "list" is extensive and shows the PO cared not a whit about his vehicle.

Therefore, I conclude that he never changed the oil in a timely manner. I'll bet that it still has all the factory fluids in the trans, brakes, power steering, radiator, diff. How can you conclude anything else?

PASS

Probably sounds like a well worn example. There are a billion W210's on the market, finding a good one shouldn't be hard.

Heck a place down the street from me is selling a pretty nice 1997 E420 with about the same miles as this car for $7,900. Its in much better shape.

Yeah, I'd grab that sucker if you can. I think it's got a pretty good service history based on the report Blacksheep provided.

Good luck,
Nick

Not really. It would just be damn near impossible to remove without the head coming out.

Where? I see few diesels are around here.

-John

There are plenty of 210s that are NOT diesels. Some 210s had 606 engines in them and others did not. An E320, for example is a gas engine AND a W210

I wouldn't buy a diesel W210. The premium people want for them is just crazy. I'd buy the exact same car, with less miles, and a gas V6, for $3k less, and eat the 3mpg difference. So what if they get slightly better mileage. When you have to remove the head to do the GP's there goes the savings.

Fwiw, the 95 I picked up with 220K for less than half his asking price of 12.5, was/is in better shape than this 98.

GPs are a PITA on these as the twin cam head makes them ultra long. Cant wait to pull my head for a rebuild. :( Someday, I;m sure.

I d say clean and in nice shape, 12.5K is right.

Sure, there are plenty of E320's, but this is a diesel forum. :P If I wanted to go gasser I would not limit myself to an E, or Benz. :D

I found one W210 on autotrader for $8,600, I called and it was sold (gee, wonder why), the owner said it had 156K miles and a turbo. :eek: