5 Speed Disappointment
 

There was a 1980 240D on craigslist advertised as having a 5 speed manual transmission. The seller wanted $300. I asked the seller if he had the title and if it was really a 5 speed, not a 4 speed because people often say they have a 5 speed when it is really a 4 speed. He said, "It sure is, that's what I wrote".

I made a 2 hour round trip drive to see/purchase the car only to find out it is a 4 speed manual, not a 5 speed! The guy says, "Oh, it is a 4 speed. I thought it was a 5 speed". What a disappointment. I was going to put the transmission in my 300SD.

Yeah, craigslist is a risk, I think any regular user of it has their fair share of wierd sellers/buyers. I certainly have.

So is there an arrest warrant out for you after what you deservedly did to him ?

The guy acted like it was no big deal, though he did say he was sorry I made the long trip. At least he corrected the ad. If I had $1,200 last week I could have bought a parts car W116 with a 5 speed (unless it's another one of those--oh, I guess it isn't a 5 speed now that I look at it).

I know how you feel.

When I was searching for another 240, everybody ads said "rust free". I would ask 10 times in an email if there was any undercarriage rust and they'd all say it was perfect. Drive an hour or more only to find holes in the floor

dang i thought about emailing that guy and asking to separate the tranny but now it's a 4 speed:(

you should know better. how many 240D came in 5 speed?

There a few 240Ds that came with a five speed; they are rare. That's why I jumped on it as soon as I saw the ad. I have actually seen several W116 and W123 cars lately listed as 5 speeds. Whether they are 5 speeds or actually 4 speeds, I don't know. This was the first one I saw under $1,000.

I saw that add and thought that might be the case.

A few years ago I drove all the way down the Oregon coast to buy a "5" speed, yah, right "reverse is usually considered the "fifth" speed isnt it?" :rolleyes:says the owner of this trashed out 4 spd 240D.:(

sucks about the drive, its always a risk buying from afar. I am looking at a car right now on ebay and asked the guy to send pics of the rear floors and if the carpet is wet. He says its not wet but it hasnt been raining so he is not sure. HUHHH, all of FLA has been unundated for 3 weeks, how can he say its not raining in rainy season. Its enough to scare me away from what otherwise looked like a decent deal.

BTDT. Dont both asking if they are sure its a 5 speed, ask them are they sure its a 5 speed and not a 4speed + R. Most Americans drive autos and there for think of all manuals as 5 speeds (since no mass produced car I know of has had a 4spd trans in 20 years almost).

When I saw your post about this I could read the writing on the wall.

finding a true 5 speed in this country is like finding a needle in a haystack

Note to self. Ask for a pic of the shifter.

I looked at a 300TD in Houston once that seemed to have some water damage on the carpets. Asked the seller if there was any rust on the floor or elsewhere. He got back to me and said he had looked and no, there was no rust. Drove the SIX hour round trip, and found.....lots of rust all over. That's not the worst. While we were test driving it (with my infant son in the car), the accelerator pedal FELL OFF! :eek:

Luckily, Tyler tipped me off about another one in Houston that we did end up buying (see pic below)

The guy was asking like $4k. I called him back and told him that we had bought another car, but that if I was going to make an offer, it would be more like $1500. Actually, if I had made an offer it would have started at $800 for that POS, but the car had been the guy's brothers who had died young and unexpectedly of cancer, so I felt kinda bad....but still....To let us drive all that way and put our son in that completely unsafe car was so not cool!


Craigslist - Tread careful all ye who enter.

How can people be so dumb that they don't even know how many gears their car has, especially if it's a manual. Either the guy was just flat out lying or was on drugs or retarded. I hate dealing with sellers like that.