I bought a car on ebay, had a forum member (established mechanic) inspect it and.....

[Ara T.]

If there weren't enough pictures in the first place for you to even see the missing trim, it should have been a big warning sign saying "DONT BUY ME" in neon letters. Hopefully you didn't overpay too much.

[whunter]

Originally Posted by ChrisArnt

Well the car was missing the trim on the rocker panels, the door sill plates, the rear bumper lower valance, some piece behind the passenger rear wheel well, and had clearly had the rear end of the body reconstructed.
You couldn't tell from the pics, but in person it was obvious the moment i looked at it.
Its been several months and I have noticed several other things.
The headlight clips are busted and they were glued in place with JB-weld.
The fuel filler has a problem... when you fill it all the way up the overflow drains into the trunk.
The other day the fuel gun didn't click off and pumped 5 gallons of diesel into the trunk. WTF!!!
The Bulb out notice that comes up every time I turn the lights on.... no bulbs are out. It is a wiring issue.
Highbeams don't work.
Spare tire is basically shreaded.
Ambient temp guage is 10 degrees off.
Several cracked plastic panels in the trunk.

In retrospect I think the mechanic knew the ebay seller.

May I inquire if the member inspecting this car took pictures, and if so how many came to you?


This is a hot button (ticks me off) issue, that should NOT happen with current camera/video technology!!!


I routinely do what I call vehicle survey.
A typical survey takes 1 - 5 hours, and generates 150 - 1500 pictures with at least 1 - 5 pages of notes.

I have frequently been informed that the notes are redundant, due to the mass of pictures.

Several times, the prospective buyer insisted on buying a "specific" low cost digital camera, and had me ship it to them when the survey was completed.

For cheap cameras Please review this thread:

Take pictures BEFORE you tear it apart.
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/general-information/250943-take-pictures-before-you-tear-apart.html

.

[Diesel911]

About 4 or so Year ago a Member asked Me to look at a Car for the and I said No and have never regretted the decision.

I bought My Mercedes on eBay entirely sight unseen except for the Picture on eBay. Even though the Seller was not too far away from Me I never had the time to go and inspect or drive the Car.
In fact the Seller drove the Car Home for Me. And, that must have been an interesting drive for the Seller because the Brakes were working extremely poorly and the Car was scary slow on acceleration (sloppy Throttle Linkages).

Of course it had issues to begin with and other issues developed in the next Year or 2; some of which I have to this day never fixed.

But, I don't kick Myself at all because I knew I was taking a chance on the Car.
Once the Car was mine I was the one responsible to fix the Car and that is that.

Also if you read Peoples stories on the Forum you get a general idea that the majority of the Old Mercedes out there (especially if the Cars have multiple Owners) have suffered neglect and poor repair jobs. So when you buy one the adventure begins.

[alabbasi]

I hate to sound insensitive but old cars carry baggage and if you're buying them sight unseen, you should expect the worst and pay accordingly. I've had people ask me to look a car over and I usually turn them down my expectations are usually a lot lower then others and I don't want to disappoint the buyer or get myself in trouble.

[kerry]

I had a member check out my Fuso for me before purchase since it was all the way across country. He was very gracious in doing so and he did a good job. I wasn't expecting him to do a thorough job of inspection, just take a look to see if it was roughly as described and drive it to make sure it ran and had all its gears. I certainly didn't think that his inspection would be the deciding factor in the purchase and wouldn't have held him responsible for any defects in the truck.

[MS Fowler]

What did the forum member who checked out the car get? Was it a freebie, or did you compensate him/her for their time?

[Can't Know]

To add a bit to what has been said, and along the lines of Al's comment...nobody is really talking about the car in question, and given the sparse details about the car, how it was represented and priced and what was asked of the forum member, there's enough daylight there to allow the moon to pass through.

If it's an old model, all of what you're describing is to be expected unless it's described as restored, 100% complete, etc. There's a world of difference (or perhaps a moon?) between the bell curve of expectations for a 2009 E350 and a 1980 300SD.

[kerry]

Looks like it's a 96 E300D at a good price.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/345532-whats-most-likely-spot-fuel-leak-96-e300d.html

[ChrisArnt]

Yes I bought it sight unseen and I paid a reputable local mechanic to do a pre-purchase inspection.
1st detail is this. I hired the mechanic to do a pre-purchase inspection and paid him for those services.
It was not a free favor for a member.

Some things are going to get over looked like a leaking fill line, both rocker trim, a rear lower bumper valance, the door locks, the high-beams, the headlights being glued in, the body repair on the trunk, the broken molding inside the trunk, the cup holder.
But to overlook it all! Calls into question the intregrity or competence of the inspector.

I'm not complaining about the window that broke within a week or the motor mount that went. But most of the stuff that he missed I would have picked up on ( I would not have picked up on the filling line problem) unless I removed the spare tire which was totally shot from repeated soaking with diesel fuel.

I specifically asked him about the paint job and the rear end.
Specifically:I asked him about the model numbers being off the car.
He said " Many people don't like model numbers. Many German people take those off" At the time it seemed like a something that was a personal opinion. But in retro I've been to Germany and not true.
When I got the car. The corner of the trunk where the numbers should have been had clearly been repaired and while the paint was good, the repair showed as a smooth bulge.
I noticed it immediately.
I am picky and I always go for a good deal. I paid $9000 for this car with 88,000 miles.
I also realize that these cars have problems.

[ChrisArnt]

Originally Posted by Ara T.

If there weren't enough pictures in the first place for you to even see the missing trim, it should have been a big warning sign saying "DONT BUY ME" in neon letters. Hopefully you didn't overpay too much.

There were pictures and it is difficult to see that the trim is missing because there was shiny fresh paint there.

[ChrisArnt]

Originally Posted by whunter

May I inquire if the member inspecting this car took pictures, and if so how many came to you?


This is a hot button (ticks me off) issue, that should NOT happen with current camera/video technology!!!


I routinely do what I call vehicle survey.
A typical survey takes 1 - 5 hours, and generates 150 - 1500 pictures with at least 1 - 5 pages of notes.

I have frequently been informed that the notes are redundant, due to the mass of pictures.

Several times, the prospective buyer insisted on buying a "specific" low cost digital camera, and had me ship it to them when the survey was completed.

For cheap cameras Please review this thread:

Take pictures BEFORE you tear it apart.
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/general-information/250943-take-pictures-before-you-tear-apart.html

.

He sent a few pics as requested. I think they were the undercarriage.

[Jim B.]

Originally Posted by kerry

Looks like it's a 96 E300D at a good price.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/345532-whats-most-likely-spot-fuel-leak-96-e300d.html

The picture in the sig pic appears to be one of a w124, so it would be a 1995 at the latest, I believe.

The first year for the w210 would be 1996, if we are talking about the US spec cars.

[ChrisArnt]

The car is a 1996 E300D with 88,000 miles on it.
Represented as a 9 out of 10.
After double checking
I paid $7550 shipping was another $1100.
The seller has 100 % feeedback with good google reviews and other online.
The inspector has good google reviews also.
They are both in Pompano Beach Florida.

[alabbasi]

Originally Posted by ChrisArnt

Specifically:I asked him about the model numbers being off the car.
He said " Many people don't like model numbers. Many German people take those off" At the time it seemed like a something that was a personal opinion. But in retro I've been to Germany and not true.

Actually this is true. I've owned a lot of Euro 6.9's and Euro 450SLC 5.0's that were not badged. There's even a factory option for badge delete. But that's Europe where people don't want you know if they own an S280 or an S600. The US is different.

Did you do a carfax?

[link]

From what you are describing there may have been a lack of detailed analysis but it is hard to say if there was obvious negligence. OTOH, if you think there was negligence, then pursue the seller/mechanic in small claims court or contact the attorney general in the state the car was sold. IMO you’ll be in for less grief to spend the money on fixes or to sell the car and put it behind you if you’re unhappy.

Some people’s expectations are reasonable in their view, but ultimately out of line for a typical used car. Plus, there is the sight unseen part. That guarantees surprises because no one will look as closely as a buyer with an experienced eye for details.