PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum - Thoughts on 1986 300E for CHEAP $$$

I have come across a 1986 300E for $800. The car has been bought by a junkyard for $100. It came in YESTERDAY. I believe that they DO have the title. The body is GOOD....no rust.....broken front corber light and damaged fender. The fender can be banged out to accecpt a boneyard corner lamp.
If from a junkyard, PROBABLY a SALVAGE title :( .....I do not care...
The car would be for my 17 year old son.
We jumped it off my 123 diesel "the Black Bomber".......fired right up!......No oil in the coolant tank......oil level full (dirty, needs changing)........interior is sand color TEX in very good shape. The blower fan does NOT come on......We do hear the pods in the dash when the climate control buttons are actuated......
The sunroof is closed at the front and is EVENLY DOWN at the rear by an inch or so......At the trunk, the sunroof nut was turned both ways to NO avail.....possibly a bad SUNROOF CABLE?............The switch did not make the sunroof motor make any noise..............perhaps the switch, HOWEVER, as the manual close in the trunk seems to do NOTHING.......
The SERPENTINE BELT was torn up badly..............We started and let the car idle etc.......smooth and powerful........fast idle even when at "normal operating temperature"........It was NOT broken.......the alternator light was ON........blinkers and flashers and lighta and brake lights all function properly.
Drivers window needs the replacement washer/ nut, as the motor operates via the switch......the rear right window=no operation............fuzes all SEEM ok........Again, this was a 25 minute check of this car at the and of the business day Saturday.
I did NOT remember to test the wiper...D-mn!
The odometer says 161,000 miles............nothing in the glove box EXCEPT an insurance inspection report from 1998 showing a milage of 154,908!....AND the name of the owner............hopefully STILL. I have gotten a phone number and left a message with the "hopefully, previous owner"......IF I can make contact directly with them, Information will be most HELPFUL.
Don't know about the evaporator :eek: OR the ABS :eek: ....The factory Becker funcions, as does the antennae. Matches set of Goodyear skins with excellent tread.........no spare tire, yes jack, no lug wrench or tools.
The driver's seat moves FORWARD only.......the seat back moves properly. It ALMOST moved the seat base back for a SPLIT SECOND after much tweaking of the door switch....
By the way......THIS CAR HAS A 5 SPEED MANUAL TRANSMISSION, which moves the car forward in EACH of the gears AND in reverse.
I will probably NOT perform a compression test, as the engine seems TIGHT and had a "clean" exhaust at start up. It also needs a battery. Tha brakes were NOT spongy and functioned correctly at the 6 foot range of motion which we DROVE the car forward and backward.
THERE IS NOTHING MORE EXPENSIVE THAN A CHEAP MERCEDES!
My elderly father HAS a 1989 300E, which MAY eventually be useful for either a CONVERSION or a parts car.
Best wishes always,
spo out :cool:
p.s. Here in Salem, we have NO facility to keep the car OFF the street, and as a result MUST be registered ASAP!
THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR ANY AND ALL THOUGHTS.
My son KNOWS that this car may be a GAMBLE, however, we both know to EXPECT to put at least a couple of THOUSAND $$$$ into the car anyway............not all at once, IS THE HOPE.
;)