Checked out a '97 C280 today with 95K miles. I am aware of the headgasket issue with these 24v inline-6 engines, but chances are that by 95K miles the gasket probably would have already been replaced, right? Still, I plan to take the car for a pre-purchase inspection to make sure that everything is in working order.

More importantly, I'm concerned about the 722.6 tranny. I know that '97 was the first year, and these units were somewhat problematic. When test driving the car, the tranny felt fine. When warmed up, the shifts were very smooth and quick. However, I found an old service record in the glovebox indicating that about 15K miles ago the car was taken into the shop due to the transmission slipping. The shop found the transmission to be about a quart low, and changed/replaced the fluid. I'm concerned about the slipping tranny, even though that was 15K miles ago and the vehicle was acting fine for the 1hr+ that I drove it. Do you all think this is something to be concerned about?

Other than that, I liked the car. It has some minor stuff wrong, like a broken antenna, cloudy radio display, and a broken cupholder, but all that stuff seems to be minor. The paint looks to be original, and the MB-tex interior is in good shape. The asking price is $9500. I already know about the car's book value, but I'm just curious if you all think that is a fair price for the car. I'm not willing to pay $9500, I may offer about $8-8.5K.

Thanks, and sorry about so many questions.


-Nabeel