What is the "MB VMI sheet?"

And how can I get this document on a preowned MB I am considering buying?

I think you are spot on about certain wholesalers. I have a friend of close friends, who is a wholesaler and he always gets them great Benzs Porsches, Bentleys for himself and other customers even Harleys. from all over the country.

And I have never heard of any of my close friends being disapointed with the cars they get from him. Even though you would think there are a lot of good used cars retailing in this area (NYC), most of my friends pay a small premium to him and get good cars

Just my 2 cents

A VMI is a Vehicle Master Inquiry, and only includes items replaced under warranty. It is not a print out of ALL of the maintenance done on the car.

This VMI belongs with the car, not the previous owners, so they will provide it to you free of charge.

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Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

Paul is right. Not sure if any MB dealer will print out a VMI for you -- you may have to have some work done there. I've got a friend who is a MB mechanic, and he was pulling them on all cars I was considering. You can only get nonwarranty repair records at the dealer where the car was serviced.

Will do on the crank position sensor, Arkie. Thanks, man

OK. Got the car back home Friday night. The 1240 mile round trip one day fly-out-to/drive-back-from Alabama (to TX) was no problem thanks to three halves of "stay awayke" ( = three cups of coffee) and a box of Lemonheads. The car got 30 mpg while running 75 mph. Pretty impressive. Only issues I noticed is a steering wheel vibration at idle (motor mounts) and a whining in the rear differential around 40-50 mph or so (carrier setup from a past warranty replacement, I believe). I'll live with the whine and change the mounts Also, the inside trunk release isn't working properly. I'll figure that one out eventually.

I washed the car this weekend, treated the leather with Leatherique (which totally brought the sun faded gray leather back to life -- I'll do this again in a couple weeks), sanded and polished the headlights (This totally works….1000 grit then 1500 grit wet paper followed by 3m plastic polish and my orbital buffer ----- amazing results. It took the yellow haze out of the headlights and made them crystal clear.) I then pulled the glove box assembly out to get to the cabin filters and two huge charcoal cannsisters under the passenger's footwell.

To do items in the next three weeks in no particular order:
• Transfer title
• Car inspection
• Car registration
• Tint windows
• Take to my friend and have him remove and paint the rear bumper assembly, side view mirrors, spot on front bumper and then two strips that run over the doors from the front to rear glass (plastic trim). I can do paint/body, but just don't have the time these days to handle.
• Take to my MB dealer mechanic friend to put on a lift and check it out for me -- see what she needs
• New crankshaft position sensor
• New spark plugs
• New fuel filter / air filter
• New cabin filters and charcoal filters (four total)
• Pull the transmission pan, change the filter, flush 12 liters of transmission fluid (changing the fluid)
• New engine oil/filter
• Drain and replace rear differential fluid

In the next year, I will remove all the birdseye black maple (which is uneven in tone plus has some clearcoat fading) -- 13 pieces in all -- and look around for a woodshop to remove the clearcoat, lightly sand and stain the wood, and spray it with a nitro finish. If you see the trim in the backseat and the gearshift color, it's darker --almost black in color -- which is the way it's supposed to be. The dash, console and door trim up front is a lighter brown. While I'll restain and refinish furniture all day long with zero worry, you only get one shot with this the thin burlwood…so I'll let a pro handle it. Any recommendations and pricing guesstimates would be awesome.

pics pics pics

__________________

2000 SL500 - daily driver
1993 400E - project
1981 300D - sold
1982 300TD - sold
1979 450SL - sold
1977 450SL - sold

Here ya go:

The car looks GREAT! You are right about the interior wood, tho...it's definitely faded at the front.

__________________
Current cars:
2000 ML55 AMG, 174k miles
2003 C240 T-Modell, 202k miles
1995 S320, 207k Miles

The car looks fabulous at any price! I bumped into a similar deal last August in Marina delRey on a 2001 E320 w/90K miles in great shape for only $7K. What made it even better was selling my '91 350SD in the same week for $5K so I'm pretty far ahead in the value game. I've only had to do a few small maintenance items like you mentioned and I replaced the original plugs. I am trying to bring back the neglected interior to look like yours which has been difficult with the light Java color. I'm really looking for those exact wheels... can you tell me what size tires you are running? That setup looks so much better than the factory 16" wheels that I can't keep clean. THANKS!

__________________
2001 E320
1991 350SD 265,000 - SOLD
2000 VW Beetle 1.8Turbo - restored
1997 E320 - SOLD
1988 190E - SOLD
1969 Mustang - SOLD

Hey guys, thanks!

Johnathan, I've begun my research regarding how to handle the faded maple. It's going to be a big job. I called this place in Califorinia (starts with an "M") that specializes in stripping and refinishing the wood... $1600 for the 13 pieces in my car. Crazy. I might try it myself.

Ched, thanks! I think the special edition wheels make the car --- 100% make the car. Before I bought the SE, I knew those were the wheels I wanted. They are available on e-bay. I'll look tonight in my notes at home. I believe I have a couple part numbers that will help your search. I believe these wheels were ONLY used on the SE E320 in '02. Notice the five-hole "diamond" shaped openings. They aren't like the other 5-holers. I want to say it was going to cost me around $1k to get the wheels off ebay (buying one at a time). I'll also report on the 17" tire size.

(EDIT)
Here are examples of the 17" wheel on ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/17-Mercedes-E-Class-98-02-Rim-Rims-Wheel-Wheels_W0QQitemZ270043270984QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories?hash=item3edfd54f4 8

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/MERCEDES-E320-SPORT-17-FACTORY-OEM-RIM-WHEEL-65195_W0QQitemZ180446864926QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories?hash=item2a0378a61e

I believe the application is all wrong in some of these auctions. After a day of research, I've only found this wheel fitted by MB on the 2002 e320 Special Editions.

235x45x17"

Part numbers I've seen: (help with your ebay search):
65285-26398
65285

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Debating whether I"m going to take on the bumper fix / and other painting items myself. My bodyman friend suggested I replace the rear bumper items with issues... but I think they can be expoxied, prepped and painted. We'll see.. it's a matter of how much time I've got these days, which is little.