I recently completed my steady transition to all Mercedes Benz...beginning with...

(My Car) 2003 - 1988 560SEL, 103K miles, bought for $6500. I think if I was a bit more patient, I may have found a 560 like this for maybe $1K less, otherwise I think I paid a fair amount and am satisfied. Have spent another $2K over the last three years fixing/updating. She is 99% now and runs/looks great. Only remaining issue is the OE BeckkerRadio shorts out occassionally - mostly during winter (cold)

(Everyone's Car) 2003 - 1993 190E 2.6, 88K miles, bought for $4,000. I think this was a good deal. This 190 was/is in excellant condition. And although I bought it to have my newly licesnced daughter gain some driving experience, it still looks and drives well! I've spent about $1K on updating/repairing over the last three years. Its complete now and looks fantastic, ready for newly licensed daughter #2!.

(Wife's Car) 2006 - 1997 E420, 24K miles, bought for $17K. I think I paid what this car is worth. However, purchasing an E420 with 24,000 miles where it sold for over $50K when new, I couldn't be happier. This is one fine automobile - incredibly refined and very much mint condition, as its miles would suggest. I just spent $700.00 on the 30K service at my Mercedes Indy mechanic (no stealership for me).

Obviously its clear that I love these cars. When I purchased the E420 last spring, I sold my P.O.S. 2001 Volvo XC70. I bought the Volvo new. It is BY FAR the most expensive auto I have owned. Purchased for $42K. $6K in repairs - the last being a new transmission after 96K miles. Sold for $14,500. You do the math. Never again.

Buy pre-owned, buy Benz!

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Woody

just picked up a 1988 260e for $1326. 206k miles.

Tires 50%, aftermarket stereo... decent paint

brakes, rotors, water pump, valve guides, all water hoses in the past two years.

drivers seatback slightly worn. (tex)

cold air, shifts well.

I guess this car will last as long as the tranny holds up. it's in good enough shape that i would probably drop in a used/rebuilt tranny somewhere down the road.

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1989 300ce 129k
( facelifted front,updated tail lights, lowered suspension,bilstein sports, lorinser front spoiler, MOMO steering wheel, remus exhaust,stainless steel brake lines). (Gone)

1997 s320 154k (what a ride). Sold with 179k miles. Replaced with Hyundai Equus

1994 e320 Cabriolet 108k



1972 280se 4.5 153k Owned for 12 yrs, sorry I sold it


[/SIGPIC]

added another one- 1984 500SEL.... $200

probably picking up a 83 380SEC next, too low a price to pass up....

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1980 500SE/AMG Euro
1981 500SEL Euro
1982 380SEL
1983 300TD
1983 500SEC/AMG Euro
1984 500SEC
1984 300TD Euro
1986 190E 2.3-16
1986 190E 2.3
1987 300D
1997 C36 AMG
2003 C320T 4matic

past: 1969 280SE 4.5 | 1978 240D | 1978 300D | 1981 300SD | 1981 300SD | 1982 300CD | 1983 300CD | 1983 300SD | 1983 380SEC | 1984 300D | 1984 300D | 1984 300TD | 1984 500SEL | 1984 300SD | 1985 300D | 1986 300E | 1986 560SEL | 1986 560SEL/Carat | 1987 560SEC | 1991 300D 2.5 | 2006 R350

I just bought a 1979 240D, paid $200. The marine I bought it from needed cash fast! Only a few little quirks to fix and she'll be a right pretty daily driver!

bought an 89 300e, not currently running, but getting alot closer, went from whinching onto trailer to driving for a few secs, total cost $700, including parts which any help on running will be appreciated

1992 400E 175,000mi $4,500 now 201,000mi no large repairs
1995 420E 158,000mi $4,500 just got it blower moter controler and cruse do not work CD/tape/radio/phone works good motor runs great trany smooth.

1993 300CE Cabriolet - 89k - just paid $16500 - almost perfect,, 1 owner FL car,,, can find nothing wrong with it (early days though!).

1989 260E - paid $11,000 9 years ago with 88k. Now at 198k. Needed nothing but 3 sets of pads, 1 set rotors, fluid changes and motor mounts in the last 110k ,, you couldn't run a Camry for so little!

Worst day of my life was in December 1995, when I stood dumbly by and watched someone buy a mint-looking black 600 Grosser at a local Antique & Estate Auction in the middle of B-F-N Indiana - I didn't know much about Mercedes back then (still don't). I still have nightmares about how little that car went for.

I just bought my 300SD with 153,726, 2 owner, all records, near pristine in and out, for $3500 - and happy to do it! They are getting hard to fing in this shape. It was always garaged. Now I have to do incidentals, but it's a beauty.

In October, I bought an 85 380SL with ~96K mi, in fundamentally good shape but with bad paint and a horrible noise from the engine for $4200, without the hard top. This may seem like "too much", but the car seemed to have been maintained very well (until the noise, which apparently caused the owner to dump it). The pluses that made me buy it w/o much negotiation were a set of Dayton wire wheels (which I had originally intended to sell) and a very new top that was put on by a real pro. The engine noise turned out to be a cam and cam followers, caused by bad oil tube fittings (popped off).

If you can fix a lot of things on these cars yourself and shop well, they can be very inexpensive to own and maintain.

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86 560SL
With homebrew first gear start!
85 380SL
Daily Driver Project

http://juliepalooza.8m.com/sl/mercedes.htm

1985 500 SEL 150,000 miles for $1,500
Someone from this sight, sent this reply to one of my threads, "the most expensive car, is a cheap Mercedes."
He was right.
so far spent $1000 for parts and far from finished.

1985 500 SEL 170,000 miles for $1,500
Someone from this sight, sent this reply to one of my threads, "the most expensive car, is a cheap Mercedes."
He was right.
so far spent $1000 for parts and am far from finished.

Well.......... It's been 8 years... But my '71 220 Diesel was $500

In 2005.5 I paid $12,300 for a 1999 C280 Sport with 77K mi.
It has options which made it a $40K car when new.

I purchased it on Ebay; and that was scary. It worked out well though, as the seller was a dealer who had serviced the car for years. The low price was due to the fact that there was no reserve price and the auction ended at a bad time (for the seller) Quite frankly, I didn't expect to win. On a dealers lot this year and model car was going for $14K-$17K.

BTW, even though the miles were somewhat high, this car has performed beautifully. Only basic maintenance.
I love it.

'80 300TD-paid $100 for it. The PO just wanted it off of his insurance and out of his parking lot. I did a LOF on engine and trans. and I've been using it as my daily driver, as-is/was for about a month now. Except for missing driver's door pocket, crack in passenger door pocket and crack in the lower dash panel, the interior is near mint.

Items on my punch list include: give it a good scrub and wax, fix bubbles on 3 of the 4 fender wells, fix rust spot on lower driver's side front fascia (the only "hole" on the car), fix rear wiper, find out why backup lights don't work, fix or replace the ACC, refinish the Bundts, try to find a Becker Mexico (for about what I paid for the whole car) and those interior items listed above.

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1980 300TD-China Blue/Blue MBTex-2nd Owner, 107K (Alt Blau) OBK #15
'06 Chevy Tahoe Z71 (for the wife & 4 kids, current mule) '03 Honda Odyssey (son #1's ride, reluctantly) '99 GMC Suburban (255K+ miles, semi-retired mule) 21' SeaRay Seville (summer escape pod)

Bought a 94 320e, with 154,000 on it for 5,900 May 2006. I thought it wa a good deal, car in very good shape.