80' 300D with the odometer broken at 206k miles, tranny slips in second bought for $350

but engine runs well, always starts right up, idles perfect.
i plan to rebuild the tranny, install a stereo, and fix the crooked seat

1990 300E with 113K miles, black w/ palomino leather interior, garage kept; $3400
2003 E320 with 48K miles, platinum blue metallic w/ ash leather interior; $25500

Rick

2003 C240 27000 miles $28000. 2002 E320 31000 miles $34000. 2003 S500 44000 miles $35500. sold the C class for $24000 after 4 months,fantastic car just to small.iI still have the E320 now at 66000 miles,perfect car in every way especially fuel efficiency 30 mpg hwy at 80 mph.just bought the S500,extatic,love this car.

2002 S600 with 60,000 miles.. great shape I gave 30,000

1998 E429 4-matic, 127,000km. Totally dealer serviced by one owner only.
$10,500.

__________________
1998 E320 4matic
1986 190E (sold)
1985 190E (deceased)

I payed $3500 for a used (and slightly abused) vehicle, with 310k miles on it. I have put 11k miles and about $6000 into it so far. Nothing that was worn and repaired (a few broken too) have failed and it has been about a year. I am very impressed with this vehicle, and though I have spent some good change I am very happy with a vehicle that I know will last.

__________________
1985 300D Turbo 332k Miles (daily driver)
1987 300SDL Turbo 320k Miles (needs new head)
1968 International Scout 800 V8 119k Miles (garage queen two years and counting)
2005 Kia Optima (backup car) 36k Miles (accident )

1981 300D with rebuilt tranny, new A/C compressor and working odometer and 201,000 miles. Cold A/C, original owner in Southern California, and rare silver/black MB-Tex.

Scored a good deal for $1700. Since then, I've put 16,000 miles on it in 4 months as a commuter, and it's never missed a beat. I've also put a bit of money into it too, and a full front suspension rebuild is coming up next.

__________________
2003 Volkswagen Jetta Wolfsburg Edition, "Tiffany," - Black/Black Cloth - 75K miles, Jetta #6; my faithful, turbocharged, BBS-adorned sled

SOLD 3/08 1981 Mercedes Benz 300D, "Elise" - Astral Silver/Black M.B. Tex - 217K miles - I miss her everyday; the best-built car I've owned

I bought a 1992 Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL for about $13,000 Canadian. This included my airfare and driving it back to my house roughly 1000kms, a full synthetic oil service, and putting on a set of studded winter tyres and fixing the rock chip i got in my windshield on the way back to my house =(

I may sell my summer tyres and get a set of 19-20" wheels and tyres for the summer... we'll see...

Now... I know you're thinking $13,000 for a 92?! I forgot to say that it only had 56,000KM on when I bought it a few days ago!

The only problem I have experienced is some static noise coming from the stereo speakers when you start up the car, or if it idles for too long. I think it may be interference from the alternator when it is pumping out more juice.

The car has every option possible from the factory from what I can tell... I am very satisfied with my purchase and like it more than the 1998 Cadillac I let go of not long ago.

I just bought my 1972 Mercedes 350 SL 169K miles; they were asking $6200 got it for $1800.00
Condition B+ I think it was a steal

Just purchased a 1996 S420 with 78K miles for $8900 So far so good.. I traded in my 1991 420SEL with 204k miles that I purchased in 1999 with 59K and paid 17,900

After test driving a couple BMWs and a Mustang I just couldn't get over the big difference the way a MB drives compared to a lot of other cars. So I went with the S420.

E-Bay purchase for $10k even. Car had 86000 miles and had more wrong with it than I expected but probably had less wrong with it than the seller thought. I think it is slightly on the bargain side of fair priced for these cars.

Despite the complex and crowded appearance underhood, I found this car easier to work on than I thought it would be. There is plenty of good information available on repair CDs and forums such as this one. Parts are readily available in both OEM and aftermarket, sort of like an old Harley Davidson. Cost to repair is not as bad as some would have you believe. Those who are spending a fortune are simply taking the car to a dealer or shop and letting them just throw parts at a problem while hoping to get lucky. Use your repair manuals and the experts available on the forums. Troubleshoot with your head then buy the right part the first time (or repair the old one).

I have always wanted one of these cars and am very pleased with my purchase. This car is my daily driver. I can't see owning one and not having the pleasure of driving it.

Just bought my 1988 300SE with 227,000 miles for $2,800 (USD). The exterior and interior are gorgeous, and she runs like a CHAMP. I bought her to be my daily driver.

I bought her from a gentleman who loved her (and only sold because he got another Benz with a V8). He's had her for 6 years, he purchased her from a relative.

I have years' worth of service records, and I know the mechanic who has taken care of her for the last six years.

This fellow put a LOT of money into her, taking the time to fix little things even, like a missing vanity mirror. She even has nice tires.

The only thing I've found so far that doesn't work is the cruise control, and something's not quite right with the ABS. I'll get around to looking into that at some point, it's not a big deal to me. The speakers are kind of cruddy as well (my Saab has spoiled me big-time there), I'll replace them soon.

Again, I say this car is gorgeous. I'll take some pictures as soon as it's warm enough that my eyeball doesn't risk freezing to the camera.

I feel like I got a great deal, both because the car is in good shape and because I know a good mechanic has been restoring and maintaining her.

Oh yeah: for those who care about this sort of thing, she has all her original manuals, even the window sticker is in the glove box. I *think* the first-aid kit is original too (and it certainly looks 20 years old), but I'm not informed enough to be sure.

__________________
'88 300SE | Midnight Blue | 237k
'09 Subaru Impreza | red | 0k

Purchased late February 2008
1983 300D Turbo
Orient Red
Tan interior (MB-tex?)
320k miles
Her story: We had our first son last fall and after 5 months of depending on my wife’s car for daycare between the two of us, we decided to add another car to the mix. I have my own car, a restored ’77 FJ40 Landcruiser with a tank of an inline 6 engine. I found the reliability of the 30yr+ auto much better than her younger GM car. The problem with the FJ, it maybe an overbuilt Jeep for all intents and purposes but the rear jumpseats are not very convincing for latching in a baby seat.
So with a limited budget in mind I asked the wife what kind of old car she would like to have, the idea was to attract something that may eventually appreciate in value such as the FJ40. She said she always like the early 80’s MB diesels and I was off on my search. After lurking many forums for published advice and pitfalls I began the test drives. What we finally agreed on surprised both of us. How so, well we decided on a car that was only $1,500 vs. one that was almost completely replaced with new parts for $5,300 after a collision with a deer. The math was the easy part for a few reasons. Our new son basically paid for the car with the tax benefit a child brings (‘bout time he start pulling his weight after 5 months, no slackers allowed in this household) and in part he was the motivation for another daily driver. Math cont’d; a car with a rebuilt title has little loan interest in the eyes of my bank, so an emergency scramble for cash using the equity in the car was not an easy option. We run a tight budget since we are both trying to get an advance degree in graduate school (I know the old faded diesel ads to the stereotype of a grad student, just imagine the beard and elbow protectors on a corduroy jacket. Which incidentally I have also). We set the criteria for a purchase as something that we would not be to pissed about if it blew up tomorrow, alas the economically priced 300D won out. In our calculations we hope to get at least 150 days use (roughly 5 months) out of the car. So with a new set of tires we started using the car immediately as our main daily driver.
Where did we get the car, a local mechanic. How? After looking for a reputable local indy mechanic, one spoken fairly highly by some forum members, I called him for an inspection quote in case I found a car I wanted to buy. While I was one the phone I just put it out there I was looking for a MB 300D 1977-1985. The lady from their office referred me to the mechanic with one for sale in town and I jumped in the FJ and headed over after a short conversation with the mechanic (I lost my muffler on the way, was that a sign?). At first sight (and I will post pictures to give a reference later) she looked a bit rough. Faded trunk, and top of the car with a cracked front windshield due to a large rock impact. It was cold as hell that day so it was perfect for a test drive. I put my hand on the hood to make sure the car was nice and cold, it was. Turned to the key to glow and a few seconds later cranked the engine. It sounded smooth and it had decent pickup, more so than the rebuilt MB I had test driven the week before. It was smooth as glass driving (at least up to 40mph), again different from the salvage. This made an immediate impression on me that the un-deer blemished car was actually a better ride in comparison, I shouldn’t be suprised. The hard part now was convincing the wife, she is pretty smart and loaded with bullet proof logic, so I had a challenge ahead. Talked to the mechanic to get the story on the car and it went as such:
The PO brought the car in for new cooling hoses, engine mounts, brake lines, and repair to the vac system for the engine shut-off. The engine had been replaced with a lower mileage donor of the same make some time ago but no specifics were passed along. Long story long, the PO was PO’d (pissed off) when he got the bill for the repairs (I did not list all of them) for $1,500. He said screw this you can keep the car, I am not paying you! So the PO, is pissed, the mechanic is pissed because he is out parts and labor.
Given the risk of it being a total junker, I talked the mechanic into letting me have the car to test drive for the weekend, actually kept it Monday as well due to the DMV being closed for Prez day.
After the long weekend performance, the wife agreed the car was solid compared to the rebuilt we tested earlier.
Here is what I have learned about the car from the test drive weekend and since purchasing:
The doors, trunk, and gas vacuum lock system works. The power sunroof works. The heat works, yet the center vents do not. We had a warm day, close to 68 and the car was hot from sitting in the sun. From the short run in not so challenging weather the AC worked, yet I am not placing too much stock in this test. The power windows in the front work and the rear works only if you use the door switches. The top of the car and trunk paint is faded and I may do a polish, glaze, and wax in the spring. The interior has a rip in the driver seat where ones left elbow would hit and a smaller tear near where the left butt cheek would rest. No cracks in the dash (really surprised with the faded paint) but the wood panel in the center console has lifted and cracked. The cluster works with the exception of the engine temp, a high priority fix (the mechanic has a 300D eruo manual of the same color that I can pull any part I want for free before he sends it off to the junk yard, a great bonus after the purchase). An aftermarket pioneer radio was correctly installed with a trunk cd changer. It was a quality job because even the front to rear fader switch on the console still works. Since my kid is riding in the car I did not hesitate to put new tires on, no sense in having a tank if it’s on bad rubber. The mechanic said he did not have a service record but after checking the glove box, it had the original owners manuals and service stamps in the maintenance log along with brake/ rotor replacements. It’s not complete but it gives the names of the dealer and possible indy’s to contact for filling in the gaps. It even has the original blue and red hang tags with instructions on using the cruise control and window wiper function. The first aid kit is missing but all the trunk tools for changing the spare are accounted for.
Mechanics: I have been trying to flesh out a vibration above 50mph, still there when shifted to neutral and as mentioned already, new tires. I will have to mine the forum after a visual inspection under the car. It has a hard down shift from second to first, otherwise a smooth up shift and down shift.
At first I was just going to drive the car into the ground whether it be two weeks or 6 months. But the more I dig into the car the more I see the car as a candidate for a restore like the FJ, especially since I have free access to a donor car for parts. First and foremost is safety, drive- train, and last cosmetics with the exception of preventing any aggressive deterioration such as rust.
Do I think I got a good deal, well only time will be the judge. I accept the my cars fate as being biased for the worse based on the forum adage: nothing is more expensive than a cheap benz.
Thanks for letting me share her story and I forward to adding details that I think may contribute to the forum.
Shawn

1980 280se, i paid $1000.
i'm trying to stay optimistic on whether or not it was a good deal.
She came with problems, but a mercedes at $1000? hard to call it a bad deal.
so far, i've put $200 into her (in 2 weeks) and i'm looking at another couple hundred coming up here (alternator, various belts, and as soon as financially feasible, the timing chain)
i'd call it a decent deal.

plus, had i put the same into any other car, it still doesn't come with 3 stock chick magnets (the one on the hood, the one on the trunk and the one on the steering wheel)

Got a '87 260E with 186k on the clock for 700$.

Runs pretty good. Needed the usual oil change, replaced the air filter, fluids and such.

Planning on getting a new paint job as there are some areas of abuse that need retouching. One or two of the power windows don't work quite well. May sink in some new parts here and there. Over all I felt it was a steal. The interior is pretty mint and the driving experience is amazing.