Hi All,

I'm thinking of having a look at this C36 being sold not too far from me. It has no service history what-so-ever, probably bought at auction. It's only got about 66,000 miles on the clock, but I guess that could have been tempered with, is it easy to do? Re-programming the digital odometer is probably a piece of cake.

I guess my thinking is, if it runs okay now, doesn't blow smoke and shifts gears, it could be a bit of fun. I am being stupid to even consider such a thing?

Check the carfax history for tampered mileage and accidents. Check the fluids and test drive the car again.

price??

I forgot to mention, I'm in Australia. Our car registration offices don't record mileage, unfortunately. It might have done 250,000 km for all I'll ever know, it's a complete gamble. It was in a crash and repaired (front strut tower was replaced, apparently), I haven't gone to see it yet. It might be a good repair job or some backyard cowboy...

This is all reflected in the price, several thousand less than other adverts. There aren't many of these going around here in Australia, so our prices are far worse than what you can get in the States or UK.

He wants AU$12000 (roughly US$8700). I don't think I'd go anywhere near that, the value just isn't there.

Picture of actual:

Spend a couple of hundred dollars and have it checked over by a Mer specialist. There are plenty around, if you're in Sydney I can point you to a couple. If the car is in good order, then for that price it's a fun pristige car to have!

I'm in Melbourne actually. I was thinking of a RACV or Stateroads check, I guess a Merc specialist would be better to pick up on commonly known Merc issues. Pitty the car's out in the *** end of Melbourne somewhere

Indeed... I'm counting on it costing another $2000 to get it on the road though (unregistered, previously a write-off in NSW). It needs to get one of those inspections where they check the VIN and quality of repairs. Costs $484 just for the appointment, with no guarantee of passing. And having the written-off status permanently on the RTA records wipes a bit of value off future sale.

I was going to say, it might be fun but don't look for it to have any value down the road. The actual sheet metal for the upper strut mount was replaced?? That's a hell of a sheet metal job. I wouldn't touch it if I was in your position. I can handle blown engines, torn up interiors, screwy transmissions, etc, but a repaired frame just does not garner a very high level of trust from me.

PPMZ, based on what you said about it being written off before, I'd probably stay away from it. There are several C36/43 available on the market for not that much more. I think you'll sleep better at night.

Just assume it has $2000-2500 worth of maintenance work and price the car accordingly. You will end up spending that amount over the next 2 years in maintenance... I can assure you that.

Yeah probably, I would expect that. Out of curiosity, what parts worth ~ $2K do you think would need replacement in the next 2 years (besides the usual wear items)?

There are plenty of good C36's and C43's on carsales and carpoint over the last few months. It's really not worth the headache, a badly repaired vehilce can bite your wallet harder than you could imagine

head gasket, wiring harness, and most suspension components are usually worn. Hope that helps.

Why would you ever do this? Not only the risk of buying the car. The resale will be tougher without the history.