Pros
$10K with 88,000 miles
Original owner
Always garage kept
kids -now in 30s- NEVER allowed to drive it, ever.
They Bought new + ALL service was done at Manhatten Mercedes,
with all service records included.
Beautiful brilliant silver/black color combo
new (stock sized) tires
Listed for months with poorly representative photos.
fatigued, motivated seller
12-05-1994 build date (does anyone know: when did they stop producing these?)


Cons
"Car has never needed anything"

soooo,
head gasket, A/C, wire harness costs coming in next 10-20000 miles -I cannot cry "surprise" as I pony up those costs.

-chrome fender covers frogged up the fenders - mounted since new, there is a small amount of rust in 2 of the fenders at the lip. All 4 were chock full of dirt n dust, held in by those chrome covers. Ugly pieces of chrome trash ftl.

-------------------------------

I used crazedlist.com to do a national search of craigslist. My primary search keywords were- 1995 Mercedes -then I visually scanned and dismissed all non-cabs. Looked at every craigslist in USA for the last 2 months or so.

Every cab I found ON EBAY was listed by a dealer except this one. MOST cars on craigs list were listed by a dealer, usually even the cars listed as "by owner" had a dealer behind them.

I found this car on ebay, it has been listed for months, with a reserve of 13K/$12K It was the only ebay car listed by a private seller - I figured the seller had to be going through seller-fatigue by now, so worth a drive into Brooklyn to look.

With repairs I expect over the next 2 years, this is a $15000-$17000 car, but then, I'll know this work is fresh. Many of you would do this work for half what it will cost me.
-------------------------

Coincidence last night: Watching "The Firm" w my GF...Tom Cruise drives up in a sweet pan shot in ... my Cabriolet. There is a shot that reminded me of the "American Gigolo" sequence where my black 107 is shown driving on a long coastal highway - where the car is almost a character and in that movie Gere's black r107 is shown in many shots, standing alone, and or center screen, as a major part of the gigolo experience.

In the Firm, there is a sequence I noticed where the car is nearly center screen, Tom steps out into the dark, his body is backlit so his face appears mostly black. He stands for a moment while the car gets (another) sweet vanity shot.

Turns out, The Firm was Mercedes USA marketing introduction to the Cab. This was a paid movie feature...Maybe others knew this, but I ran into it a day after pulling the Cab into my driveway.

New pictures coming, but the seller's shots are representative of the car now. Don't ya love a seller that takes no pictures with the top DOWN?

 

Wow, seems like you got a great deal-even if it needs a little maint!

 

yeah man, can't wait to see what you do with it...!

i just saw this today:

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/car/705875215.html

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/car/672125452.html


i think you got a really good deal...

 

Even though I already have a Cab and can’t buy any more cars, I follow the Cab market and saw your car on ebay (it’s still listed). Great ext/int color combo, and I too would have jumped on this after watching a lot of overpriced and in some cases just abused Cabriolets out there.

You sound like you know the 124, and may I recommend something. The factory says nothing about the hydraulic fluid for the convertible mechanism, other than to top it up.

So, the second thing you should do imho is buy two liters of the factory or Febi hydraulic fluid, completely empty and refill the hydraulic fluid reservoir in the trunk, open and close the top maybe a dozen times over a week, empty and fill that reservoir again, and open and close it a few times. As you know, hydraulic fluid absorbs water over time, and that water can screw up the hydraulic cylinders that work the top.

I have had no problems with mine, knock on wood, and if they do leak, they can be rebuilt. Our cylinders are the same as those in the R129 SL cars, so those folks have many tips to keep the top working.

The Cab is a great car, I paid too much for mine when the market was way up in 2005, and lucky you to snap a reasonable one now that the prices are low!

 

ds190,

You wrote:
"As you know, hydraulic fluid absorbs water over time"

I say:
yeah, sure, I knew this, uh, umm, really? No, I didn't know, but this is good reason to trade that fluid out!



Thanks for the tips - I read a few year old thread on the hydraulics and saw there are 8 cylinders scattered around - is the trunk reservoir serving all 8? <<yes it is>> added

I did not know the 129 using a similar system, that will be very helpful.

I can see that I'll be following the Cab market too, maybe it would take a better deal and a little time to catch back up, but I would consider buying+storing one of these for my next car.

My car is still on ebay, and lol, it looks so weak with the top up. Also, the minor chips/cracks on or around the bumpers have been restored properly.

Progress report:
--chrome fender covers trashed,
--car in shop all needs + overview/review and possibly head gasket/valve job (I will have to do this anyway, so might as well enjoy the benefits starting now)

--Prolly Switching to these 17x7.5 5 spoke AMG wheels with Michelin Pilots:

 

The fluid used for the top is a high quality hydraulic fluid, not a glycol as is brake fluid. This fluid is no more hygroscopic than ps fluid, transmission fluid, or engine oil. I agree that it may be a good idea to swap out the fluid, but not because of moisture.

 

Awesome find and awesome car!