I'm looking at a 300e that someone has pulled out in the yard with a For Sale sign. It has 171k miles, and is darn near immaculate. It had a valve job around 163k, and has had A/C converted to whatzit, r124?, recently. They claim it's never been wrecked, and I can't find any evidence that it has been. Recent wheel alignment, new battery, Michelin MXV4 (? don't remember)Energy tires are in good shape and show normal wear. All mechanical and maintenance work has been done by an independent mechanic specializing in Benz's. She says it's been garaged and I believe it. Shiny black with gray or blue gray leather interior. One small crack in dash near rt. speaker. A few cracks in leather seats. Owned and driven by a mature women who got it used in '91. Driving on country roads, the steering wheel seems to pull to the right a little. Haven't tried it on a wider, flatter road.

Bottom line is, other than the mileage, it appears to be in better shape than many cars only a couple years old. She's asking $6k, but will accept offers. What's a reasonable offer? What else do I need to be checking. What's the life expectancy, and what would I expect to pay yearly in upkeep?

I realize I'm asking a lot without providing a lot of info, but opinions and best guesses are welcome. Thanks in advance!

 

Mine was purchased from New Mexico (I'm in Chicago) for $2,500. The car was in pretty shotty shape though and I put about 40 hours into her for improving electronics and interior and also spent $1,980 fixing up the engine and fuel systems, spent $800 on the sunroof and $1,651 on brake system and misc stuff, and about $700 on some interior stuff and the entire windshield washer system. I've also put new tires on her and put in new headlights. Basically I have replaced the whole car and I still plan on doing a hood swap and avantegarde grill so...

If it looks likes its in good shape you're good. The car, if taken care of, will easily last to 300,000 miles. My old 89 is currently at 307k, and my 86 is at 165k.

Take her for a test drive, if the engine moves and the tranny shifts and the a/c blows cold air, your safe to pay anything above $3,000, and more if its in great shape.

Good luck to ya!

 

I think $ 6.000 is too much. It's a lot of years (17!!!) and a lot of milage. I have two of those older models. All run great and have well beyond 180kmls. But if you are not a DIY it could be an expensive excursion. Cars of this age and milage can only be handled quite reasonably by DIY. But still if in great shape I guess 4-5k$, depending on the out come of an inspection, is well enough just to cover for possible surprises.
If the valve job is made and the A/C upgraded two pricy repairs have been done already.
I dont know where the car was driven, but if driven in an area where winter and salted roads are an issue check the following:
*surroundings of the pipes which accomodate the car jack, they tend to rust through from the inside and dont show before just the outside paint is left.
*check the top spring support in the front wheel wells, it has the tendency to also rust through on the sides. Replacement parts are available ($50), but a lot of labor to change it.
*the front springs, many times the last turn on the bottom is broken, hard to see with the wheels on
* have some check the rubber bushings of the sway bars and the rear axle rubber mounts (4 pieces)
*have some one check the front hub mounts (where the shock and the disk is assemled to the axle assembly) (sorry I dont know the perfect English expression)
*the "pulling to the right" may just be the slope of the country roads.
*And transmission should be checked professionally, since this is very expensive to swap.
* the engine may "sweat" some oil, this is not a problem. Check the plastic pan whether oil is accumulated there. It is mostly caused by a leaky front cover of the engine and it may leak from the crankshaft pulley bearing. Unfortunately it never appears there since it's blown to the back of the engine by the radiator fan and it appears to leak from the oil pan.
Dont be scared by what I'm posting here, if you are DIY it shall not be a problem.