Seeking Advice: Going to look at a '91 300E today
04-26-2013, 03:48 PM
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2007 SLK55 P30
Seeking Advice: Going to look at a '91 300E today
I've been wanting a W124 for awhile now as a daily driver to keep the miles down on my SLK55 (which I also autocross.) I came across this one on craigslist.
http://honolulu.craigslist.org/oah/cto/3768262694.html
It's a 1991. Pearl Blue on Gray. Looks pretty good in the pictures and the pictures are recent. I ran a carfax on the car and it was just sold on the island of Maui by a dealership, then shipped to Honolulu. I called the owner and he confirmed that he bought it from Maui and had it shipped.
The owner claims it's in excellent condition and says his mechanic said it "runs good." I asked him if he knew anything about the car's service records and he said he didn't know. I asked him if he knew of any big jobs recently like transmission or head gasket, he didn't know.
According to Carfax, the original owner bought the car and drove it on Maui (where there was no Mercedes dealership) until 1999 when he moved to California. The car had 102k miles in 1999. Now, the car only has 133k. 30k miles in the last 14 years. From what I can tell on Carfax, the original owner used the car when he was on Maui. He sold it or traded it October last year to the dealership on Maui. 6 months later, it's on my island and it's back up for sale.
My questions:
Thanks everyone!
Keep in mind, this is the ONLY 300E for sale on the island right now. There is one other 300TE 4matic but I'd rather stay away from the reliability issues of a more complicated car. These cars don't come up very often here, and bringing them in from out of state is prohibitively expensive.
http://honolulu.craigslist.org/oah/cto/3768262694.html
It's a 1991. Pearl Blue on Gray. Looks pretty good in the pictures and the pictures are recent. I ran a carfax on the car and it was just sold on the island of Maui by a dealership, then shipped to Honolulu. I called the owner and he confirmed that he bought it from Maui and had it shipped.
The owner claims it's in excellent condition and says his mechanic said it "runs good." I asked him if he knew anything about the car's service records and he said he didn't know. I asked him if he knew of any big jobs recently like transmission or head gasket, he didn't know.
According to Carfax, the original owner bought the car and drove it on Maui (where there was no Mercedes dealership) until 1999 when he moved to California. The car had 102k miles in 1999. Now, the car only has 133k. 30k miles in the last 14 years. From what I can tell on Carfax, the original owner used the car when he was on Maui. He sold it or traded it October last year to the dealership on Maui. 6 months later, it's on my island and it's back up for sale.
My questions:
- What should I look for when I see the car in a few hours?
- Would it be advisable to go ahead with a car that has no service records, but a PPI checks out?
- Any specific rust spots or other wear I should be sure to check?
Thanks everyone!
Keep in mind, this is the ONLY 300E for sale on the island right now. There is one other 300TE 4matic but I'd rather stay away from the reliability issues of a more complicated car. These cars don't come up very often here, and bringing them in from out of state is prohibitively expensive.
Last edited by MarkR171; 04-26-2013 at 03:51 PM.
