I'm looking at 00 ' e320, 68 thoudsand miles, asking 20 grand from a private seller. I'm offering 15 grand cash. What should I look for before buying this car, overall looks are clean. It still has the starmark warranty on it for 1 hundred thousand miles. what problems could I expect? Thank you, your help is much appriciated.

 

Make sure that:

• all the windows + sunroof work
• all other electronics work
• A/C works
• transmission shifts smoothly & no slippage
• check for "groaning" noise when turning wheel (power steering rack)
• check for rust:
  • under all 4 door seals (lift up on inside edge) and on bottoms of doors
  • on trunk lid near latch & below license plate
  • inside front wheel wells

 

Is the owner going to let it go for 15K? If so,sounds like a nice deal for you.I second the aforementioned points of concern,especially the rust spots.
You might want to do a carfax check,and confirm all the proper service appts. were kept.

 

The seller is nuts if he lets it go for 15K if all is as it should be.

 

I second the carfax, take down the vin # see where it was seviced and see what was done to the car so far.If he's willing to let go of it for 15 that means something is fishy unless he has financial problems of some sort.17g's +- would be a good deal if the car is right.

 

Just remember that a clean CarFax is not a guarantee of anything. The report is only as good as the information that's been given to CarFax. If it shows a problem, then you know there's a problem. If it doesn't show a problem, then you don't know either way. I've seen cars with visible evidence of prior collision repair with no record of the incident on CarFax.

 

Here's a pic I took with my phone, sorry about the quality. More pics later.

 

Wholesale auction price on that car on that car is ~$16500 in less-than-perfect condition.
Service records, ask for service records. At 6 years old, the original alternator, water pump, and other parts may be starting to give out. Can get pricey to fix.

 

You all have been very helpful. I'm only 21 and wondering if I should purchase this car. I also have 02 civic which is bullet proof so at least I can fall back on that. I used to work with mercedes in northern San Diego, I don't remember to many w210's coming all that often.

 

Wow, at $15K your stealing it.
You could buy it and try it. If you don't like it, you could sell it and get your money back.