All three cars are e430 located in Philadelphia or Virginia. Money is not an issue. Car will be used on the weekends for errands and outings (not a daily commuter).

Rare Blue - 2002, 80K miles, pristine condition. Impressive. - Mercedes dealer asking 5,500.00. I like the color but I don't love the color. Never seen that color in person.




Silver - 2001, 156K miles in Good condition. Private Party sale. The guy has had the car for 10 years and has done all the repairs we all know. He listed these "Spark plugs and wires, Transmission flush with filter, All four shocks and struts, Alignment, Coolant flush, A/C Compressor, Water Pump, Brake Flush, and many more". He asked $4200 and we are at $3500. This is the only one of the three that is 4Matic.




White - 2002, 140K, very clean, being sold by a small dealer (not Authorized Mercedes like the blue) asking $3500, last week he was asking $2999, so price is definitely negotiable.
was in an accident in 2015 but pictures show that the repair was done at good shop. Also, the car continued to be service by dealer before and after accident. Carfax shows this:
Damage reported
Damage to left side
Damage to left front
Damage to left rear

 

#2 is "Out" because 4matic W210 is too damn wiggy - so that you know "spark plug wires" on a W210 do not need to be replaced by mileage - unless the engine has overheated at one time - you replace any misfiring wire/coil by section as it comes up - spark plugs are due by age - correct plug OE Bosch plug (single platinum electrode) are $85 for the set (any other plug is nonsense for a W210) + DIY or simple 1 1/2hr real shop time - water pump (he won't tell you if it overheated or not) a Graf is $80 and a Laso (best) is $130 + 2hrs real shop labor which will cover labor for replacing $80 OE belt tensioner (if it was "outy" socket - and incl labor if required to replace idler and roller ($35) in parts - coolant is $25 plus $3 in distilled water to 50/50 dilute MB concentrate - W210 tranny's are never "flushed" so that he doesn't know he got ripped by a shop - any tranny service replace $14 tranny adapter plug - alignment/4matic struts ALWAYS come up - alignment for 4matic needs to be MB dealer or well experienced indie especially for 4matic.

#3 - "Out" accident

#1 - all boils down to "VMI" service records - assume your added investment back-to-front if no pending CEL issues that gets you set to do well over 200K miles - check rear "cats" with rubber mallet for possible pending blockage - 1/2 $9 bottle of Stabil Marine Fuel Stabilizer (blue bottle) for system clean up - Bosch or Mann or Hengst fuel filter $45 plus 4 small hose clamps - check battery under rear seat (with radio code and accessory system reset instructions) - reset windows and sunroof to restore setting there to prevent future blown regulators - do "free" TCU/ECU reset no-shop-needed to restore agressive factory defaults - basic tranny service correct fluid using $30 Febi filter kit incl replacement tranny adapter plug and bolts/misc - fresh Mann airfilter $13 - clean MAF with $9 can of MAF cleaner - genuine replacement Bosch MAF will come up after 100K-125K miles $140 easy DIY - fresh plugs due to age or after 100K miles if no misfire - don't worry about wires unless specific misfire - fresh coolant Xerex/Valvoline G05 or MB concentrate (dilute with distilled only) - oil change with Mann "fleece" filter $8 - check power steering fluid reservoir for "seeping" replace if necessary ($40 part) with a experienced indie on refill/bleeding procedure - check water pump for "seepage" which is clue for future replacement - all this sounds complex - but with a 80K W210 and proper maintenance at the start - you can go well over 200K miles.. misc - check cluster illumination and check climate control read out for any "missing segments" - don't be disappointed if CD changer does not work..

 

Of the three, #1 however with that color the interior trim needs to flow with the exterior.

 

 

fabbrisd1, the repairs you listed were already done on car #2. Thanks for detailing those repairs, but if they were done and the seller provides the paperwork he says he has, then I won't need those repairs.

 

Are you dead set on a W210?
If you're looking for a V8 Merc in that price range what about the E500.

 

 

I'm not sure about the W210 riding better. I owned two different W210 E320s before purchasing my W211 E500 with the aromatic suspension and I much prefer the ride quality of my current vehicle. Feels like it handles better and also has a smoother ride than my E320s. The updated styling, both inside and out clinched it for me.

 

Not everyone likes the W211 better than the W210. I'm selling my E63 because I'd rather drive my W210 E320 wagon. The AMG just sits in the garage 95% of the time. The E63 has a better stereo and is obviously, much, much faster, but that's about all it has going for it over the E320 as far as I'm concerned.

 

good luck finding a W211 E500 for that price range that is not dogged or abused to hell...

 

My saga continues .... I have seen more than 10 cars in person and at least 100 online ads and not found the right one. I have pulled, and paid for, five CarFax reports. But I have yet to find a car that is clean inside and out, and is also mechanically sound or one that has addressed major issues (example: motor mounts, some suspension work, etc.

I have expanded my search to cover the no-snow states south of NYC. I'm searching all the way down to Florida. I wish there was a way to search all of Craigslist. If anyone knows of a method to search multiple states, please advise.

I'm using the following search formula to look in 200-mile ratios, but that only works if the city in the search is close to the zip code specified.

https://newyork.craigslist.org/searc...h_distance=200

In other words, I can't just replace the zip code with one in Atlanta GA. I must first find a city with a cragslist tree and then look up the zip code using google maps. Lots of work

 

Google search: searchtempest

 

Thanks for introducing me to Searchtempest. Very impressive and helpful.

 

My pleasure.

autotempest goes a step further including major aggregates like cars, autotrader, and cars direct etc

GL!

 

Shopping for ca 20 years old car is never easy, even MB are kept better than average.
Some buyers are suckers for low-mileage old cars.
I don't mind mileage, especially buying diesels, so IMHO car with 150k and replaced parts is better than car with 50k miles where factory bushings are aged and will deteriorate soon after purchase.
Good luck shopping.

 

Im one of those suckers. I bought mine at 70K miles 4 or so years ago. My theory is that Id rather take control of maintenance of the two most important components, the engine and transmission, the way I wanted. So if Id rather change the oil sooner than FSS I could, same with Trans. I personally prefer to manually evaluate oil(s) than rely on a computer. There were few higher mileage maintained ones I could find at the time but had I bought those then, I would be with a potentially 200K plus mile car today.

Did I overpay at that time for low mileage? No. My car with PPI had those very bushing/mounts issues to which I negotiated down the price below trade value. I took the car resolved all issues and enjoyed the ride ever since.

If it were a diesel I would have no worries about mileage.

I do agree that finding a princess is tough given the time that has passed. It is all in what one looks for and reasonably expects back in these cars. My objective was/is to not sell my car and to enjoy it as a daily driver as long as I wanted. Then again I have a more rare AMG vs a more abundant 430 or 320.

Just my thoughts.

 

70k miles is not the low mileage I had in mind.
I was referring to few reports here, where buyers paid $8,000 for W210 with 30k.
At some point after house sale I've got excited by 30 years old Lincoln convertible.
Car 24 feet long, about 4 tons of weigh and still less than 40k miles as it was used for parades only.
Seats hold well, but rear bench had punctures from high heels
But considering all - the car had corroded exhaust, probably from starting the engine and not warming it up enough. Than monster engine was only 230 HP rated. Not much for 4-tons.
Bottom line, old car will remain old car no matter if garage kept.
New MB diesel can deliver 60 mpg, so spending more money up front, to save later can be also economical decision.
Now even talking about live traffic GPS, rear camera and keyless go.

 

Groovy Lincoln!! I am always fond of older cars like that especially Merc but the only way I would buy a classic MB like that old would be a diesel but I also understand that the car will be a hungry hungry hippo in terms of upkeep to aging bits and pieces.

Agreed. I think if CarlitoE430 is driving the car occasionally like he intends, then I would prefer a little older mileage well maintained car with records, not another garage queen nor a car with high mileage like in his examples above where people start giving up on repairs. I know mine always has one tiny thing after another, but I dont mind. His being a third car, he might.

If his motive is pristine condition inside and out the blue one above checked out, maybe its worth it to him. Another will always come along.

 

TallGiraffe, that was exactly my reasoning. I ended up buying a very well kept 2001 E430 with 158K miles. I know that under proper maintenance, this car will last me a lifetime. Paint/Body is in good condition except for a couple of rust spots, which I'm going to address at a body shop soon.

All in all, I'm happy with my purchase.

I saw some interesting cars and maybe I could have waited for a car with fewer miles but what sold me on this one was that the prev. owner had replaced all the suspension parts, the engine and transmission mounts, spark plugs, wires, condenser, evaporator and other items. The guy who sold me the car lied about a couple of things, but I have forgiven him because I have sold cars and have given made-up reasons for wanting to sell it. I'm sure he will read this comment and have a good laugh about it. My advice to sellers is that in this day and age with so much information being readily available online or through connections, it's just better to be upfront about things and tell the truth. As I get older I realize, people who try to cheat others, in reality cheat themselves. To think that that person sold his reputation for a couple of hundred dollars, what would their parents say? What would their children think of them? All for a couple of bucks.

There was another car of a retired gentleman in South Carolina and I almost flew there to pick it up. In the end, the car I selected was closer and as I said, the completed repairs really sold me on it. A guy in San Antonio wanted 8500, the car looked like it just rolled off the lot but that trip was just too long and even though I could have paid to have it shipped, I wanted to drive it home so I restricted my area to Florida, Georgia, The Carolinas, PA, DE and NJersey, and even Ohio on days I was desperate Ohio. Three different small car dealers who had bought W210s and kept them for personal use for years decided to sell them now (I think winter and snow played a factor). Neither of those 3 fit my needs. I spent good money on CarFax and learned to NOT run the CarFax reports until you have seen the car in person and have done of the negotiation. There's a free source called vehiclehistory.com which shows some Data but it truly is NO competitor to CarFax. There's also the VIN decoder, which also allowed me to learn about features and packages prior to travelling to see the car.

The process of searching for a specific car, in good condition and addressing one's requirements was intensive and I'm glad it's over.

 

Congrats Carlito, what color is the car you ended up buying?
Pics?

 

Congratulations.
Pictures or it did not happen

 

Pictures are coming soon. First, I took it to my mechanic and changed all the fluids and had suspension and general mechanics checked out. Then I'm going to replace the rear catalytics, as they are making that "can of stones" sound. I'm then taking it to a body shop to see about removing the three rust spots I have found. I knew about these things when I bought it. Once I take care of them all, I will go to a nice spot and take some "new born" pictures.

 

 

Congrats, the car looks great. I recently went through the same exhaustive search before buying my E320. I do wish I had waited to find a clean E430 but the cars I found in my price range required too much work. I settled on my black beauty partly because it only had 2 owners and had been dealer maintained for most of its life.

 

My car also had two owners only and that was a plus for me. Owner One bought it in Upstate New York, kept for 7 years and did all the maintenance at dealer. Owner Two traveled from Virginia to New York to buy the car and kept it for 10 years. I'm the third owner and brought it back to NY.

Most likely, my next car is going to be a 2005-06 S500.