The quality of the pictures does send up a huge red flag. Either the seller is an incompetent photographer or trying to cover something up. In either case it raises questions about whether he is kind of person I'd want to deal with. Some of the things he claimed are very subjective judgments. What is an 'immaculate interior' for a car that old? Perhaps he will refund some money. Be specific about how much you want to fix the problems he did not describe and hope that he wants to sell more on Ebay and keep his feedback respectable. However, he hasn't sold much under his current ID so maybe he wont care. I couldn't find any feedback under his previous Ebay ID.

__________________
1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

Sorry to hear about your car. That hurts in more ways than one. I live in the midwest and nice cars are nearly impossible to find. I took a chance and bought a 240D off of ebay. I used my heart more than my head and got lucky. I probably paid too much but it was a damn near perfect car. Keep looking, nice cars are out there.

Kevin
240D manual
265000miles

I kinda like pmari's idea of making a webpage, but like KE mentioned, he doesnt have much feedback, so it wouldnt be a big deal for him to just change his ID. The deck is kinda cool, and it might have cost $600 including installation 10 years ago. Giving specific costs is a good idea, but if i asked him to just pay to repair the things he didnt mention, he would end up paying more than I paid for the car! Maybe i'll just pick one thing (like the cracked windsheild) and try to get him to pay for that. either way, i wouldnt actually get it fixed, i'd just sell it for what I can get. I spoke to my dad today (he's storing it for me) and he said that the engine is really solid (just a little blow-by) and starts pretty easily and sounds smooth. Hopefully someone will buy it for that. I also think the fuel pump has got to be worth something.

Steve

__________________
'00 Golf TDI
'81 300D

You could probably make a little money on this car if you put a few days' easy work into it. It's sad that you said you weren't a mechanic, I mean if the engine and transmission still work alright you could adjust the valves, change filters, clean it up and pop the doorpanels and POR the doors, etc. and make maybe 1750 or 1800. Of course I haven't bothered to look at the eBay ad but there is a possibility you could make lemonade out of this lemon for very little dough and some time. Might even make you want to keep it. Otherwise just clean it up and try to sell it locally, see what happens. Truthfully, if you aren't a bit of a wrench you won't make out well with these vehicles.
I think you just didn't fully understand the nature of what you were getting into. The car you bought is 25 years old. Think about that. Some people can turn a wrench and others just don't have the talent or the initiative. If you are in that category it's time to turn it over before you really start losing money. If you can turn a wrench however and don't mind fixing some things, and if you're like me even enjoy the challenge of overcoming, well then life with these cars is beautiful indeed. They are extremely responsive to good maintenance.

__________________
'02 BMW 325i
'85 300D 450k
'93 190E 2.6 170k(killed by tree)
'08 Ducati Hypermotard 1100S 6k
'06 Ducati S2R800 14k(sold)

You got what you paid for...

Ebay can harbor some strange characters, I've found a few of them myself. There are things you can check to minimize these kinds of results, but even after following all the rules, this stuff still happens.
If you used Paypal, you can file a claim through them as well.
Matt

That sucks people sugar coat over some problems.

But Really the car sold for $950? , you dont get much of a 123 Benz for that so I think you got what you paid for. I could see if you paid $2500-$5000 because that is what nice no rust immaculate interior cars sell for. Just resell it locally or maybe someone here would buy it to rehab or for the engine.

Its VERY hard to own these cars if you dont do at least 80%- 100% of the wrenching. That statement goes for any older cars.

As I recall, Ontario has a rust inspection requirement. Will it pass?

__________________
1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

I am sorry to hear that the car was misrepresented to you. However, to put a positive spin on it, I really think that you did ok anyway.

I am in Wisconsin. Any kind of car that runs at all will bring $1,000-1500 around here. Doesn't matter if it is a Mercedes or a Ford Escort--If it runs that is what it will bring.

I know of a 82 300D that was for sale on ebay from someone in Indiana. The car was not running, partialy dissasembled, and stored in a shed on a farm for 2-3 years. It had rust, cracks in dash, missing wood, and rear bumper trim. All the seller knew was that it had overheating issues prior to being parked. This still sold for $1,500.

I think you could part out what you have and get your money back if you wanted to.

While it still sucks, it really isn't all that bad.

I too think you got out okay. If you factor in what the car will need in parts only, plus the original $1450, that comes out to what the car should be worth.

The post about rust inspection is important.
The blue and yellow license plates indicate this was registered in California
for a long time (those plates have not been used for quite a while).
Usually CA cars are rust free.

The seller has 100 percent positive feedback and a rating of only 13.
Been a member for year and a half. All 13 could be as a buyer.
I am not standing up for the seller at all. It was a terrible listing.
But did the seller intentionally lie and mislead ? Or were they just ignorant ?

One month ago I bought a $1500 300SD off Ebay. $500 in hard parts later
the car is safe for driving on the streets. The seller and the sellers mechanics
are complete and total idiots. It was not intentional that they said the
car was fine, but the term TLC was taken a little too far.

In my case, even though I had to put in a lot of work, in the end, I got a good deal.

I do think that you can resell that car for your $1450 and do it honestly,
something the other seller did not do.

Just my 2 cents.

__________________
80 300D 340K Owned 30 yrs
83 300SD 440K Owned 9 yrs - Daily Driver 150mi/day
02 Z71 Suburban 117,000
15 Toyota Prius 2600 miles
00 Harley Sportster 24k
09 Yamaha R6
03 Ninja 250

It's amazing what people pull....


I sold my old 81 300SD on ebay las summer. It had a transmission flare (1-2), windows didn't work, no AC, and was rusting -2 fenders, and the bottom of two doors, lord knows where else underneath. (rust was the reason I sold it)


I sold it listing all the problems, stating - Drivable, but suitable for parts. Got 800US for it, and I think it is in better shape then the one you got.

In reading the eBay ad.. The seller wrote that the interior was immaculate and there was no rust. Regardless of what was paid, if the car arrived with poor interior and rust that is openly visible on the doors then he did not get what he paid for. I am not sure if this applies to cars, but if you buy anything on EBay you need to pay on your credit card. This way if you not happy, you can raise a dispute with your credit card company and if they feel that your complaint is valid, they will get the money back for you.

I have been stung a number of times by sellers who have either mis-represented the items or sold damaged goods hoping to off load with no comebacks. This is the only way you can protect yourself.

__________________
With best regards

Al

http://www.ebayersthatsuck.com/main/

I'd never have bought that car by looking at the pictures. They do not look like they were taken with a digital camera, but rather an optical (35mm?) camera and printed on very poor quality paper which has yellowed with age. Either that, or the images were deliberatley yellowed in photoshop. Everything is from a distance, there are no closeups. The lack of any detail in the pictures makes me wary off the bat. He says the interior is excelent with a few dash cracks, but then says it's immaculate in the next sentence. Well, if it has dash cracks it's hardly immaculate, so you know he's lying to you.

Maybe I'm better at spotting a fraud than most others, but there is a huge difference between a good auction with good pictures and this one. None of these images have enough contrast or sharpness to do the car justice no matter its condition - if it were immaculate, like he described, he'd make sure the images were as pretty as possible. For example:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/300D-DIESEL-CLEAN-BIODIESEL-WVO-READY-NO-RESERVE_W0QQitemZ4618009598QQcategoryZ6330QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Look at picture #8 - can't see any rust, can you? But in #21, you can. This seller is being upfront and honest with this car. It has a lot of pictures that show good detail and aren't taken from across the street. More important to me, a picture of it idling and showing the gauges. It's not warmed up, so the oil pressure reading isn't that good, but at least you can see it's idling with healthy pressure.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1977-Mercedes-Benz-300D-Diesel-PARTS-CAR_W0QQitemZ4621093107QQcategoryZ6330QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
This one may only have 4 pics, but it looks a lot cleaner than the one you bought. Engine problems listed.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1983-mercedes-benz-300D-turbo-diesel_W0QQitemZ4621424204QQcategoryZ6330QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
This looks like one to be wary of. Look at the interior shot in the rear - It looks like the carpet is moldy (or SOMETHING). Seller's short description (along with the similar "Dash has a few cracks" story) would make me not buy this car.

__________________
Current:
2021 Charger Scat Pack Widebody "Sinabee"
2018 Durango R/T

Previous:
1972 280SE 4.5
2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited "Hefe", 1992 Jeep Cherokee Laredo "Jeepy", 2006 Charger R/T "Hemi"
1999 Chrysler 300M - RIP @ 221k

There Are Laws About Misrepresentation. Copy The Ebay Ad Exactly And Include Any Possible Emails Or Questions And Answers About The Car.

Contact Seller And Tell Him He MISRepresented The Vehicle And Why. Use Facts Not Your Opinion. Tell Him You Will Report This Incident To The Attorney General's Office In Your State Who Will Then Contact The Attorney General In his State. Also File A Complaint With The Attorney General Of The Seller's State. Report The Incident To The Police In Sellers City And Possibly Ask The Highway Patrol To Look Into The Fraud (misrepresentation) That Took Place.

Threaten The Seller With These Actions And Get A compromise From Him Or Else Go Ahead And Do What Is Outlined Above. If You Paid Him By Regular Mail Or With Money Order Drawn On U.s. Postal Service, Threaten Him Additionally With Mail Fraud Charges.

These Actions Usually Work. Finally, Copy Ebay In On Any Charges That You May Have To File Asking Them To Bar Any Dealings (listings) With This Person.

I Had To Do These Things With A Dishonest Car Dealer In Miami, Fl, Area And He Capitulated To My Demands.