Or am I missing something here?

E-bay link

Under $5,000 seems very cheap for this car, especially an example as clean as this. So it might jump up $3K in the next 13 hours, but I doubt it. What am I missing? I thought these were desireable and sought after.

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Again, buying blind is not my cup of tea.

If the engine develops a problem (you never know) as the seller used one sentence to describe it, it costs more than what they are bidding to get it fixed.

The fact that someone buys this car without checking it out is still a mystery to me.

Agreed. I've investigated several Ebay vehicles recently, but they were all ones that were local enough for me to see in person.

This looks like a dealership selling though, so I'm sure if you called them and made a high bid that was contingent on an inspection, they'd agree. Then you have to find someplace local to them to have it checked out though, which could be a challenge. Or am I being overly naive here?

The best is to find a willing forum memebr in the area to help check it out.

If I was bidding, that's exactly what I would be doing. Unfortunately I'm leaving the country for three weeks on saturday, so now is not the time to be trying to buy cars.

Good luck to whoever gets it though.

With the proxy bid feature on Ebay the price can jump $3000 in the last 13 seconds.

P E H

Stick around, bid sniping on EBAY has been perfected to art form level. In the last five minutes of the auction, you are guaranteed to see it jump at least $1500.

Nailbiting few last seconds there....

Even with the risks of buying sight-unseen, I think that's not a bad deal at all, certainly given the clean cosmetic appearance. Still pretty sure I wouldn't do it without sending it for a PPI, but for those that might be close enough to do it themselves, this may have been a deal

I paid $6250 for mine, 140 k miles but not nearly as clean as that one. No third seat either. I just wanted the damn thing and could have done a better job inspecting the car before I bought it. Oh well. After getting the car home found lots of little clues that previous owner wasn't big believer in maintenance....would you believe pine needles and acorns in the airbox? At least the squirrel wasn't home...

I just had a major service and some odds and ends done by Hatch and Sons in Wayland, MA. Luckily car hasn't been ruined by sparse maintenance and is in fine overall condition...

Holy mother of Dog is this thing fast!

Seems a vaccuum line was loose due to motormount issues and not letting turbo get full boost.

After getting used to the performance of the 85 300 dt loaner they gave me I feel like I'm driving a muscle car....

Greetings All,

Just looking at this dream wagon and the final bid, I'd say they got a deal on that diesel for sure. Most dealers are pretty much contigent on what they say in their post and are willing to haggle if you find something overlooked. If the inside looks anything like the outside then someone just bought a cream puff for a song.


Charles

__________________
"Tell me and I will listen, Teach me and I will learn, Show me and I will accomplish, Involve me and I will succeed."
'84 300SD 256,000 Gold on Brown (Mileage Award)
'86 300E 246,000 Blue on Tan

Hey Jay,

How would you rate Hatch and Sons? I plan on having my wagon repainted this summer and have heard good reviews for body work completed there. I also heard that Calvin Clein was there biggest customer for restoration (Pullman's). Supposedly they use lead for a filler instead of bondo. I am also wondering about mechanics and overall service.

__________________
83 300TDT BROWNBENZ
04 Sprinter

I think the price was about right. The car looks better in the photos than the text description makes it sound, which is unusual. And it does have 200K on it. Unless it has a very fat folder of repair recepts it's likely to need significant repair. My experience with old Benzs is that it'll have a multitude of small problems - bad suspension rubber, a ball joint or two, tie rods, dash bulbs, bad grounds in the electrical system, oil leaks, serpentine belt and tensioner, etc. You get the idea. I guess it depends on your expectations. If you just want an old car, it's fine. Much to the detriment of my pocketbook I always insist that my older cars run, ride, & drive as new.

I had to pay $12K for my '87 wagon when purchased in Dallas 2.5 years ago. Of course, it had 90K miles, full books and records, and I would bet is cleaner than this car. In retrospect I think I paid too much, but just try to find a clean, well maintained wagon out there - they are few and far between.