1990 300E - buy or not - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

tivoliman · #1 03-11-2007, 11:00 AM

Please remind me the things to consider when buying a 1990 300E

The car seems to have low mileage, and seems to be OK (49K)

I fear flood damage, or high mileage and adjustment not shown on CarFax.

I think I've heard the 124 chassis is strong. I'm looking for a daily driver.

Thanks for your suggestion.

softconsult · #2 03-11-2007, 11:33 AM

49,000 divided by 17 years = 2882 miles per year divided by 12 months = 240 miles per month. Of course, if the mileage is actual, there are probably long periods of storage.

Not driving a car can be harmful.

Caveat Emptor.

Steve

hk20000 · #3 03-11-2007, 12:29 PM

check for rust in the spring perch?

bit of a telltale sign if the mileage is true and/or flooded before too.

cmcdonnell · #4 03-11-2007, 12:53 PM

I usually have a good look at the driver's seat first. Are the springs noisy and sagging? Do all of the power seat controls work? On a 49,000 mile car they should all be in excellent condition. Another is the speedometer. If it is jumping around, like mine does, it could be a sign of the cluster being pulled and a different speedo installed or tampering. The cable is fragile and will get damaged this way. The spark plugs should show no signs of oil fouling. Parts under the hood should be original to the car. I just bought a 1988 300E with 89,000 miles on it (so they say) and I am finding all kinds of high-milage clues. I knew it was a shady deal though because of the driver's seat and speedo, but it didn't matter because it runs like a top. Yesterday I saw that the driveshaft has red, yellow, and green painted stripes on it and I don't think that it came that way from the factory! Also my flex discs are shot and the car clunks into gear when cold.
Chris

G-Benz · #5 03-11-2007, 11:24 PM

Not to steer you away from the car, but as a W124 owner, relegating a 20+ year old car to daily driver use means constant attention to maintenance and repair. Do NOT expect Honda Accord reliability from your recent purchase.

49K seems like an unusually low mileage figure, especially for a basic sedan (not a cream-puff classic). Seat wear as a few here asserted, is a telltale sign of actual use. You can pretty much detail everything else to appear almost new.

Good luck.

brewtoo · #6 03-12-2007, 12:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hk20000

check for rust in the spring perch?

Are you sure that's a problem with the W124?

brewtoo · #7 03-12-2007, 12:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmcdonnell

I usually have a good look at the driver's seat first. Are the springs noisy and sagging? Do all of the power seat controls work? On a 49,000 mile car they should all be in excellent condition. Another is the speedometer. If it is jumping around, like mine does, it could be a sign of the cluster being pulled and a different speedo installed or tampering. The cable is fragile and will get damaged this way. The spark plugs should show no signs of oil fouling. Parts under the hood should be original to the car. I just bought a 1988 300E with 89,000 miles on it (so they say) and I am finding all kinds of high-milage clues. I knew it was a shady deal though because of the driver's seat and speedo, but it didn't matter because it runs like a top. Yesterday I saw that the driveshaft has red, yellow, and green painted stripes on it and I don't think that it came that way from the factory! Also my flex discs are shot and the car clunks into gear when cold.
Chris

I don't know about your particular car, of course, but I don't see anything listed that would imply the car has high miles. The speedo cable could just be dry or kinked a bit (I've had the clusters out of both my cars many times and my speedometers do not bounce). The flex disks are a routine wear item - 89K miles is plenty, especially for the front one. The trans will clunk into gear if the flex disk(s) are bad. The driveshaft probably did come from the factory with paint on it.

And BTW, my '90 and '91 have about the same number of miles, but the driver's seat in the '90 has held up poorly while the seat in the '91 is still like new.

So you might relax if that is all that is concerning you in your search for clues. Your car may very well have 89,000 miles. Or not. But certainly that is low for a 19-year-old car.

The most reliable way to tell about mileage, assuming there have been several owners, is with a title search to see the mileage on the different titles as time passed. Carfax should show that. Also, if serviced by the MB dealer, there will be records there.

hk20000 · #8 03-12-2007, 12:53 AM

whoops that was for 126 wasn't it?

brewtoo · #9 03-12-2007, 12:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hk20000

whoops that was for 126 wasn't it?

The W210, I believe.

cmcdonnell · #10 03-12-2007, 01:07 AM

The most reliable way to tell about mileage, assuming there have been several owners, is with a title search to see the mileage on the different titles as time passed. Carfax should show that. Also, if serviced by the MB dealer, there will be records there.

That's just it, the title and Carfax both check out fine. I think too that my interior has had a large dose of the Florida sun and is pretty baked. Both front seatbacks sag towards the center. Maybe just heavy occupants? Dash is cracked down the center. I am interested in finding out more about the striped dayglow paint on the driveshaft. Too bad there's not a way to get the mileage from the ECU.