Went to look at a 300sl yesterday, it was on auto trader, the dealer described it as 7.5 out of 10 so i traveled 106 miles (auto trader said 75 miles from me) only to find his scale was 10 being total crap and 1 being good, then traveled 106 miles home again, this also included a 2 hour jam on the m25. Why do people think that by giving a wrong description a potential buyer wont notice the car is a complete shed. If anyone is planning going to Ascot to look at a dark red sl, dont bother.
74merc
Active Member
I flew to London a few months ago to view an old W108 which was described as having no faults. Same story, rust so bad the jacking points were hanging off. I had to take a day annual leave and pay £170 for the flight. Needless to say I was a bit p'eed off...
kth286
MB Enthusiast
So perhaps there is a service I can offer in my neck of the woods.
Based Reading, perhaps 50 miles radius, would mean up to 100 mile round trip and say 1 hour (ish) at the Vendor.
Do all my own maintenace AND repairs on my E320 Coupe so know what to look for on those plus most Mercs with similar layout: SLs 210s 140s 208 etc etc.
The BIG question I guess is : HOW much you prepared to pay ?????????
I would drive the car and submit a one page (approx) report to you to include :
driveability, body condition, mechanical condition, tyres, any fluid leaks, cleanliness of engine compartment, paperwork all looking correct, opinion of vendor (age status, type of house and street) etc etc etc
I have NO driving (or other) convictions, clean credit check, mature age, worked in financial services and been subject to FSA vetting etc.
So, over to you, if of interest.
Based Reading, perhaps 50 miles radius, would mean up to 100 mile round trip and say 1 hour (ish) at the Vendor.
Do all my own maintenace AND repairs on my E320 Coupe so know what to look for on those plus most Mercs with similar layout: SLs 210s 140s 208 etc etc.
The BIG question I guess is : HOW much you prepared to pay ?????????
I would drive the car and submit a one page (approx) report to you to include :
driveability, body condition, mechanical condition, tyres, any fluid leaks, cleanliness of engine compartment, paperwork all looking correct, opinion of vendor (age status, type of house and street) etc etc etc
I have NO driving (or other) convictions, clean credit check, mature age, worked in financial services and been subject to FSA vetting etc.
So, over to you, if of interest.
Baron_Samedi
MB Enthusiast
Perhaps... this is a service someone like Olly and other knowledgeable members would be prepared to offer in their regions too!
A dispassionate eye would also see things that excitement tend to overlook...
A dispassionate eye would also see things that excitement tend to overlook...
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yep the RAC have to provide £10,000 insurance and this is why they are rubbish..
They end up covering their backs and pointing out irrelevant things which in turn ends up scaring the purchaser off...
Baron_Samedi
MB Enthusiast
To be honest I was thinking more of an informal thing, to cover expenses - a day out in fact for our experts rather than setting up a competitor to an existing company!
At the end of the day though, who would you trust - someone who cares or someone who's next job will be to look at a Micra or similar....
At the end of the day though, who would you trust - someone who cares or someone who's next job will be to look at a Micra or similar....
Perhaps consider such services offered by regular members who are local as a 'once over' as opposed to a full PPI by a recognised specialist 
I'd happily look over a car (eg 124, 201 etc) locally for a member FOC - I'm sure plenty of others would.
At least it could save someone 000s of wasted miles if the car in question appears to be a complete dog
Will
I'd happily look over a car (eg 124, 201 etc) locally for a member FOC - I'm sure plenty of others would.
At least it could save someone 000s of wasted miles if the car in question appears to be a complete dog
Will
Baron_Samedi
MB Enthusiast
Nice one.
At least a once over by someone who knows and cares about what they are looking at would avoid the pain of looking at dogs....
A thumbs up would give some confidence that the vehicle is worth travelling to see.
At least a once over by someone who knows and cares about what they are looking at would avoid the pain of looking at dogs....
A thumbs up would give some confidence that the vehicle is worth travelling to see.
alanuk400
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Baron_Samedi
MB Enthusiast
Reckon we should get the mods to start a poll.
How many people would be interested....
How many people would be interested....
kth286
MB Enthusiast
I owned an Jag e-type convertible once and took it to the AA inspection centre in West Brom (may not be there now). They had a rolling road.
Inspection took most of the morning. Like a glorified MOT test and a tick box report.
Wanted it done to assure potential buyers when selling the car privately, which had doubled in price since I bought it.
It was successful.
Back to the CAR INSPECTION Idea.
I thought I could offer this as a favour to Merc forums members only.
Would only be viewing Mercs not the latest models but previous models.
It would be for beer money, to cover my petrol costs and time only, at say £20 for each hour spent on the case ie. to cover driving to vendor, driving his car, viewing condition and ticking off the boxes on my inspection sheet, viewing the paperwork, and when back at base,writing brief summary and sending both tick sheet and summary to client along with any other particular requirements such as special angle photos etc etc.
An awful lot can be gleaned from just driving the potential purchase vehicle, and it will show up any additional areas to investigate.
I would access my data base of cars and model weaknesses and items to particularily watch out for and have a jack to use and powerful torch etc etc.
Obviously the vendor's coperation is required to do much mechanical inspection, but the argument can be put to him that it is to his advantage to be more knowledgeable about his own car anyway and he may learn things.
I would have thought that this service would be more applicable to potential purchases from private vendors.
Inspection took most of the morning. Like a glorified MOT test and a tick box report.
Wanted it done to assure potential buyers when selling the car privately, which had doubled in price since I bought it.
It was successful.
Back to the CAR INSPECTION Idea.
I thought I could offer this as a favour to Merc forums members only.
Would only be viewing Mercs not the latest models but previous models.
It would be for beer money, to cover my petrol costs and time only, at say £20 for each hour spent on the case ie. to cover driving to vendor, driving his car, viewing condition and ticking off the boxes on my inspection sheet, viewing the paperwork, and when back at base,writing brief summary and sending both tick sheet and summary to client along with any other particular requirements such as special angle photos etc etc.
An awful lot can be gleaned from just driving the potential purchase vehicle, and it will show up any additional areas to investigate.
I would access my data base of cars and model weaknesses and items to particularily watch out for and have a jack to use and powerful torch etc etc.
Obviously the vendor's coperation is required to do much mechanical inspection, but the argument can be put to him that it is to his advantage to be more knowledgeable about his own car anyway and he may learn things.
I would have thought that this service would be more applicable to potential purchases from private vendors.
SilverSaloon
MB Enthusiast
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was the SL a 107?
The issue is as soon as a charge is involved the buyer can recover expenses for any items that were missed... You would have to tread VERY carefully.
Baron_Samedi
MB Enthusiast
Agreed.
The advisory trip would have to be thoroughly documented as to the extent of liability.
I think that the function would be to "filter" out rubbish rather than take a responsibility for guiding the final purchase.
The advisory trip would have to be thoroughly documented as to the extent of liability.
I think that the function would be to "filter" out rubbish rather than take a responsibility for guiding the final purchase.
I think that in the spirit of the club, any such 'once overs' would be FOC, repaid perhaps with a favour in the future.
What comes around goes around etc
It's a bit different between a glance over and a proper professional inspection by a qualified mechanic or professional organisation etc. I wouldn't expect to be paid for an amateur once-over and flick through some paperwork
As said above, I would think of this type of arrangement firmly as a 'weed trap' rather than a green light to purchase or warranty-bound inspection.
Will
What comes around goes around etc
It's a bit different between a glance over and a proper professional inspection by a qualified mechanic or professional organisation etc. I wouldn't expect to be paid for an amateur once-over and flick through some paperwork
As said above, I would think of this type of arrangement firmly as a 'weed trap' rather than a green light to purchase or warranty-bound inspection.
Will
Baron_Samedi
MB Enthusiast
Yep - only a filter - no information passed that would affect the requirement for the purchaser to make the final decision.
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