Do you mean you think it should be higher or lower? We are just talking about a 4 year old car with very high mileage. I have discovered of late that with a mercedes a part is more likely to go wrong or break because it is old, rather than anything else. People with normal or less-than normal mileage cars have had a LOT of problems with their cars, I have owned three double/triple-normal mileage cars with little to no problems with any, and my two mercs were ex-company/fleet cars too! I think the gamble is no worse odds with this car than any other, and you can enjoy the massive saving that higher mileage cars can provide, even if a few bits and pieces need replacing from time to time.
Very high mileage - is buying a mad idea
Ian B Walker
MB Enthusiast
- Joined
- Jun 7, 2003
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- 7,668
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- Freckleton
- Car
- 300-24, saloon and coupe, E300 24 valve diesel estate
My old one has 201k on the clock, ran 1000 miles this weekend (booze cruise) no problems at all, ran as sweet as a nut as they say. In retrospect though the milage quoted here does seem a little excessive and I would need some very hard persuasion to purchase a vehicle with over 300k on the clock. I think at the end it is all down to the person who is buying the car and what he or she expects from it. Things are going to go wrong, thats life. You have to weigh up the options regarding, specialist repairers or DIY. Personally I would, if possible, repair it myself every time as any second party repairer does it for a living and expects to make a profit out of it.
6000 is def excessive. All the advice given above is true, however when it comes down to it, there are not many people who want to buy a car with 300K on the clock..
I think if you traded that car in, the dealer would offer you 3-4K so that they could put it through an auction.
If you buy it, i hope your good with mechanics yourself as there will be small bits and pieces to put right all the time.
As long as the gearbox and engine are fine, then dont worry too much.
Up to you, but i dont think you could ever sell it again, without performing illegal acts!
I think if you traded that car in, the dealer would offer you 3-4K so that they could put it through an auction.
If you buy it, i hope your good with mechanics yourself as there will be small bits and pieces to put right all the time.
As long as the gearbox and engine are fine, then dont worry too much.
Up to you, but i dont think you could ever sell it again, without performing illegal acts!
John Peerce
Active Member
I think the above point by Jamanek regarding re-sale of the car is an important one.
Most of us when we buy a car we don’t think enough about the ability to sell it a later point. I ,for one, was smitten by my car when i first saw it, and pledged that i will keep it for life and never ever sell it ! and yet twelve months after buying it I have come very close to selling it many times, after it developed numerous problem.
The reality is that you might need to sell the car because you need the cash urgently, or the car develops a major problem that costs more to fix than the value of the car (this CAN happen, for example if the Auto transmission seized, engine head blows etc).
Its at that point that it becomes MUCH easier to sell a merc with 100k miles than one with 300k miles, regardless of how well both cars has been looked after.
Bearing this in mind , £6000 is definitely alot of money for this car, even though i accept the arguments that the Turbo Diesel mercs are solid work horses etc. At the end of the day, its a question of how much its worth !
Most of us when we buy a car we don’t think enough about the ability to sell it a later point. I ,for one, was smitten by my car when i first saw it, and pledged that i will keep it for life and never ever sell it ! and yet twelve months after buying it I have come very close to selling it many times, after it developed numerous problem.
The reality is that you might need to sell the car because you need the cash urgently, or the car develops a major problem that costs more to fix than the value of the car (this CAN happen, for example if the Auto transmission seized, engine head blows etc).
Its at that point that it becomes MUCH easier to sell a merc with 100k miles than one with 300k miles, regardless of how well both cars has been looked after.
Bearing this in mind , £6000 is definitely alot of money for this car, even though i accept the arguments that the Turbo Diesel mercs are solid work horses etc. At the end of the day, its a question of how much its worth !
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A point which I made very early on!
That being said, it is ONLY 4 years old. How much of a car is actually affected by the miles it has driven, bearing in mind that car's mileage is probably mostly motorway. Hardly any of the bodywork or interior will be worn due to mileage, AGE is what does this. A car is not more likely to rust because it has more mileage on it, in fact a low mileage car which is garaged all the time is probably more likely to rust than a high mileage chauffeur-driven limo. Please also remember that an MB mechanic will have looked at this car every few months, rather than going without service for years like some lower mileage cars! It will also have been serviced regardless of cost, because it is a company vehicle, not like a privately owned car.Originally posted by Shude
Don't expect to ever be able to sell it afterwards though, it's yours forever once you've bought it, check the replies in this topic - for all the approving messages there are about 10 disapproving ones.
Low mileage cars suck! High mileage cars rule!
Shude, your points are valid, but just not many people would actually go and spend 6K on a car whos manufacturer states the life expectancy of the gearbox to be 130K and the engine to be 150K. (ok we know they can last longer)
At the end of the day, it all comes down to value.
In any case, this topic is getting old, i dont think the thread starter has replied? maybe he's already made the decision!
Jay
At the end of the day, it all comes down to value.
In any case, this topic is getting old, i dont think the thread starter has replied? maybe he's already made the decision!
Jay
As the thread starter, I've been watching the discussion with interest. The best advice appears to be go and look at it and judge each case on its merits, but buyer beware! So thats what I'm going to do tomorrow. I'll find out how many engines it had and what other bits have been swapped. I know they regularly run fleets of these cars to these mileages, so they will have a better idea than most on what goes wrong. Presumably they think its cost effective or they wouldn't keep doing it, although I suspect most of these cars will end up with a lot less mileage on the clock eventually. They told me they normally sell them on to dealers, so you can work out for yourselves what a dealer would want to do.
As regards price, I though that may be a bit on the steep side but its a sticker price so will probably move. At the end of the day its worth what someone will pay for it. Sadly theres not much else around that is admitting to this mileage so getting a fair valuation is difficult.
I'll report back on whatI find tomorrow!
As regards price, I though that may be a bit on the steep side but its a sticker price so will probably move. At the end of the day its worth what someone will pay for it. Sadly theres not much else around that is admitting to this mileage so getting a fair valuation is difficult.
I'll report back on whatI find tomorrow!
lol of course its mosty likely the same engine and box. The engines are v good and is most likely still going strong, but can a gearbox get through 300K...
I was reading an article about the MB 5 speed gearboxes and was quite shocked when they said they are built to a life expectancy of 130K. So that must be considered if youre buying a car with 300K..
Anyway.. Good luck and let us know what u find. I recommend a long test drive.
Dieselman
Banned
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2003
- Messages
- 34,198
- Car
- Peugeot 403 Convertible
It's probably worse if you buy one with 110 k on the clock as many people do!
I have now bought the car. There was a whole sheaf of paper on its service history, and it has had a new turbo, radiator and back box in the last 4 months as well as a complete gearbox overhaul. The engine is original and on a fleet of 11 with this mileage they have never had serious engine problems, which is good to know in general. It drove very well, no smoke, pulled like a train etc.
I don't think it was a bargain, but I think I've paid a fair price for a solid car. Time will tell though. No doubt I'll be posting for help with all types of irritating problems, no 1 being the drivers electric window one touch function doesn't work!
Thanks to everyone who gave an opinion.
I don't think it was a bargain, but I think I've paid a fair price for a solid car. Time will tell though. No doubt I'll be posting for help with all types of irritating problems, no 1 being the drivers electric window one touch function doesn't work!
Thanks to everyone who gave an opinion.
It might just need re-setting, the window/button control is software not hardware. Try holding the button down for 5 seconds after the window has opened or closed (whichever direction doesn't work).
EDIT: d'oh! here is a thread dedicated to this topic
http://mbclub.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4316
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John Peerce
Active Member
Yup. When i had a new starter motor fitted recently, the battery was disconnected for a short while to allow the motor to be fitted. So when it was reconnected it re-set everything, so non of the windows one-touch open/close functions worked at first, including the Sunroof. But after pressing each window up and down few times and holding the switch for a while on each time, all windows/sunroof work fine now.
Enjoy your car !
Enjoy your car !
Dieselman
Banned
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- Jul 13, 2003
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- 34,198
- Car
- Peugeot 403 Convertible
Well done DR Nick.
Hopefully you got this car for a price that you thought was good enough.
I suspect you are our highest mileage member. Keep us all informed on progress with the motor and remember.......DIESELS ROCK!!
Hopefully you got this car for a price that you thought was good enough.
I suspect you are our highest mileage member. Keep us all informed on progress with the motor and remember.......DIESELS ROCK!!
GrahamC230K
MB Enthusiast
- Joined
- Jul 14, 2002
- Messages
- 9,755
- Car
- Audi A3 & S4 quattro
What mileage are you on now DrNick?
Fall apart? Which parts would do that exactly, based on mileage alone?stats007 said:
There are people on this forum that have bought brand new cars for a lot more money and have enjoyed less reliability. Bear in mind that this thread is now nearly 2 years old and the car has apparently been excellent so far.
High milers rule! :bannana:
Dieselman
Banned
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- Jul 13, 2003
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- 34,198
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- Peugeot 403 Convertible
At the last count hadn't DrNick put about 40K on the car and had a new MAF and air con recharge.
Hardly falling apart.
Hardly falling apart.
BenzComander
MB Enthusiast
Shude said:
I think that there is actually a pretty good market for high mileage cars. Bought at the right price, with a little common sense they can be perfectly acceptable transport.
I think a lot of people's opinions about "leggy"
cars is based upon stories from the 50-60's where it was common to need an engine rebuild at 100KModern cars, run on synthetic oils and serviced correctly are more than capable of exceeding 100K without major drama.
My Saab 9000T S had 221,000 on it when I sold it, my current Audi A61.8T has 201,000 and it is still on its original clutch and Turbo, and my E320 has just turned 140,000 and has been given a clean bill of health by Chris Gray (Merc specialist near me).
As Shude said "High milers rule!
"
KLP 92
MB Enthusiast
stats007 said:
Why do you continue to be so rude? You are fully aware that a fellow forum member has purchased this car, so why insult him by saying his car's falling apart and its worthless? If you can't think of anything better to say i think its best if you don't contribute your opinion at all. Its not the first time either, hence the little red dot by your name. You would think people would learn.........
My uncle has 420k on a W124 E250 diesel and its on its opriginal engine. Gearbox has been rebuilt once and drivers seat has required attention. Apart from that only servicable items have been replaced.
