>From what I have seen, the $7k figure is typical silliness for the Winnipeg area. That car is not worth that, I don't care if a relative of the royal family detailed it with her silk scarf.
All european cars seem to sell in Manitoba for about 2-4x their value in central Canada, probably 1.5-2x the value in British Columbia (where vehicle condition is usually good to excellent). Waaaay over anything in the U.S. marketplace. So step #1 is to forget your local market. Actually I would say that for anywhere in Canada. Time to hit eVilBay. You should be able to find a very nice diesel or turbodiesel Mercedes for under $3.5k on eBay. Notice I said *very* nice. That is a matter of preference. Lots of people pay top money on eBay for average cars made to look above-average by clever detailing or a few cosmetic fixes (techniques for this abound in the used car trade). Personally, I feel the (usually) enormous spread from very nice down to slightly below average (which is where I do my shopping, generally) justifies staying cheap. If you are patient, very patient, you will get a perfectly servicable w123 or w126 for around $1500-1800, maybe a bit less. It will have issues, but they should be issues you can deal with without yards of sheet metal and a welding torch. But you have to be on eBay like a hawk. Every day. Watch for the bad listings, iffy photos, even listings with misspellings or bad categorization. Those are opportunities. You might be surprised the mistakes people make. Ask the vendors questions. If you don't like how people answer, do not deal with them, no matter how good the deal seems to be. (This is especially important if the seller is new on eBay and has no real feedback rating.) And, your greatest potential benefit is actually your location. Generally I find that high-end imports located in the U.S. midwest fetch much less on eBay than cars on either coast. In terms of transport, you are laughing there. Prices have gone up on eBay a LOT in the last 12 or 18 months, but stuff is still out there. Ask questions. As us questions. It can be done. Mac Aylmer, Quebec '60 Mercedes 220s / '85 Mercedes 300sd '75 Volvo 164e / '88 Volvo 245 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > I got Gump for $117.50 on eSpay. Best waste of a hundred bucks I ever > did. Next I bid on a w114 in Iowa. All I got were some parts I wanted > and let the owner resell the remains. The price you are looking at is > silly for a 30 year old car, unless it is in showroom condition. > > For $7k Canadian, I would rent a three car hauler, find a really nice > example of a mid 80s SD and get two parts cars as back up. Then I > would have a dealer review the driver, call Rusty and order what > consumables are called for. At This point, you should have enough left > over for a few tanks of fuel, a years insurance, and a nice dinner for > the wife. > > On Thursday, June 23, 2005, at 04:19 PM, R A Bennell wrote: > >> >> I have always wanted one of these old diesel beasts but have always >> been a >> bit leary of the cost of repairs. >> That is especially true since I am in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and >> there >> are not all that many of these things around here anymore.There never >> were a >> lot of them here and that means junkyard parts are going to be rare. I >> would >> likely have to import new or used parts from the USA. >> >> So, the real question is, whether these old beasties are really worth >> the >> time and trouble. They were considered economical in the years when gas >> guzzling V8's roamed the lands. A reasonably sized car with good >> mileage and >> cheap fuel was a good idea. Today, the cost of fuel is often close to >> that >> of gasoline or even higher. The fuel mileage is not nearly so good when >> compared to modern fuel injected V6's (as opposed to V8's) etc. >> >> Similarly, longevity was a plus if one cared for the car. Mercedes >> quality >> and diesel meant that it might never wear out if one kept it up and >> changed >> the oil regularly. Today, most of the Toyotas and Hondas have >> comparable >> quality and longevity. >> >> So, does it still make sense to want one of these things? Or does one >> have >> to throw sense out the window and be an eccentric in order to do this? >> >> I have a line on a 300D. I think a 1974? Burgundy with a cream colored >> interior. A sunroof. Car looks good but I did not really get a chance >> to >> look under it etc. A second owner vehicle so I am told. A doctor owned >> it >> first and since then an older fellow who has now decided to sell it. He >> wants $7K Canadian so not cheap but then not much is anymore. >> >> Randy >> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________ >> For used parts email [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> For new parts see www.buymbparts.com >> For repairs see www.oldworldauto.com >> >> To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: >> http://striplin.net/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_striplin.net >> >> > > > -- > Clay > Seattle Bioburner > > 1972 220D - Gump > 1995 E300D - Cleo > 1987 300SDL - POS - DOA > > > _______________________________________ > For used parts email [EMAIL PROTECTED] > For new parts see www.buymbparts.com > For repairs see www.oldworldauto.com > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://striplin.net/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_striplin.net
