General value of 300SD?

A dealership in my area was offering an immaculate '84 300SD with 77K miles recently, and asking $13K. And someone else in my area is asking $13.5K for an '87 300SDL with 120-odd thousand miles on it. Based on these and other examples I've seen in Autotrader and cars.com, $12-13K seems to be about the going rate. I think those who come up with such asking prices for such old cars (regardless of their con- dition) must be on crack, but apparently there are people who are willing to pay that much.

The trouble is, the Blue Book value for these cars is more like $5-6K -- and if, Ghod forbid, the car were to get creamed, that's the value the insurance company is going to go by when they decide whether to repair it or total it -- and how much they'll pay you if they *do* decided to total it. And given that each of my last two cars has gotten hit by idiots, one of them totalled and the other nearly so, this is something that I, at least, am inclined to bear in mind.

I'm looking for an S-class myself, and after watching the market for a few months I've come to the conclusion that if I'm patient, I can find a car that's maybe 80-90% as nice for 40-50% of what people are demanding for these ultra-low-mileage cars.

Geoff

Condition - and your eagerness - determines the value.

I own an '80 300SD w/ 107K miles that's in excellent condition and feel it's worth about $5,000 due to its condition. It's not for sale for I don't believe $5,000 will buy me a better car than the old 300SD.

Others may say a $5,000 price is crazy as some of these cars are selling for only $1,000 - fine, buy one of those and live with its poor condition.

These are basically very simple cars the are all mechanical - no computers - and therefore understandable and relatively easy to maintain and repair. The engine is very durable and will be long lived if well maintained - 5K oil and filter changes, 15K valve adjustment, 30K air & fuel filters, transmission fluid & filter.

It's a good car for a DIY owner.

In news:uV5qc.15942$ snipped-for-privacy@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net, Memphis10c decided to enlighten our sheltered souls with a rant as follows

about £600 ukp.

HTH

I just bought an '83 300SD for $1700 (including tax and registration fees) in Ca. Rust free 141,000mi but it needs some work. 2 windows don't work ( broken motor in one and broken plastic reg. bushing in the other $140 and $3 for the parts) broken seat switches R&L ($90 + $32 times 2 (R&L) for the new switches). Needs motor mounts and transmission mount and shocks ( $150 for both sides). I want to repaint it ? $1000-$2000 ?? . All the fluid and filters changed (~$200). The drivers seat needs to be reupholstered ;cost ? I figure the car would be worth more once I get it all spiffed up. wolf

The value varies by people's opinion... stick with what edmunds.com. kbb.com or nadaguide.com says. That way it gives you buffer to make necessary repairs.

Do a carfax check on low mileage cars too... it is very easy to tamper the mileage.

In a word: DON'T! My $1,500 '81 300SD has cost me at least $25,000. And I have not had it painted. Nothing inside the shell has more than 30K on it except the engine which had 138K when it replaced the original. We habve no idea what the true milage is on the car as someone at some time had installed a 1984 odometer. You can bet that odomoter had low mileage. When I bought the car it had about 138K on that replaced odometer. Would not surprise me if the car had

300K on it.

Well, now I have a marvelous car that runs beautifully, gets 28mpg highway,

24mpg city. But if I were to do it over, I would look for one in good shape with impeccable maintenance records and pay the market price of around $5,000. We learn, but some lessons can be very costly. 1981 300SD "Der Klunker" ex-Pimpmobile.

$500 - $10,000 depending on condition. In average condit on $20-3000.