Thinking about pulling the trigger on this 2011 C300 4-Matic (for a winter beater).

IME with working at car dealers ...

Everyone might be trying to buy it themselves and the only "everyone" that matters is the one that can make the decision, if that the GM talk to him.
If he comes to work today. I think I'll start at $500 over. Max I'll do it $1k over. Anything above that, I'll pass.
 
Yup or more likely Umansky Motor Cars.

It might - might - be possible to correct it but it would take substantial leg work and signatures, I doubt it would be worth the trouble.
 
Yup or more likely Umansky Motor Cars.

It might - might - be possible to correct it but it would take substantial leg work and signatures, I doubt it would be worth the trouble.
If I end up keeping the car, I won't care too much for the exceed mechanical limit title. If I plan on flipping it, I'll want that taken off
 
I've got no clue if the trans, transfer case, or diff have ever been serviced. But, when I looked at the oil from the oil cap, it was dark as hell. Not sure when the last oil change was done but we're going to do an oil change(the tech will probably use Mobil 1 if I am not mistaken). I'm probably going to want to look at the old oil filter before the tech throws it out

Maybe I can give the vin to a Mercedes dealer and they might be able to pull up service records?
Isn't the transmission a 722.9? If yes, they are extremely robust, and very tolerant of service abuse. There is no reason to fear transmission issues resulting from doing a fluid/filter change on a tranny that has been ignored. If it has never been done, it is likely that you will want to replace the engine mounts and transmission mounts. If you do it yourself, it can be done fairly inexpensively.

The same is true for all maintenance on a Mercedes. Pay a dealership $300 for an A service, or do it yourself for $50. Personally, I don't know what all these people are talking about, when they say it is expensive to own, and to run away from it. I bought my E350 4Matic with 46k miles on it. It now has >88k miles on it. After fixing a few inexpensive trim items, that the previous owner had neglected, I have driven the E350 for the cost of tires, filters, fluids and such. Never a single problem. My '07 SL550 took a little more than that. But nothing I couldn't fix myself. And nothing that cost me more than $100 here or $200 there. And it had over 100k miles on it.

I would jump all over it, if I could get it for the $3500 price range, and the PPI doesn't come back with any big issues. As you say, I don't see how you can go wrong. Drive it for a year or two and sell it.
 
Isn't the transmission a 722.9? If yes, they are extremely robust, and very tolerant of service abuse. There is no reason to fear transmission issues resulting from doing a fluid/filter change on a tranny that has been ignored. If it has never been done, it is likely that you will want to replace the engine mounts and transmission mounts. If you do it yourself, it can be done fairly inexpensively.

The same is true for all maintenance on a Mercedes. Pay a dealership $300 for an A service, or do it yourself for $50. Personally, I don't know what all these people are talking about, when they say it is expensive to own, and to run away from it. I bought my E350 4Matic with 46k miles on it. It now has >88k miles on it. After fixing a few inexpensive trim items, that the previous owner had neglected, I have driven the E350 for the cost of tires, filters, fluids and such. Never a single problem. My '07 SL550 took a little more than that. But nothing I couldn't fix myself. And nothing that cost me more than $100 here or $200 there. And it had over 100k miles on it.

I would jump all over it, if I could get it for the $3500 price range, and the PPI doesn't come back with any big issues. As you say, I don't see how you can go wrong. Drive it for a year or two and sell it.
They won't do a PPI. I'll have to sign an as-is and show paper also.. I drove the car. It drives well. Shift pretty good. I just want to make sure there's no leaking oil. Plus, that title is kinda scaring me. The two lights (airbag light and light bulb).

I'm at 2800 with taxes plates and doc fee
 
KBB puts it around $4k private party so $2800 OTD is a fairly good deal. But you have 4 cars in your signature already. Big family? Selling one of the others? Paying cash for this one? All Dave Ramsey type questions to spur thinking on the matter.
 
KBB puts it around $4k private party so $2800 OTD is a fairly good deal. But you have 4 cars in your signature already. Big family? Selling one of the others? Paying cash for this one? All Dave Ramsey type questions to spur thinking on the matter.
This is gonna be like a beater for me. I hate seeing all the salt on the BMW. But, I'm double minded now. I mean, 2800 for a car that runs good isn't bad. But it's just another expensive kinda
 
They won't do a PPI. I'll have to sign an as-is and show paper also.. I drove the car. It drives well. Shift pretty good. I just want to make sure there's no leaking oil. Plus, that title is kinda scaring me. The two lights (airbag light and light bulb).

I'm at 2800 with taxes plates and doc fee
Have you plugged into it to check codes and such? Could you get one of the mechanics to look at the airbag light, to make sure you aren't into anything big? As long as there are no big surprises in the codes, it sounds like you should be ok. It would definitely be nice to get your 540 off of the salty roads, and park it for the winter months.

As far as the title, I really believe DuckRyder is correct about the "Exceeds Mechanical Limits" statement on the title. Someone misreported a mileage statement in Sept. 2020. Perhaps they checked the wrong box on a mileage statement? Check with your DMV to ease your mind, but it is noteworthy that the timing of the "exceeds Mechanical Limits" statement being added to the title, is just days after mileage was reported.

At that price, I would think it is totally worth it. It is hard to imagine that you won't be able to drive it for a year or so, and then sell it for a small profit. Even if you do spend a few hundred doing a full fluid & filter & plugs service.
 
Have you plugged into it to check codes and such? Could you get one of the mechanics to look at the airbag light, to make sure you aren't into anything big? As long as there are no big surprises in the codes, it sounds like you should be ok. It would definitely be nice to get your 540 off of the salty roads, and park it for the winter months.

As far as the title, I really believe DuckRyder is correct about the "Exceeds Mechanical Limits" statement on the title. Someone misreported a mileage statement in Sept. 2020. Perhaps they checked the wrong box on a mileage statement? Check with your DMV to ease your mind, but it is noteworthy that the timing of the "exceeds Mechanical Limits" statement being added to the title, is just days after mileage was reported.

At that price, I would think it is totally worth it. It is hard to imagine that you won't be able to drive it for a year or so, and then sell it for a small profit. Even if you do spend a few hundred doing a full fluid & filter & plugs service.
No codes popped up.

I've got one of the techs that'll look underneath the car too make sure there's no major leaking.

I drove the car home and on the drive home, the rpms kept surging. Maybe spark plugs? I also kept hearing a rattle noise from under the car when going over bumps. Flex disc maybe?
 
Lots of issues here, and I just did a drive-by of this thread. A like two owner with 100k miles is a buy it now at iaai Seattle at $1509, and a clean title iirc.

Your dealership can't do a inspection on a Mercedes without a star system. The srs on a Mercedes can run easily into the thousands.

I don't like what I have seen on this, an easy walk for me . And I have the tools including a star system to diagnose.
 
Lots of issues here, and I just did a drive-by of this thread. A like two owner with 100k miles is a buy it now at iaai Seattle at $1509, and a clean title iirc.

Your dealership can't do a inspection on a Mercedes without a star system. The srs on a Mercedes can run easily into the thousands.

I don't like what I have seen on this, an easy walk for me . And I have the tools including a star system to diagnose.
I think I'm going to also pass
 
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What model of car is this guy pulling a trigger on ? :ROFLMAO:
 
No codes popped up.

I've got one of the techs that'll look underneath the car too make sure there's no major leaking.

I drove the car home and on the drive home, the rpms kept surging. Maybe spark plugs? I also kept hearing a rattle noise from under the car when going over bumps. Flex disc maybe?
No codes sounds a little suspicious. It is a Mercedes, after all. I would expect at least a few codes, but what you would look for are codes that are of little concern. No codes makes me think that they have been cleared. The surging could be something simple. Or maybe not. Unless you could correctly diagnose it before pulling the trigger, I would have to agree with GON. Sounds like you made the right call.
 
No codes sounds a little suspicious. It is a Mercedes, after all. I would expect at least a few codes, but what you would look for are codes that are of little concern. No codes makes me think that they have been cleared. The surging could be something simple. Or maybe not. Unless you could correctly diagnose it before pulling the trigger, I would have to agree with GON. Sounds like you made the right call.
I had a buddy drive the car and it didn't do it. He went 70 mph+. This happened when I kept the speed steady at like 45 MPH.

Didn't get crazy high either. Maybe 1500 rpms to 1550 rpms while cruising
 
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