Newbie greetings from London

[JBell]

All the cosmetic stuff can be sorted by a good Detailer, if you buy it it would be worth spending £2-300 on a full clean

 

[John Laidlaw]

^ this- at least you know what you’re dealing with, which is basically a cosmetically dirty car, so budget for that in your price offer if you go ahead

 

[Srdl]

^ this- at least you know what you’re dealing with, which is basically a cosmetically dirty car, so budget for that in your price offer if you go ahead

and I can’t imagine there will be a queue of people after a V6 petrol with that mileage so I would go in with a low, cheeky offer and take it from there.

 

[sonic]

I have the E350CDI & I am very pleased 48mpg between services. I do very little city driving.
Cant seen the answer but at that millage it would have to be a full MB service history for me.
Have you considered a E350CDI, fuel consumption would be about half & road tax is £70 less?
They are a but unloved at the moment so there should be some good deals out there.

 

[John Laidlaw]

I have the E350CDI & I am very pleased 48mpg between services. I do very little city driving.
Cant seen the answer but at that millage it would have to be a full MB service history for me.
Have you considered a E350CDI, fuel consumption would be about half & road tax is £70 less?
They are a but unloved at the moment so there should be some good deals out there.

It has full and very comprehensive MB history and serviced twice a year approx on mileage . Might not have been the cleanest previous owner but it was certainly looked after mechanically

 

[John Laidlaw]

and I can’t imagine there will be a queue of people after a V6 petrol with that mileage so I would go in with a low, cheeky offer and take it from there.

Agreed Steve, especially at this time of year too

 

[sonic]

Agreed Steve, especially at this time of year too

Thanks guys. With that history & a V6 petrol well worth a low bid.

 

[Conor]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the continued input. I agree that I will start with a cheeky bid. I was thinking of getting the ball rolling at 4500 and maybe willing to walk away if 4750/4800 isn't accepted.. how does that sound!? I genuinely wouldn't know :/

Next challenge is an inspection.. I really wouldn't know what i'm looking at so wondering how I can get somebody around to look at it? Does anybody know of any MB specialists around the area?:

Hares Lanes, Hartley Wintney, Hook, Hampshire, RG27 8BW

I think it could be wise to have somebody look at this and determine if I will be driving off the lot with potentially 1k in repairs ready for action..

 

[Conor]

I have the E350CDI & I am very pleased 48mpg between services. I do very little city driving.
Cant seen the answer but at that millage it would have to be a full MB service history for me.
Have you considered a E350CDI, fuel consumption would be about half & road tax is £70 less?
They are a but unloved at the moment so there should be some good deals out there.

Well to be honest, I am not currently interested in diesel as I live in London. I'm not too pushed about fuel economy either as I only do about 5-7k miles per year really.

I like the refinement of a petrol engine and have been led to believe they are more straightforward too. That said, I'm not a mechanic so believe me when I say "led to believe..."

 

[sonic]

Well to be honest, I am not currently interested in diesel as I live in London. I'm not too pushed about fuel economy either as I only do about 5-7k miles per year really.

I like the refinement of a petrol engine and have been led to believe they are more straightforward too. That said, I'm not a mechanic so believe me when I say "led to believe..."

High millage but a very good service history. Not much is mentioned about the V6 petrol which should be good news. The older straight 6 had a very good record.
As others have said put a low bid in. Good luck.

 

[John Laidlaw]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the continued input. I agree that I will start with a cheeky bid. I was thinking of getting the ball rolling at 4500 and maybe willing to walk away if 4750/4800 isn't accepted.. how does that sound!? I genuinely wouldn't know :/

Next challenge is an inspection.. I really wouldn't know what i'm looking at so wondering how I can get somebody around to look at it? Does anybody know of any MB specialists around the area?:

Hares Lanes, Hartley Wintney, Hook, Hampshire, RG27 8BW

I think it could be wise to have somebody look at this and determine if I will be driving off the lot with potentially 1k in repairs ready for action..

Seems a reasonable approach. MBS in Southampton are forum sponsors on here, worth giving them a call to see if they’d be willing to check it out for a fee, otherwise AA and RAC can do it...

 

[LostKiwi]

Star nr Reading is probably your nearest.
Also forum sponsors/regulars.

 

[John Laidlaw]

Indeed- apologies on my poor geography!
Couple in Hook itself on the link but don’t know them sorry
http://www.mercedesspecialistfinder.co.uk/search/?postcode=RG27+7AB&category=14&distance=25

 

[Conor]

Well,

I have decided to take a punt on this. It's actually proving quite difficult to get somebody to inspect this car, given the location. Also, the fact that the undercarriage will not be able to get inspected given the lack of a lift..

I anticipate that regardless of who inspects this, given the current stage in the service schedule (next service due shortly) and the mindset of somebody trading a car.. I would expect any inspection to explain that a service is due and there be a multitude of other mechanical items on the undercarriage need replacing as general wear and tear. I anticipate I would spend about £1k in an indy getting this serviced back to glory.

With this in mind, I won't get an inspection, but rather give it a good drive and check for noise and steering vibrations etc. Then negotiate to a maximum of 4750 and walk away if that isn't accepted.

I don't want to start fooling around with various processes etc. View, buy it, gamble on the basis that it appears to have been looked after well from a service perspective.

Am I being totally crazy here?

 

[Srdl]

Well,

I have decided to take a punt on this. It's actually proving quite difficult to get somebody to inspect this car, given the location. Also, the fact that the undercarriage will not be able to get inspected given the lack of a lift..

I anticipate that regardless of who inspects this, given the current stage in the service schedule (next service due shortly) and the mindset of somebody trading a car.. I would expect any inspection to explain that a service is due and there be a multitude of other mechanical items on the undercarriage need replacing as general wear and tear. I anticipate I would spend about £1k in an indy getting this serviced back to glory.

With this in mind, I won't get an inspection, but rather give it a good drive and check for noise and steering vibrations etc. Then negotiate to a maximum of 4750 and walk away if that isn't accepted.

I don't want to start fooling around with various processes etc. View, buy it, gamble on the basis that it appears to have been looked after well from a service perspective.

Am I being totally crazy here?

Sounds good to me!

 

[Conor]

The trick will be in building up the courage to walk away knowing, I probably won't get a chance to have that engine again any time soon. I need to get a car and insured before mid march in order to save my NCB.

With the above in mind, I wonder what is the maximum amount a savvy person should pay for that? Anybody want to shoot out number at which they wouldn't go a penny over?

 

[John Laidlaw]

Well,

I have decided to take a punt on this. It's actually proving quite difficult to get somebody to inspect this car, given the location. Also, the fact that the undercarriage will not be able to get inspected given the lack of a lift..

I anticipate that regardless of who inspects this, given the current stage in the service schedule (next service due shortly) and the mindset of somebody trading a car.. I would expect any inspection to explain that a service is due and there be a multitude of other mechanical items on the undercarriage need replacing as general wear and tear. I anticipate I would spend about £1k in an indy getting this serviced back to glory.

With this in mind, I won't get an inspection, but rather give it a good drive and check for noise and steering vibrations etc. Then negotiate to a maximum of 4750 and walk away if that isn't accepted.

I don't want to start fooling around with various processes etc. View, buy it, gamble on the basis that it appears to have been looked after well from a service perspective.

Am I being totally crazy here?

Can’t go too far wrong at that Conor

 

[keefysher]

The trick will be in building up the courage to walk away knowing, I probably won't get a chance to have that engine again any time soon. I need to get a car and insured before mid march in order to save my NCB.

With the above in mind, I wonder what is the maximum amount a savvy person should pay for that? Anybody want to shoot out number at which they wouldn't go a penny over?

Just put it in WeBuyAnyCar and it says £3595

 

[Conor]

Just put it in WeBuyAnyCar and it says £3595

Interesting.. I put it in the other day and got £4k.

I would like to think he paid about 3500 for it, so hopefully he will be happy at the margin in a 4500 offer.

 

[John Laidlaw]

The trick will be in building up the courage to walk away knowing, I probably won't get a chance to have that engine again any time soon. I need to get a car and insured before mid march in order to save my NCB.

With the above in mind, I wonder what is the maximum amount a savvy person should pay for that? Anybody want to shoot out number at which they wouldn't go a penny over?

Maybe you are looking at this the wrong way if i may say so.
The usual proviso/question is..”is it within the budget I’ve set myself and how much am I willing to pay?” If
At 6k and less IMO the consequences of paying a little too much or getting a bargain are much less. If you intend keeping the car for a reasonable period it’s even less consequential.
That and the fact the car is really difficult to put a value on one way or the other - one one hand it’s a rare engine, on the other it’s big miles.
For me (and this is only me, with almost zero logic in this), I would set it at 5k and be prepared to walk on the hope something else will come along.