Help!! 1990 300SEL vs 1988 230TE

[AliRamay]

i am looknig at buying either one of these

1990 300sel the guy is asking $10,000
this one have 200,000 Kms

1988 230TE the guy is asking $9,000 and is willing to settle for $8,000
this one has 230,000kms


i am new to the world of Mercedes, so please feel free to enlighten me with the
good the bad and the ugly about both these cars.

and perhaps which one might seem the better buy/choice.

 

[television]

230 a little under powered maybe, the 300 is loaded both nice cars,
over to the next veiw.

Malcolm

 

[Chazchuzzlewitt]

do you need the wagon/estate? If not I'd go for the 300SEL- later car, nicer engine, probably better spec... hard to tell without seeing them both...

 

[Impaler]

Is the S-class a W126 or W140? If it's the former, I'd buy it. It's much better than the later model so mileage is not an issue.

 

[television]

Is the S-class a W126 or W140? If it's the former, I'd buy it. It's much better than the later model so mileage is not an issue.

It is a 126, I agree with you

Malcolm

 

[turnipsock]

What is the exchange rate? I know there is something funny about the price of cars in oz, something to do with import duty though this may not affect older cars.

The 230TE is a great car but for the difference in cost, mileage and year I would probably go for the other one.

 

[andy_k]

that's an awful lot of money to pay for a 25 year old car - in the case of the 230TE at least 6 times it's value here in the UK!!!!!!!

Now, both cars are going to cost should they break, the 230TE has hydraulic rear suspension - if the cost of parts is commensurate with the value of cars it could easily cost you the price of the car putting that system right should it fail.

W126 cars are great, but can be very expensive to maintain and I guess parts aren't that easily obtainable in Australia.

Would it be cheaper for you to buy a car here in Europe and import it yourself?


Food for thought.........

$8000 (AUD) would buy you a 1994/5 facelift E320T with all the toys including aircon, leather, cruise, the 5 speed box etc whereas a 1988 230TE could cost you less than $1000 (AUD)

http://www.carshippingtoaustralia.com/australia/australia.html

HTH

Andy

 

[AliRamay]

thanks for the feedback,

its much appreciated.

the 300sel is definately more loaded with features BUT the 230TE looks a lot more modern.

part arent too much of a problem,

i wish i were able to import them, our mightly govt has seen to it that we cannont have any decent car here in oz, the car import laws dont allow anything newer then 1990 to be imported economically.
it comes with a huge cost to import a car from anywhere in the world.

 

[andy_k]

shop around for a 1990 30024 valve in europe and you can get yourself an absolute barnstormer

somebody must be importing them, I still reckon it's worth a try

Andy

 

[velosolex50]

Just my ha'pance worth. I used Karmann shipping to move my BMW to australia (in 1989!) and was very happy with the service. Interestingly, the prices seem very similar today.
Huw