FS: 1989 Mercedes 300TE Station Wagon

[D_Eclipse9916]

After 22 years of faithful service to my mom, she has decided to let this car go. Bought new back in 1989, my mom is the original owner of this vehicle. It now was 161,724 (do the math thats only 7,351 miles avg a year) For 19 years of its life it was garage kept, and not in the way you think. It was NEVER out of the garage unless driven to the grocery/errands. It never spent time at a work parking lot for those years. Three years ago my mom decided to go back to work and so it saw work duty then. It has always been hand-washed and waxed by her, and later on in its life by me. It has been in 2 accidents over its life of 22 years and have the documentation about it. You would not be able to tell unless I had told you (and of course carfax :lol: ). It is white exterior with a navy blue interior. The interior has NOT A SINGLE scratch or tear in the seats/door panels/dash etc. The carpet is still in very excellent condition with some dirt/stains in the trunk/hatch area that are hardly noticeable. There are "surface" wave cracks in the wood that is common to these vehicles, but is not nearly bad enough to warrant replacement, see photos for details. Vehicle has a powerful inline six and automatic transmission, rear wheel drive and tires that were replaced only 3000 miles ago. It also just had its belts replaced and new tensioner put in. It receives regular oil changes and inspections by me as well as a certified Mercedes Mechanic, but spent most of its automative repair history at HBL and SilverStar Motors in Vienna. Car drives incredibly well and smooth with no noises. The chrome on the front and emblem are still 100%. My mom has received many a compliment and words of "the last of the good Mercedes" from even Mercedes Dealers. :lol:

The Bad: The radio sucks, welcome to 1989. Its "okay" if you just like background music, but not much more.
In the cold, and only because im probably pretty anal, I notice a slight hesitation at idle.
The driver's side seat, squeaks over speed bumps if your sitting in it just a bit sideways (yes the only squeak/rattle in the car, AMAZING)
Radio Antenna doesnt go all the way down
Sagging "seatback" pockets

Onto the pictures: (My mom complains the interior is dirty so itll have new pics, she never keeps anything in cars, she is kind of a neat freak, should see her her "new car"....doesnt have a single thing in it except her purse and bag she takes to work which she takes out every day)

[BLINGMW]

cool. Now if it was a diesel, you'd have something there! :thumbup:

[Goodspeed]

Waitasec. This car has a backwards rumble seat? How did I not know about that!?

I can vouch for this car. Its stupidly, amazingly clean and tight. How much?

[ScottyB]

my grandparents had an almost identical one (white over red) for the better part of a decade. great cars from the golden age of Mercedes when they were built to a standard and not a price point.

[D_Eclipse9916]

Actually thats kind of why I wanted to post up here first before the rest. I am not exactly sure.

PS- If your wondering about the reliability, Fifth Gear did a special on this EXACT car about how ridiculously bulletproof they are (poor car, they blow it up in the end)

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQSLwcUrPXM">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQSLwcUrPXM</a><!-- m --> (This is part 1)

[caa337]

Reminds me of me and my brother's 1987 300E. Still love that old car cept it has 202k miles. That one is super clean though.

[Jake]

Jump seat is suh-weet. What are y'all asking for it?

And no, haters. I am not buying this.


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[Kaan]

It can even hold the HF folding leg engine hoist and an engine stand in it with the seats down!

It really is a super clean car!

[D_Eclipse9916]

Shit, having a hard time pricing it, watcha think $2500? or should I twist my fingers and hope for $3000, or is it only worth like a grand?

Edit: Bluebook on a 1991 with same options is 2500-2700 for a good car, not excellent. hmmm, anybody interested her around $2500? Shit I feel like this car is worth so much more than that, ive been riding in it since I was 2 years old, went to school everyday in it, smashed my fingers in the trunk riding in the back, road trips, picking up engines from Ohio, engine hoists, moving in and out of school. God its been a good car, but it is a car. Gotta let it go

[Goodspeed]

Oh the places you could go...

[D_Eclipse9916]

Actually there is a bolt in kit for this chassis to throw an 1jz/2jz in it.....im not fucking kidding you..... Do some searching on mercedes forums.

[Ryan T]

It's few and far between that they go through auction but here is the past years worth of 1989 300TE Wagons at auction:

Date Price Mileage Condition Color

03/03/10 $2,250 142,133 Above WHITE
03/26/10 $725 218,799 Below WHITE
05/25/10 $1,350 185,522 Avg BLK
09/23/10 $1,400 136,524 Avg WHITE
11/24/10 $1,950 95,551 Above WHITE
12/07/10 $800 218,989 Avg GRAY

You can add a good little markup to those figures to get a "retail" number, so $2500-$3,000 isn't far-fetched at all. Manheim estimates the "clean above average" retail at like $4,000. Will you get that? Prolly not, but 3k isn't a bad starting point.

[D_Eclipse9916]

Still available, going on craigslist today.

[SlimKlim]

[JohnC]

Is this it?

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[D_Eclipse9916]

no, but wow that is close. Putting it up for $3 grand and will do $2500 for any MMer.

[Goodspeed]

I just realized it still has the circa-'89 VA plate. That takes me back

[D_Eclipse9916]

Still for sale, for some reason craigslist wont post my ad? Would anyone be so willing to post it up on Washington DC's craigslist? Ive tried literally 6 times now and craigslist doesnt like me posting. My email address is XJ220 @ cox.net

For sale is a Mercedes 300TE from 1989 with 161,800 miles. This car was bought new from HBL in Tysons Corner by the one and only owner of this vehicle. As you can see from the mileage and years, the car was driven gently and less than 8,000 miles a year. It has also always been garaged. It was owned by a mother that is meticulous about taking care of her vehicles. The vehicle runs smoothly and defies the age of the vehicle. As many Mercedes Enthusiasts and mechanics would say, this is the age of where "Mercedes were built to a standard, not a price point". This vehicle is white with a blue interior. The interior is free of any rips/tears/cracks in the seating surfaces and/door panels/carpet/dash....not a single one. The engine runs smoothly and the transmissions shifts just as it should. The gauges all work perfectly and even the radio works. Now keep in mind, the radio is from 1989 and is original, sot the speakers have definitely seen better days, it works, but would not work for a stereo enthusiast.

I am confident that this 300TE is the nicest 300TE for sale in the area. No creaks/strains like you hear in a lot of vehicles even 3 years old! It is painful to let it go for this price considering the condition, but the vehicle has to go as there is no more room for this vehicle in the garage and in the past 5 months has only seen about 1000 miles. The vehicle also comes with a STACK of receipts/service information. Every single thing on this car has been recorded and has a receipt. Even includes the original window sticker with the car from 1989. The third row and second row seats fold completely FLAT. Now onto the issues. The vehicle has a power antenna that retracts, but does not go all the way down when the car is turned off. The wood center console also shows slight fading and cracking in the UV coat. It is very slight and can be seen in the photos. The rear seat storage elastics have also decided to become loose and are not ratty, just a bit loose than new. There is NO wear in the seats/steering wheel as you see in many cars. Photos are recent, and have plenty more photos if you are interested.

Located in Vienna VA and looking for $2800 OBO.

[HAULN-SS]

craigslist silently doenst post shit if they *think* you're a spammer. Ive had to go through a few email addresses to be able to post on the site before. really annoying.

[D_Eclipse9916]

damn, ive already been through two, ill have to try another.