Car Advice Needed

[daktari]

Hey all.

I need a cheap runaround for work and generally bimbling about. At the moment i`ve got a Citroen xantia TD which lets be frank.. Is rubbish. Never a week goes by without it needs something doing. (Think the french sold them to us as retribution for our EU rebate :ffs: )

As some of you are aware i recently bought a Mercedes 190E 2.6 thingy. (Fairly rare) Didn`t pay the world for it and it`s an honest motor. 1987.. 115k on the clock (Verified) Okish on fuel. Usual older Merc quality.

Now. Chap comes to the door today. Been sent over by my mate who`s a dealer (Cars not drugs ) Apparently he`s been after one of these Mercs for ages. Had one a few years ago. Worse thing he ever did selling it, blah, blah, blah.

Anyway the end result is he wants to swap it for his `93 BMW 518i. 2 owners on the reg doc, he`s the 3rd. The condition is like nothing i`ve seen for a long time. The words pristine and original apply to this car. Still got the First aid kit and complete toolkit. It is literally mint. However there`s a catch. The mileage shows 236,000 miles

I queried it with the chap and evidently the ECU went !Removed! up and he got a second hand one for it. Apparently the mileage is logged on the ECU of the individual car. He reckons his has actually done about 90,000 and to be honest the condition bears this out. But he has no documented proof that this is actually the case. The MOT which has three months to run says 233k. So consequently i`m in a bit of a quandry as to what to do.

I realise its a 12 year old car but it`s worth a damn site more than the Merc if the claimed mileage is genuine. So...... Opinions please.

[COROLLA-KID]

if the milage is what he say's and you keep it mint then you should be able to sell it for a bit of a proffit to spend on the lica. (could you not just get another lower milage ecu and sell it?????)

[Demonic Angel]

You seem to very much like this BMW, because you talked more about it than the Merc.

So I say - go for the BMW!

[Fizz]

Whats the values of the 2 cars? for comparrison..

Also .. Will you be wanting to run the bimmer into the ground or would you be looking to sell it on after a bit.. as you will find it VERY difficult to sell it with that on the clock regardless if its genuine or not..

[daktari]

if the milage is what he say's and you keep it mint then you should be able to sell it for a bit of a proffit to spend on the lica. (could you not just get another lower milage ecu and sell it?????)

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Well yes i could. I could do this whether it was genuine or not...

You seem to very much like this BMW, because you talked more about it than the Merc.

So I say - go for the BMW! 

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I`ve nearly always had a german car in the stable, Most of them have been BMW`s.

Whats the values of the 2 cars? for comparrison..

Also .. Will you be wanting to run the bimmer into the ground or would you be looking to sell it on after a bit.. as you will find it VERY difficult to sell it with that on the clock regardless if its genuine or not..

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On a good day you could get up to a grand for the Merc. And the BMW upto 2K if it were low mileage. But as we all know they`re only worth what someone wants to pay. I`d probably sell it on after 6 months if i got it. Too nice to run into the ground.

[Fizz]

Going by what you wrote about value.. it seems to be a fair trade then..

Just remember the resale value with that milage.. and if your cool with that.. i would take the bimmer... (cant belive i just said that).. :!Removed!: :D

[daktari]

i would take the bimmer... (cant belive i just said that)..  :!Removed!:  :D

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You have yet to be tempted by the german side young fizzikin.

Yeah. It does seem quite an attractive deal. Never worried about mileage on a BM yet. I could try and get another ECU i suppose. mmmm.

[cfc1]

Can the Beemer be checked for any history at a BMW dealer.. if its had any BMW servicing done, they will be able to tell you when, and what mileage was on it at the time.. might be worth a look?

[alanbradley]

The BM will be nicely run in at 90k... but its a 518.

If it was a 6 cylinder I would say to go with the Bm, but as it isn't I say to keep the merc...

A

[daktari]

The BM will be nicely run in at 90k... but its a 518.

If it was a 6 cylinder I would say to go with the Bm, but as it isn't I say to keep the merc...

A

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Yeah. Know what you mean. I love 6 pot BM`s, But

a/ I`ve got a fast car.

b/ It`s got to be better than the Citroen.

c/ It`s still got the comfort of a big BM

[alanbradley]

If that's the case then the BM it is...

[daktari]

Just been on the blower to chappy with BMW and he seems to think the previous owner was a mechanic with Adams Morey in Southampton. Which is a real bonus due to me havin contacts there. So i`ll give him a bell tomorrow and find out more. :D

But i`m sorely tempted.

[Blue84]

I say the BMW, it's in a good condition and if the 90k is the truth then that's not bad at all plus it's in a good condition so must've been well looked after.

[popwud]

Go for the bnw if its genuine.

[Puls]

I love those old Mercs :( Don't let it go!!! ;)

[daktari]

I love those old Mercs :(  Don't let it go!!! ;)

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Sadly. Tis gone. At least it`ll be looked after. Matey seems to spend most of his time polishing and tinkering.

Got the BM. Phoned up the 2nd owner and he confirmed that the mileage should be in the region of 90 - 100k It had just under 90k on it when he sold it. So unless this chap done 140k in a year and a bit it should be fine.

Picking it up Monday. Prob sell it by Friday.

Thanks all for your comments/suggestions. Appreciated.

[Demonic Angel]

Well done!

[cal]

Keep the Merc. Modern Merc is not what it used to be but the one you got is a 'proper' Merc so well worth keeping it. I am not into fashion so I can only talk about the engineering side. The Merc you got is the last generation of built to last kind hence the popularity.

[cal]

Sorry, taking so much time to type. It was too late...

[daktari]

Sorry, taking so much time to type.  It was too late...

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just a bit I know what you mean about build quality. Things built like brick outhouse.

Always wanted a merc as well. But TBH that one wasn`t really me. Keeping my eyes open for a nice 560 SEC or similar. Now THAT is a lot of car for the money. :D