used car help

[Prosperity]

I'm trying to help my little brother get his first car. He wanted to know if it would be wise to spend $800 on a used 1977 mercedes 300d (diesel engine). The thing has 60,000 miles on it, but it looks rust and generally crappy inside and outside.

Any opinions on it?

Also any opinions on good used cars $2000 and down?

[Koolblue13]

Parts (and it will need them often) are extremely expensive.

I would look for an S-10 Blazer or Saturn. Something American made, so parts are cheaper.

Older Hondas and Toyotas are good as well.

American and Japanese cars are less expensive and much easier to fix.

[twa]

at that age and being a European import finding parts for repairs and finding a mechanic might be a issue.....60k on a 77 is low miles though

seems a decent price if it runs well and has tags/inspection and good tires

somebody more familiar with mercedes might be of more help there.

Craigslist or auto auctions turn up some cheap deals if you take your time.

[Prosperity]

thanks, I'll let him know what you guys said... I'll look through craigslist to see if I can find something that will work for a few years at least.

[GoSkins561]

The parts issue is a huge one, but don't older Mercedes run for millions of miles.

[twa]

Millions might be a slight exaggeration,the Krauts do build a good car though:)

Many mechanics do not do much work on them though,and those that do are generally not cheap

In Florida you can probably find a immigrant familiar with them in some small garage..the Jamaican next door to me is a whiz with them.

If I could understand a damn word he said it might help though:silly:

[Mad Mike]

A properly cared for Merc will run forever. They are like tanks. But a beater will cost you if you cant do the work yourself. And it sounds like it needs a lot of work. Parts really aren't that bad for imports if you order on line though. They may cost a little more but not like they would from a dealer or parts store.

This subject reminds me of an episode of Top Gear I just saw....

They bought a old beat up Toyota pickup that was in good mechanical shape and tried to kill it. Each time they did, they had a mechanic on hand with a basic set of tools and no replacement parts to try to start it up again and drive it off. They drove it over the roughest terrain they could find, they left it on a beach ramp and let the high tide come in and flood it (it tipped over on its side in the process). They set the cab on fire. They set it on the roof of a building and blew the building up. That truck was a rolling broken hulk by the time they were done but the damn thing still ran and you could still drive it (slowly and carefully). Freakin' amazing.

[Burgundy Burner]

Parts (and it will need them often) are extremely expensive.

I would look for an S-10 Blazer or Saturn. Something American made, so parts are cheaper.

Older Hondas and Toyotas are good as well.

American and Japanese cars are less expensive and much easier to fix.

Ditto to what KB said. An older Mercedes is nice to have, but the upkeep and parts are super expensive. Blazers and Saturns are good options along with Camrys and Accords.

Good luck.