Why are old Mercs so cheap?

[funkyrobot]

I've been thinking about getting a big ol' barge for winter and for lugging some bits around. I seem to have a hankering for something like a Mercedes or a Volvo, but only have around a thousand pounds to spend.

I did a search on autotrader for Mercedes vehicles up to £2000 at national level and it has returned over 1000 vehicles!

I know that some old Mercedes cars are blighted with rust, but is this the reason they are going quite cheap now? There are loads of C Classes, older 190's etc, and even E Classes around and under £1000. Am I missing something with these cars?

Thanks.

[funkyrobot]

Sorry, middle aged Mercs. Are they money pits?

[funkyrobot]

jsg612 said:

Cause they're all rotten.

That just means more leg room to me

[funkyrobot]

ad551 said:

funkyrobot said:

That just means more leg room to me

Until the seat falls out.

More head room.

[funkyrobot]

airportparking said:

Parts are still very expensive even if you go to breakers like Mercman

Really? Oh dear.

[funkyrobot]

LuS1fer said:

Look at the XJ3.2 thread - why would you want a Merc?

Thanks. Do you have a link or is it still visble on one of the PH pages?

Jags, Beemers and anything else large (Honda Legends?) are also on my list. I just happened to notice so many Mercs.

[funkyrobot]

LuS1fer said:

http://pistonheads.co.uk/xforums/topic.asp?h=0&amp...

Looks like the X300 six cylinder is the one to have.

Thanks.

[funkyrobot]

Thanks all.

I'll do some more digging around. I won't be buying for a few weeks as i'm off on holiday. But when I come back i'll be on the hunt for a barge.