Used parts price rant.
Used parts price rant.
Perhaps it is the area of the country I live in (San Antonio, TX), but it seems like every single person I run into that is trying to sell or part a W123 or W115 thinks the car is worth a lot of money.
In the past month I have crossed paths with:
-A man who wanted $100 for a 617 intake manifold.
-Another guy who wanted $150+core for a W123 fender.
-And yet another guy who is asking $1500 for a rusted, dented, sun-baked, shredded dash, non-turbo wagon that doesn't run.
There is another guy out in the country whose house I drive by about once every 4 months. He has a lineup of 8 Mercedes out front consisting of 123s, 115s and 116s. None of them run, two are wrecked, and they've all been sitting for at least 4 yrs. He wont take less than $2k for any of the cars, and 3 of them are 240s!
Each time I come across one of these guys I leave them my name and number, telling them to call me back if they reconsider, with the promise that I will pay x% more than the junk yard value for said car or parts. If I don't hear back in about a month (haven't yet) I usually give them a call back. The results are almost always the same. "Oh, that car, I junked it because no one wanted to buy it."
I bought my wagon running and driving with all new brakes, including master cylinder, new battery, extra front seats, and extra, new, parts for $1k.
I am off my rocker, or are they? This is becoming very frustrating. Maybe this is just the classic, old car "Not for sale" scenario and I should get used to it.
I never understand how cars end up migrating to these people in the first place, especially rare foreign cars. It seems like everyone I know has run into some random guy with multiple rare cars out in a field.
I agree with you. I had a farmer ask me to pay him 2000 bucks for a rusty diesel peugeot with a rod knock and a bush growing up through the floor.
Its like If I were to go to Russia and find some old guy with 15 or 20 silverados and F-150s out in a field.
Its common. Some do it because they want to scare you away without straight saying "its not for sale", some are just ignorant of market value when they see that Mercedes star stamped on it.