The seller of today’s Nice Price or No Dice Mercedes claims it’s always been garage-kept. That would explain the discordance between its tidy presentation and the 317K it shows on the clock. Let’s see if there’s still life left in it and what that might reasonably be worth.
It seems that when considering yesterday’s 2007 Subaru Forester XT Limited, the model’s reputation preceded it—or, at least, the rep of the stereotypical faster Forester owner. At $13,500, not even a clean presentation and the presence of three pedals and a stick shift could overcome that bad rap, earning the Forester a massive 87 percent No Dice loss in our vote.
Today, we’re going to stick with the wagon motif, but to keep things fresh, we’ll go up a class and add a third row of seats. At the same time, we’ll bring the price way down and bump the miles way, way up.
This 2009 Mercedes-Benz E350 wagon looks to be in great shape, at least based on the pictures in the ad. According to the seller, that’s owed to a life spent safely ensconced in a garage when not out plying the highways and byways or dropping off the kidney beans at soccer practice.
Over the course of those out-of-the-garage shenanigans, it has racked up an amazing 317,518 miles. To put that number into perspective, that’s more than 12 trips around the globe. The seller doesn’t say how much of the car has been replaced in service of making those miles, but it’s safe to say it’s been through a few sets of tires and brake pads and probably a water pump or two.
Making those miles happen is a drivetrain comprised of a 3498cc M272 V6 offering 268 horsepower, a five-speed automatic transmission, and 4Matic AWD. Common failure points on these cars include the engine’s balance shaft gears and the bladders for the self-leveling air suspension. Both issues are easy to detect if present.
Aesthetically, this car still struts its stuff. Neither the sliver paint nor that handsome multi-spoke alloys show any signs of significant wear. Nor is there any missing trim or badging. A pair of rail-mounted roof racks add utility and compensate for the space lost when using the fold-out third row of seats in the load area. That rear-facing bench even has its own cupholders.
Up in the front, there is a small bit of wear evident on the driver’s seat, which also has had the indignity of its backside map pocket coming loose on one side. All other upholstery appears intact and without issue, as does the warm wood trim and surrounding plastics.
Being a Mercedes from this century, the car is loaded with safety and convenience features and even has a fairly large nav screen in the center stack. According to the seller, it “Runs and drives great,” matching its function to its form. It also has a clean title and a recent passing grade from the smog tester. The asking price is $5,900.
Your job is to decide if that’s a fair deal for this Benz, which, despite its deceiving good looks, might not be worth even considering in light of its crazy-high odometer reading. What do you say? Is that a gamble a wagon wanter should be willing to take? Or is it time to let this Mercedes take a rest?
You decide!
Orange County, California, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
Help me out with NPOND. Hit me up on email and send me a fixed-price tip. Remember to include your Kinja handle.