PennSilverTaco's "Perfect 5-Lug Regular Cab" Build, Aspergers, and General BS MegaThread!

I just made that one up...

 

As many people know, I detail cars at a large dealership. Some of the trade-ins do not meet the criteria to be sold at the dealer, and end up going to the wholesale auction as “bid cars”.

This 1999 Mercedes E320 4MATIC was one of those vehicles. Most bid cars are turds, but occasionally you get a “hidden gem” of sorts!



I was tasked with making this Benz look somewhat decent. The above photo was taken right before I hopped in and took it down to the shop.

This car had almost 220K on it, but it started right up and ran good (albeit a bit loud). There were no warning lights. The car also drove about as good you’d expect a 20-year old German luxury sedan with over 200K miles to drive (better than I expected)...




The A/C blew ICE COLD and the factory Bose sound system was pretty good!

 

The car had a bit of rust, the famous hood ornament was missing, and the interior was quite worn out. However, like I said, the old Benz ran and drove pretty damn good. I took this photo in the wash bay...

 

All-wheel drive, ICE COLD A/C, and a decent sound system, in a car that runs good and is built like a tank...

What more could you ask for?!?!

Did I mention all-wheel drive?!?!

 

The interior was a bit worn out (this was after I cleaned it up a bit)...

 

Exterior after a quick wash...

 

It even had a built-in phone!

 

Sounds like you need to take her home with you .

 

Under the hood (Before I cleaned it up, obviously)...

 

Every once in a while a German car actually makes it long. My 06 a6 2.7t had about 187k on it when I sold it. Made it to 200k before the kid who bought it totalled it

 

Every once in a while...?

 

I was tempted...

Would make an excellent “winter beater” but I guarantee you the dealer I work for wouldn’t take my offer.

 

A lot of these cars end up dying a short death because the people who buy them second hand can’t afford the maintenance . That seems to be what happens to a lot of German cars

 

Yeah, a lot of them end up on “Buy Here Pay Here” lots...

 

That looks like a fun little project car. I remember a long time ago I saw a very old V12 beamer sitting on a German lot and wondered why noone would ever just pick it up and restore it. Pretty sure someone swapped the original motor but man did it look like a fun project. Thing had been sitting out in the weather though for years.. wish I could remember what it was.

 

This Benz had just been inspected in January and was good through January 2020, so all it needed was insurance and registration to be legal!

 

Trade-in value is just $383, and private party value is only $1,403! I'd pay a grand for it at most.

 

This is another “bid car” I did yesterday...

It’s a 2010 VW Jetta SE 2.5 wagon with almost 150K miles. The car ran and drove just fine, but it was very beat up, the A/C didn’t blow cold, and the rear liftgate didn’t open...

 

@ALI3N_123
@El Duderino

Check it out, guys! Also, how come I can't tag James?!?!