Ok guys and gals,
I got to slowly look her over today I mean with a flash light.

2004 XF 158,000 miles final price $2100
6 owners according car fax
See pic with details on what was replaced at 80,000



The ride: I went through all the gears and they went fine. I also did the hard brake at 60 mph and the car stayed straight as line. I then went over rail road tracks with windows down about 30 mpg no noise and then went over them again at about 15 mph and no squeaking and no rattling that I could hear. I got on her pretty good today and she rode solid and smooth. With ac on and off. Checked all the hoses I could see no cracks , no bad ends, serpentine belt looks new no cracks, I looked underneath the car saw no damage or fluids, checked oil before start up. And was clean and where it belonged.

The inspection: so I will list all that I found with pics
1. Windshield has a quarter size spot appears will need replaced it will drive me crazy.
2. The window trim as pics show it's coming off, literally going down the road I was holding it down.
3. The fog light on driver is able to be pushed in but both work fine.
4. The glove box is kept closed by a screw in the bottom
5. The fan speeds seems to have a short they work its basically slow speed, or high speed. No in between.
6.i did not find no rust anywhere. I looked under the door trim and all between the doors and around the trunk and hood.
7. The hood all works fine and the hood release all works good and solid.
8.The back inside plastic molding coming off appears it could be fixed.
9. The rear view mirror wiggles around alot just not stable sure can be fixed.
10. The side mirrors are solid and tight. Rear defrost works.
11. The windows all go up and down smooth. And also all close tight to the rubber trim.
12. Turn signals and all speakers seem to work good. As I said before heat and ac work great.
13. All the tires seem to be in good shape.

so I will include the pics I took today. And any thoughts ? My wife and I still really like the car. And dont mind doing some basic repairs. But I just dont want this to become a money pit like my jeep was. We loved our jeep but just got to the point constantly needed something. Thank you again for all the help.

 

What year, model and color? What is the mileage and price. It seems to need TLC so don't overpay. Does it have two keys, they are expensive, if you can get them. Parts can be hard to get and expensive. I'm not suggesting to not buy it, just balance out expense and time against one that needs less work.

 

2004 XF grey 158,000 miles
$2100
Car fax showed 6 owners , and primarily a lease car.
The following was replaced at around 80,000 miles see
the pic.

 

They only have 1 key

 

at $2100 , and with around $600 in repairs, if you make the cosmetic repairs yourself, you have a good deal the engine is good well over 500,000 miles change the oil Use only moble 0ne 0-40
have the car clayed and polished,,,and enjoy.

 

Take off the windshield top trim, if lost it will cost $200 to $300 for a used one unless you get lucky. The clips on the trim are held on with double sided tape, this has been covered recently. Do not use any old tape because you will regret it.

 

Yes and thank you I read on here about going to a body shop and buy double.sided tape from them. The molding is actually in great shape just some fading which I plan on.painting as i have read on here. Thank you any advice on what type of paint and procedure to do it. Thanks again from Dublin Ga

 

My plan as of now is change the brakes and rotors all.around. change the oil and filter. And flush the radiator, and change all the air filters and cabin filter, and get some double sided tape from a body shop. And then a head light restoration and as you said a nice detail. Thanks again. From Dublin Ga.

 

[QUOTE=KnightRyder_77;938137] flush the radiator, ---------------------------- use only mercedes antifreeze
and get some double sided tape from a body shop. ----- get the automobile 3m two sided tape ,,it is red paclage from auto parts like discount or napa

 

[QUOTE=amx1397;938140]Ok so I can buy this tape from Napa ? And the mercadez antifreeze get that online I guess ?

 

From the auto parts store you can use ZEREX GO5 it is approved by Mercedes for our cars; dilute with distilled water. By the looks of the car I recommend flushing the radiator before installing the new anti freeze.

 

you can use G05 if you want but that is a no no for me

use this by sifi:
This is the original coolant used in our cars:

OEM Mercedes-Benz Coolant (blue)
OE Part Number: Q1030004 (replaces older Q1030002)
M/B states that the OEM fluid should never be mixed with any other fluid, which would make me leary of using Zerex G05, unless you do a very thorough flush.

Mercedes Benz ANTICORROSIO - Q1030004

replace engine coolant-q1030004.jpg

 

Ok that sounds like my plan. Do you have any direct links for rotors and brakes. Thanks again for the encouraging words I really like this car and always wanted one when they came out but could not afford it. And now this is here and I am so excited about it and the fact I think is I am just not educated on it.

 

Two good sources are needwings and FCP Euro. Remember this is basicly an SLK320.

 

for brakes and rotors just get good one (not from china ) have them checked first, maybe you don't need brakes. Oh might be a good idea to flush the brake fluid use DOT 3 or better when you replace it

 

Just to make sure I am on same page you mean to replace all brake fluid with DOT 3. I have the device to pull out all brake fluid. Also if the rotors and brakes are ok which really the car stopped on a dime when I did the test at 60 mph. I can just pull out the old from the 2 resivors. Thank you again for all the help.

 

yes you don't know if it has ever been done and brake fluid gets water in it ( brake fluid acts like damprid pulls water out of the air.)

 

So I want to understand this correctly because my time of getting the car is coming up and going to getting a new windshield put in..so this 3M tape do I need to prep or do anything or is just take the tape and install on the window trim. Thanks again for your help.

 

The trim has five metal clips on the top piece and I think three on each side piece. You use the tape only on the clips where they attach to the plastic trim. The way in which you state your question you may think the tape is applied around the plastic. Not true. Only place the tape on the metal clips and no need to remove any clip from the OEM tape unless it has become loose from the trim. It is obvious once the trim piece is removed. No prep required other than normal cleaning of the clip that will the get new tape (if tape is required).

 

Ok sounds simple enough. And yes I was asking if tape goes on to clips so now I know. Thank you for the advice and help. I will get to a body shop or NAPA and get some tape. My next thing will be to paint the trim. Any recommendations on what service to use for new windshield ?