The odometer can lie. Don't be fooled and make an expensive mistake!
One should never just rely on the odometer or the sellers word to determine actual mileage. This is particularly true on those cars that only had odometers that went to 99,999 miles and then rolled over. Even with the 6 digit odometers is easy to change a speedometer and sometimes even the paper work can be messed with. Buyer beware!
Problem & Solution
Common among these chassis:
R107
W114
W115
W116
W123
W124
W126
W201
Other than paper work, here are a few things that Kent looks at when checking out 20 plus year old Mercedes:
- Wear in the brake pedal. If it looks too good it has probably been changed
- Broken down or sagging driver seat bottom
- Loose hinges on the driver's door
- Play in the steering box
- Wear on the steering wheel (rubberized steering wheels only)
Those last two on the list are Kent's favorites. Owners can replace a lot of things but the steering wheel and even the steering box hardly ever get replaced. To see examples of how he uses the steering wheel to determine mileage check out his on demand video.