Someone offered me $4500 for my car tonight. I was fueling up when I was approached by guy who was impressed that it was a manual. He must think they are really rare. My car is not worth that much. I took his number and promised him I would think about it.

I'm tempted. However, I would be put in the predicament of finding a replacement vehicle.

Do I think like a businesswoman and take the offer and never look back OR do should I go sentimental on the whole thing and just move on? How would you approach it?

One thing to consider.... I don't really need the money. I saved my ass off for two years cleaning teeth to go to school without incurring debt. I'm just afraid I'll never be in such a lucrative position again. Help me out with the logic....economic or emotional...either one....your pick

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Jennifer
90 350sdl

Jen,

That's a completely personal decision. The determining factor is how attached you are to the 123. There are always other vehicles available, but, sometimes we all get attached to a specific vehicle because of all the sweat and money that we have put into it. If you were to find another vehicle, how much would you have to pay for it and how much will you need to put into it to get it to the condition of this one? If the end result is $4500. or more, then, what have you accomplished?

If someone offered me $10,000 for the SDL right now, I would not take it because I know that I would need to find another one for about $7,000 or so, and then I would have to put another $3,000 in it to fix all the things that the PO has neglected.

BTW, your sig shows the SDL as sold? You appeared to be quite pleased with it, initially.

Register with ebay.
Go to auctions in ebay motors.
190D Mercedes.
Left side of page, check mark "Completed listings".
Under that find, "Items priced" enter 700 and 30000.

You will have a more reasonable decision base.

Personal opinion, do what makes you happy...

__________________
ASE Master Mechanic
asemastermechanic@juno.com

Prototype R&D/testing:
Thermal & Aerodynamic System Engineering (TASE) Senior vehicle instrumentation technician.
Noise Vibration and Harshness (NVH).
Dynamometer.
Heat exchanger durability.
HV-A/C Climate Control.
Vehicle build.
Fleet Durability
Technical Quality Auditor.
Automotive Technical Writer

1985 300SD
1983 300D
1984 190D
2003 Volvo V70
2002 Honda Civic

https://www.boldegoist.com/

Jen,
If it were me, I wouldn't hesitate to sell a 1981 240d for 4,500. You could buy a beautiful 300d-t series for that much, and then enjoy the extra power and amenities that it offers, while experiencing a new car to tinker with.
The only thing about the 240 is it's spartan-like construction. It's simplicity makes it very reliable and easy to work on. I'd say leap ahead to a nice 300D-T or a 126 body Mercedes and enjoy some vintage Mercedes refinement.
Thanks again for getting me those parts. I've since sold the 1981 240d I paid 100 for on ebay for 1500 to a good friend after a lot of work.
Adam

Jen,

My gut feeling is that Pete is worth more than $4500 to you. If you only look at it from a monetary standpoint, $4500 looks like a great deal, but then you need to find a replacement. Determining what needs fixing in a replacement vehicle and getting it to be as reliable as Pete might not be too big a problem, but we can't say for sure and it could be a BIG deal.

On the other hand, if you have plenty of time on your hands and enjoy workng on cars, this is an opportunity to pursue that hobby further.

Brian says it is a personal decision and he is right on the mark.

From your previous posts (school, etc.) I would stick with Pete for the time being.

my $.02,
Wes

manual 240's are not that rare. A local guy here had one for sale, asking $1500 or $2000 I think and it was very well maintained and very clean. I think he also had a manual 300 as well. It had a noisy clutch bearing as I recall.

__________________
1987 300TDT
1981 VW MKI Caddy 1.6 diesel, waiting on engine swap
1983 D-50 Power Ram 4x4 "Mitsubishi" 2.3 turbo diesel
assorted gas powered crap and motorcycles

RIP: 1984 300TDT, 1982 300TDT, 1984 190D 2.2, 1992 300D 2.5, 1987 300TDT, 1982 Maxima LD28, 1983 Maxima LD28, Isuzu C223 P'ups X3, 1983 Holiday Rambler 6.2 Banks turbo diesel, 1984 Winnebago LeSharo 2.1 TD, 1985 Allegro 6.5

$4500 is a tempting offer. To me it would depend a lot on how much rust your car has (I recall it has some) what else it needs ( I recall you needed a front end rebuild). With $4500 in hand I would spend $1500 on a car-hunting expedition to California and have $3000 to put in a rust-free replacement.

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80 300SD (129k mi) 82 240D stick (193k mi)77 240D auto - stick to be (153k mi) 85 380SL (145k mi) 89 BMW 535i 82 Diesel Rabbit Pickup (374k mi) 91 Jetta IDI Diesel (155k mi) 81 VW Rabbit Convertible Diesel 70 Triumph Spitfire Mk III (63kmi)66 Triumph TR4a IRS (90k mi)67 Ford F-100 (??)

How much you got in it?

Lets say 3k. So, is it worth 1500 to you to sell it?

Now if you paid 1500 for it, then 4500 sounds like a done deal.

Just my two cents...

Cheers,

Bill

It's a personal decision but if you have to think about it to much you don't want to sell it. It is only money you can always make more!

Now if someone was to offer me $10k for my SDL... Why don't random people walk up to me and offer to by my things!

__________________
1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

$4500 is not a lot of money when it comes to buying a replacement car. If your car is running well and you're happy with it, don't sell it.

A guy in my neighborhood, I don't know him, drives a 300D, 1985 - I think. He stopped me the other day when I was dropping off my kids at school and asked me if I wanted to sell my car. I said no. Even if the money was good, what would I replace it with? I hope to chat with him again. He may be part of this forum.

Dave

__________________
1986 300SDL

Buy low. Sell high. Re-Pete.



Ken300D

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1982 300D at 351K miles
1984 300SD at 217K miles
1987 300D at 370K miles

I've got a decent '85 300D (no rust) in California if you are serious about trading across...

Maybe he just wanted you to give him a call

I wouldn't hesitate at all to sell for $4500. These cars are readily available... you could buy several for that price.

__________________
1985 MBZ 300DT
1969 MBZ 220d
1984 MBZ 300TDT
1981 VW Vanagon

Jen,
Go with your heart, do you really want to part with your car?

If someone offered me $4500 for my 300CD, I would take it with no second thoughts, then again if someone was offering me that much would be on crack or very dumb...