Yesterday I took a look at an 87 300D with 248k miles. According to the owner, it had been sitting for approx 6 weeks before I saw it.

The body is straight with generally good paint, though there is some sort of heavy scratching/oxidation which has accumulated a lot of wax near the rear of the roof. There is no visible underbody rust but there is heavy rust on (but limited to) the 2 front (what I think are) jack ports, and a half-dollar bubbling spot at the lower inside corner of the pass taillight. Carfax reports no accidents.

The interior is in nice shape -- worn, but nothing broken. One of the rear windows is stuck up and the sunroof is kaput. A/C works o.k. but the owner says he thinks it needs a squirt of R134.

I noticed an approx 10" circular stain under the transmission, with drips hanging off the bottom of the case. Engine is oily but nothing too egregious that I could see -- a few small spots on the ground beneath.

The engine started right up with no apparent smoke, no missing. Shifting through each trans lever selection with my foot on the brake resulted in a fairly quick 'bump' as the driveline shifted into each selection.

Driving it around, the car did not have the 'in drive' creep that I am used to feeling in automatics -- it took a stab at the throttle to get things moving. Once moving, the car drove nicely with no obvious noises or odd behavior. It wallowed a bit during fast side to side steering transitions, though it seemed well damped. The car stopped well. Standing on the throttle resulted in gentle acceleration for a couple seconds until the turbo/injection pump kicked things up and then the car scooted pretty well, leaving a puff of black smoke in the rearview.

The car would need tires as soon as I bought it. The owner has no service records.

Given the mileage, lack of records, need of tires, unknown trans leak (I have read this could be a consequence of letting the car sit?), and start of rust, is this car worth the $2000 the owner wants?

I done my time slaving over a gasser project car and I would love to have something I can 'just drive' for while.

Thanks a bunch!
Matt

The price seems too high to me for a rusted car with a quarter million miles and leaky tranny and A/C that also probably needs attention. I think you could find a better example for about the same money or at least get this one for $1,000 and plan to spend at least that much fixing it up. Personally I would never buy a car with any siginficant rust on it...everything else is easily repaired but rust can spell death.

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Marty D.

2013 C300 4Matic
1984 BMW 733i
2013 Lincoln MKz

Take off those rose colored glasses.

There is nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes-Benz

and this one ain't near cheap enough!

Well the trans leak sounds like mine I bet it is the front seal. So the trans needs to come out.

I would figure $5k-$6k over the next 1-2 years to get it up to spec. (I am not counting paint, body work, possible trans)

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Thanks for the replies. I had offered the guy $1500 pending a good inspection but he wasn't interested.

Since I'm new to Mercedes and diesels in general I thought my calibration might be off, but it sounds like I might just not be skeptical enough.

Matt

The only way that you could accept this vehicle for free is to carefully document exactly what is required to make it a properly running and reliable vehicle. You may need the assistance of a mechanic to do this. My estimation is that such a vehicle will use $3K in parts in the first year. If any transmission or engine work is necessary, you could easily double this figure. It will also use a significant amount of your own time.

If you plan to have any work done by an independent mechanic on such a vehicle, you must immediately run away from this vehicle as fast as your two feet will carry you.

The salvage yard that I got some wheels from the other day had a 87 SDL in the same used up shape. He wanted $1000

Thats a real nice car when its in good shape, a real highway burner. I would prefer to take it vice any other car on a Cross Country drive from New Jersey to California or from Atlanta to Madrid.

Here are a bunch of pics (and a vid) I took for the curious/vicariously inclined:

http://www.openverse.com/~toast/300d/rs/

Carrameow: Mercedes make good transatlantic cruisers, eh?

LOL you Floridian's don't know what real rust is.. and you sure don't have it. I think it's worth $2K provided the trans does not leak profusely.. park it and let it idle for a half hour, see if there is anything on the ground. And also check the cooling system for leak down to check the head.

Brian Carlton, Hatterasguy, what are the repairs you foresee in the car's near future that will run up a multi-thousand dollar tab? Or is that just a number coalesced from experience?

I'm not looking to create a perfect vehicle (sunroof can stay stuck, A/C can go dormant as long as the windows go down), just something that would be reliable. If I am immediately going to have to yank the trans or do internal work on the engine, I have no qualms with walking away.

To make it start everyday figure a couple hundred in fluid and filter changes. Figure $1k to get it reliable (tires, fluids, filters, etc.) Also note, he probably isn't telling you EVERYTHING wrong with it. You should take it to an indie MB mechanic and have them look it over. They'll pick it apart since they'll want to do the work. I think it would be well worth the $60-$80 to have that done.

Thanks
David

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2000 Honda Accord V6 137k miles

1972 300SEL 4.5 98k miles

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If you are looking for a reliable vehicle where you don't need to do anything to the engine or transmission for a very long time, please find yourself a 1981-1985 300D with the 617 engine. It's not as fast as the one you are looking at, but, if reliability is the main criteria, then this vehicle cannot be surpassed. If you are willing to spend a few extra dollars, you can find the larger 300SD in the same model years. This is one of the vehicles I currently have and it is much more comfortable on the highway than the 300D.

A vehicle in decent condition with mileage in the 150K range will cost about $3K. Sometimes you can find one for less than $3K. The SD is about $1000. more for a vehicle with equivalent mileage.

The only issue at that mileage is the transmission. They typically go up to about 200K and then it becomes time for a change.

If the vehicle that you are looking at has never had its transmission rebuilt, consider it on borrowed time.

The extra $1K that you spend for a 300D in better condition, with fewer miles will return that amout of money to you by a factor of four over the next five years.

Well I bought one those tired shot MB's! Granted the body and interior are pretty nice and their isn't any major rust to speak of.

I would figure $2k for the suspension
At least another $1k-$1,500 for under the hood stuff. Hoses, radiator, fans, maybe master cylinder, ect, ect.
If the AC is broke assume $1k and be happy with anything less.


Just a lot of stuff these cars have a way of sucking down money, $100 parts here and their add up fast.

I would look in the $5k-$7k range for a real nice one and enjoy. The suspension should be tight, you should be able to let go of the wheel at 80. These things drive like they are on rails.
The brakes should be extremly good, they bite very hard and the abs should come on.
The climate control is great when it is working so is the AC.
The wood should be clear and have a nice finish.
The seats and carpet should be in real nice shape.
Just find a nice clean tight example.

Maintaince history is a must.
PPI is also a must.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200