1982 240D for sale. :(
 

I'm selling my 240D as a parts car, it failed inspection today. What I thought was minimal rust is in fact almost complete frame rot, hidden by the rubbery black weather-coating.

The car has 200700 miles on the clock, original tranny, never been rebuilt. Odometer broke while I owned it. It works the majority of the time, occasionally gets hung up when rolling over a new mile (the 1/10th mile indicator gets hung up while it's rolling over from 9 to 0), in which case I reset the trip odometer, and it starts working again.

I just paid 400 dollars to replace all of the brake calipers, hoses, and pads, no more than a week ago.

The alternator does not charge properly, resulting in a slow battery drain.

The engine is in good shape. There is blow-by, but it isn't terrible. It makes the oil cap dance like a tea kettle. I cannot speak for the car's first 170K, but I have personally changed the oil every 3-4 thousand miles since I have owned it. The car returns approx 23 miles per gallon.

The transmission flares in between gears. I've gotten into the habit of feathering the accelerator while it shifts. I'm not sure what the problem is, but the tranny fluid and filter haven't been changed in more than 25K, so I'm sure that bit of maintanence would help reduce the lag between shifts.

There is a water leak in the floor of the left rear passenger seat. I've never seen any puddling, but I've had the misfortune of leaving papers/school books on the floor for a few days, and they have been saturated with icky yellow water.

Anyway, I'm wondering how much I can get for this thing. I'm trying to sell it for parts. I won't lie to any potential buyers, like the PO lied to me/misinformed me due to ignorance. :(

Do you think I can fetch 2 thousand for it, selling it for parts?

EDIT: please realize that the subject of this thread has been altered slightly, and we are no longer trying to assess the value of the vehicle in question.

also:
 

power windows, manual sunroof, yellow paint job. new tires with less than 10 thousand miles. The outside of the front right tire has uneven wear. Not sure why, it could be alignment, or it could be something more costly and technical, of which I have no clue.

the locking mechanism for the doors doesn't work. It was causing a vacuum leak that required me to open my door in order for the engine to shut off. I pulled the lines coming from the vac pump and put duct tape on them; now it shuts off just fine.

Sad news indeed. But this leads to the next question: will you get another Mercedes or is this it? You had enough trouble of the sort that would set others off a brand for life so just wondering.

$2000 for a running parts car is overly optimistic (as in not a chance in h*ll, I found a near perfect 300d for 1500...) Maybe $1000 but for mortal frame rust I'm not sure you'll get (unless you just happen not to mention it)

Ouch.

no way you'd get $2K

I've been sitting on my 300D for a little while now, it runs, shifts and drives very very well, frame is solid, entire vacuum system has no leaks... she's a sweet car, but like I said, I've been sitting on it for over a month and at this point I'm only asking $1900... :confused:

That is sad news.... you were just about to get the pesky problems eliminated... We were just waiting to see what you tackled next....
So they actually listed " too much rust" as the reason for rejecting it ?

damn it!

What if I part it out. Sell bits and piece on ebay and then have the skeleton towed to El Dumpo.

@ Greg/leathermang: Yes, it failed because of the rust. I got home and put it up on wheel ramps. I laid under and took a gander. Sure as S*&T, i managed to tear a hole in the rubber overcoat and fit my hole hand under the floor of the car.

I'm in Sharon Ct....Just across the line from you. Might be interested, but not for 2K. Let me know what you'll take for it.

jim

I suspect you will get more total $$$ if you are willing to go through the work of selling the individual parts on eBay. Check out eBay to get an idea of the value of the individual used parts. Good Luck.

Mac2, I am afraid that I will not be purchasing another old Benz. I want another one, badly. I'd love to have a 617 turbo, or even a 240D with a stick. Frankly, though....although these cars have a rock solid drivetrain, they are finicky, expensive to maintain, and just impractical for anything more than a toy car, unless the owner is a mechanic by trade.

I may get another one, once I'm on my feet, and have something more than moths in my wallet.

They can be, but compare one to a early 83s Cadillac and now what do you think? The key is to get one for someone that would likely hang out on this forum and maintains it. Good luck in your search for another vehicle.

The trick to getting the most for the engine is to have a situation where the buyer can hear it run or do a compression check on it.. whatever he wants... and you have your stuff lined up to jerk it out of the car at that time... someone can drive further (increases your prospective purchasers ) to take a chance on an engine if they only have to make one trip...
Or once they have heard it live, if they want to pay you to bring it to them... make some money on that service if you can....and have a pickup or small trailer to do it....

I've been hanging out on this forum for more than six months.


I dunno. I mean, I enjoy working on it, I really do. Right now I'm frustrated, because I'm thinking of all the $$$ and time that I spent working on the darn thing.

I've never had the compression tested. I'm afraid that the results may be horrid!

It idles very nicely, acceleration is good, for a 240...but, like I said, it does have blow-by. Maybe it is a s***** car that no one would want and I got tricked into buying...


Also, I do not have an engine hanger, and I do not have the know-how to yank an engine out of a car....my friend Christopher has an engine hanger, though, he isn't using it, either.

Don't give up on these old diesels. I bought my 82 300D (turbo) for $1200. Don't tell anyone I said so but it drove nicer than my 90 sdl.

Glinko,

I am sure your car is worth something to somebody. I just don't know who.

Good luck and take care.