Serious newbie - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

BDBenzwannabe · #1 03-11-2006, 09:26 AM

I'm in the nyc area and am looking for places to:

1) buy a MB- so i can begin to use BioDiesel (any info on models,etc would be helpful)

2) find the places to buy Biodiesel

this would be used for daily commute (65 mi per day and trips down south every 6-8 weeks (300 miles one way)

thanks for the help

d.delano · #2 03-11-2006, 12:41 PM

Got family in Manhattan, can't even park a car there much less own one! The thing about a car in the city is it's a liability while you're there, but when you wanna get OUT it's priceless.
If you really want a good car, you'll have to buy one from a rust-free area of the country, as in an area where they get no snow in the winter months and thusly don't salt the roads. Your average NY car would be disqualified, although there are exceptions, just like there are rusty cars from Arizona which is a very dry warm area. Georgia is a good place to score one. Seems to be plenty down there, mostly rust-free but the dashes are cracked from the heat. Any car that you may be interested in you must look at first hand, and look very close for rust and blowby. I'd avoid eBay unless it's local and you can see it for yourself.
As far as biodiesel availability in that area look it up on the net. There's a site that lists locations around the country. Shouldn't be too hard to Google it. In my area there's really only one place that I know of and it sells B20 only, no B100. Bio hasn't really caught on yet on the East Coast. Seems out West it is a lot more available.
A good car for the city that's parkable would be a good old w123 '82 and up 300D Turbodiesel. Some like the 240D but it's a slowpoke. Lasts forever but really, Jersey Turnpike would be miserable in one. An SD w126 is too long to be a good NYC car, although more comfy. You can run over speedbumps @ 50MPH and not even feel it in those if the shocks and suspension are tight. If it were me I'd be looking for the most compact model I could find, which would be a w123 or a 190D or something like that. Do some more research on the forum.

Austin85 · #3 03-11-2006, 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BDBenzwannabe

I'm in the nyc area and am looking for places to:

1) buy a MB- so i can begin to use BioDiesel (any info on models,etc would be helpful)

2) find the places to buy Biodiesel

this would be used for daily commute (65 mi per day and trips down south every 6-8 weeks (300 miles one way)

thanks for the help

I am from NY and living in So Fla. I have an 85 300D which is great on the hwys for 300 mile rides..
I often see cars for sale in the Connecticut and WestchesterCO. areas that I wish I could grab.
I would recommend any of the 300D's or 300TD wagons. Go for nothing newer than an '85, since you want the cast iron block engine..ie; (bulletproof)...I would also consider any 240D with a stick as well.
Go back from '85's to ...'78's and stop, depending on the mileage, care and condition.

There are plenty of older people who are orig owners and have maintained their Benzes the way they should and many with garages too. I would hold out for one of these. If you have to spend an extra $1,500. for a rust free clean diesel it will be WELL worth it vs a less expensive $1,500. MB that may need suspension work and who knows what else.....What part of NYC area are you in? Also you may want to look through the WVO links here on this site to get some insite into how that could work for you. With the miles you plan on driving a good heated system will pay for itself pretty quickly.

AA

Biodiesel300TD · #4 03-11-2006, 02:32 PM

Here are a few links for finding biodiesel in your area.
National Biodiesel Board Retailer Map
Alternative Fuel Station Locator

Forums you should visit if you haven't already
Biodiesel Now--This site also has forums for local geographic areas, find more biodiesel in your area.
Biodiesel Infopop
Mercedes Shop Biodiesel and Veggie Oil Link--Thread

Any diesel will run biodiesel. The w123 is a very tough car. Bulletproof some would say, "IF TAKEN CARE OF" I might add. These would be the 240D, 300D, 300TD (wagon), and 300CD (coupe) built from 1977 untill 1985.

Here is a link to a website that lists all the US Mercedes Models. And car with a "D" in the model is a diesel.
Mercedes US Models

Welcome to the forum and hope this helps

Cheers-
Andrew

BDBenzwannabe · #5 03-11-2006, 02:53 PM

Great places to start, thanks all.

I actually live out side the city, and had off street parking, etc, so city contraints are not an issue.

Thanks for the links as well, other than the MB listing, any other reliable resources for buying? craigslist? ebay? other sites?

if anyone knows their grandparents who are selling lemme know...

I'll keep you posted...go green baby!

Maroon 300D · #6 03-11-2006, 03:19 PM

Do remember that these cars are 20 years old, and most things can be fixed at very reasonable costs if you are willing to do it yourself, but you are likely to encounter lots of annoying problems if you're not.

But on the plus side they do look cool, are very sturdy, and have an excellent track record for reliability when they are maintained.

Also, you should replace the rubber fuel hoses with viton hose for biodiesel use, as the biodiesel will eat through the 20-year-old rubber that will probably be in there when you get your car. I think it costs less than $10 if you buy a quantity of hose and cut it to the right lengths, and I understand it's not too hard to install. I'm sure there's lots of info. about it on this site.

Good luck

TheDon · #7 03-11-2006, 03:21 PM

wvofuels.com has a craiglist thing that shows all the diesels on craiglist.. when i searched i found alot in the NY are and some were really really nice and some where nice and low priced

MeinGreaseCar · #8 03-11-2006, 03:54 PM

Don't bother with viton.

Make sure you replace all old hoses. The MB I bought was shedding rubber bits in a big way... BEFORE biodiesel.

Replace the hoses every couple of years as a wear item. Way cheaper, and easier to handle than viton.

JP

Biodiesel300TD · #9 03-11-2006, 05:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MeinGreaseCar

Don't bother with viton.

Make sure you replace all old hoses. The MB I bought was shedding rubber bits in a big way... BEFORE biodiesel.

Replace the hoses every couple of years as a wear item. Way cheaper, and easier to handle than viton.

JP

I second that. I replaced mine fuel lines after about a year and 8000 miles of B100 use and the old ones still looked just fine. If you can find Vitons for about the same price as regular fuel lines, then I would go ahead and put vitons on. I paid about twice as mch for vitions as I would have for regular fuel lines.

BDBenzwannabe · #10 03-12-2006, 01:30 PM

http://newjersey.craigslist.org/car/139934791.html

d.delano · #11 03-12-2006, 04:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BDBenzwannabe

http://newjersey.craigslist.org/car/139934791.html

If in doubt, check it out. Looks nice enough, rear end doesn't look like it's sagging so that suggests a functioning self-leveling system. That's big money to fix if it's not working, which is often the case with the wagons. I'd be looking for bad compression, bottom end noise, transmission slippage, and rust. If there is a chance that it's a good car however, as in if everything checks out, it would be a sweet choice. Wagons are sweet. Check it out for sure, maybe see if you can talk the asking price down.