is this 1980 240d priced right?

[msj23]

Im about to drive about 300 miles to test drive a 1980 240d with 144,000 miles. Air conditioner does not work, or interior dash lights. He says everything else does work. No rust, only crackling here and there on original paint from hot texas sun. He wants 1700.00 for it.

The air condtioner has a leak in it from non-use and wont hold freon

The guy told me he only has driven the car a few times a year for 10 years.

Is this car going to have all kinds of other problems from having sat in the garage too long?


lastly am I going to have to replace the air or is this seal replaceable?

I have no idea what to offer the guy for this car. 1700.00 seems to much for the air issue and paint being messed up.

I am not a mechanic, just need a daily driver to get commute to school. Any help is appreciated so I dont get myself into something I will regret and not be able to afford.

[vstech]

that sounds ok, but paint isn't the issue, rust is.
my question would be, how hard was the car driven the first 16 years... and why was it not driven the last 10? No a/c could explain it in hot texas, but if just a leak, why did the PO not fix it?
garaged is a plus. imo. sunlight destroys the interior and the windows.
I would take a can of 12 with me and give the compressor a shot of it and verify that it works.
offer 1200 if it makes you feel better. 144K is pretty low on theese cars.
John

[msj23]

One owner yes. He said it belonged to one of his kids who moved away 10 years ago and only drove it when home for xmas. So for 144,000 I would say it got drove hard?

The inside pics of it are very very nice. No cracks, seats are not frumpy.

His mechanic told him the seal has a crack in it from non use. He didnt fix it because his kid only drives the car in the winter while visiting, he said.

Do you have any idea what it might $$ wise to fix the air. He said they put freon in and it all leaked out in 2 weeks.

[msj23]

Im super worried I will need to replace alot of other things like exhaust or something because it sat so long. Any help is much appreciated.

Exhaust on a W123 is a simple setup and really cheap to replace.

If it's been sitting that long, cooling & heating hoses may need to be replaced along with belts and all the fuel lines. These however are NOT expensive.

Sounds like the most expensive item is going to be the A/C, which can be pretty expensive. I forever "LMAO" at these fools on Ebay selling older Mercedes with the "A/C needs a charge" comments. A MB with inop A/C will NEVER be fixed with "just a charge." You can bank on that.

The major things to look out for are RUST, oil pressure, and blow-by. To check for blow-by, let the motor come up to operating temp, and at idle, take the oil cap off. If it puffs smoke like a steam locomotive out of there, then walk away.

$1,700 is a good price for a rust-free car with good oil pressure and little to no blow-by. If you can get it for less then it's a steal.

[msj23]

okay Im just worried because I had a 67 ford van that sat for 15 years with only 15,000 orig miles on it and we replaced all that.. never did run right anyway. Sold it for parts

I dont have alot of money, just need it to run to get me to my 40 mile round trip to school each day. I do have a family member that owned a 240d that said he could help me with small things but not the air..

Are we talking over 1000.00 to get the air done if need be?

I live in Okla.. and its so dangerously hot right now you wouldnt believe.

here is a link to a pic of the engine, it looks kinda beat to me, I do see bit of rust? what do you think?

[msj23]

Sorry Im being such a girl about this. If I buy it and drive it home, even though he says the tires are new and all is working right.. should I have the oil/fluids changed before getting on the road, or should I *not attempt to drive it that far before having someone look at it. I wish I knew more about cars but I know 0.

That motor looks pretty good considering the car has been sitting for a while.

Absolutely, positively get the oil and oil filter changed before driving it that far. I would also highly recommend changing the 2 fuel filters - the primary is the little clear one (well, it probably ain't clear any more...) and the secondary is the spin-on that looks like many cars' oil filters.

If you need a full-fledged A/C refurbishment it could easily run $1000. But look at it this way - do that, and you've got a car that you can drive for years for well under $3,500. Pretty darn good.

As long as the motor has decent compression, hasn't been run low on oil, and the body isn't rusted out, these cars are pretty tough to kill. They can be brought back to decent shape for not very much money at all.

[Slcom1983]

Be sure to check the not-so-obvious rust areas. They are especially prone to rust under the bottom of the doors where the drain holes are (easily overlooked), the battery tray, and around the jack points. 123's are also notarious for trunk leaks....move the plastic shell out of the way and look under it. The shell can disguise standing water and rust if the drains are clogged in the trunk. I paid 1650 for mine and it had very very minimal rust. A 240D as old as these with zero rust is rare so look closely. However, as has been said, if the engine is tight then it's worth that for a good daily driver. Don't get too spooked by small puffs of smoke from the oil filler hole..that's OK, it's the hugh blowing that you need to worry about. You can confirm blow-by somewhat by checking for oil blowing into the air breather too. The acid test is how quickly it starts when dead COLD. Good luck.

[msj23]

Thanks guys for all this info, I had no idea what to look for!