Help!! Quick Value Needed on 1992 300D - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

stephenson · #1 09-09-2006, 04:47 PM

76k miles
Medium blue
Gray Tex
Original radio
Very nice interior
Sunvisor clips broken both sides
Incredibly dirty, but is being detailed today
Clean history with lots of oil changes documented since new
No major issues
Trans filter and fluid twice - every 30K
Several injectors and glow plugs

Everything drives and operates pretty normally - however, it feels "flat" off idle - although awhile back, my 1985 300CD did, as well as two other mid 80s 3 litre engines. My 350 SDL, while not renowned for much except bending rods, is very linear, but not nearly as fast when into the turbo as this 2.5L is ...

Anything notably bad about W124 (I think) with 2.5?

Solid lifters or hydraulic? (they sounded solid)

Owner asking $8K - NADA ~$6-8K range - top amount from dealer?

Cleaned up this will be a beautiful car .... no paint issues to speak of, no rust, no dents, etc.

Thanks for quick reply and opinions!

lee polowczuk · #2 09-09-2006, 04:53 PM

I am not a diesel guy... but a 1992 w124 diesel with that many miles certainly seems worth 8k.

i think a gasser would cost about that.. and the diesels certainly seem to be getting a premium.

BOMC · #3 09-09-2006, 05:10 PM

mine is an 87 with hydralic lifters, seems this would be also?

snp8990 · #4 09-09-2006, 05:12 PM

Seems like a good price,others on ebay seem to be hitting more because of the diesel craze.

sixto · #5 09-09-2006, 05:27 PM

I'd arrange for a PPI and keep $8000 cash in my pocket.

Sixto
93 300SD

stephenson · #6 09-09-2006, 06:44 PM

Reliability factors OK? Head gasket issues? Transmission?

In general, responses sound positive ... I won't have time for independent inspection - will have to wing it ... I have crawled all under it, looking for evidence of accidents, leaks, etc ... can't find anything that looks amiss ...

Is the flatness off idle normal for this engine? It comes on really, really strong and I was completely unable to get it to get much above about 88C even with hammering it in 86F weather in traffic ...

Thanks for all the responses!

stephenson · #7 09-12-2006, 12:34 PM

Quick follow-up ...

Owner had car "detailed" which consisted, sadly, of a poor wash, wax, and interior Armorall job ...

Driver side fender has been repainted - nice smooth, complete job, but clearly not the same color! Noticed once it was clean - kept thinking "that doesn't look right" and when opened hood ran finger along fender crease and located a masking tape line ... not a big deal since looks like inside of fender area has not been repaired ... another forensic thing was the pin stripe on that fender was more polished away where they were feathering the finish together with repair.

Can anyone comment on the "flatness" I felt off neutral? Is this normal? When turbo hits she moves out so am assuming just is a more abrupt engagement?

Any more comments - didn't get as many inputs of potential value as I thought I would!

Thanks, again!

Eskimo · #8 09-12-2006, 01:13 PM

Another item to be aware of on the W124 is the possibility of the A/C evaporator either having a leak now or of developing one in the future.

Replacement can be brutally expensive, especially if one is paying someone else to do it. Some consider it to be A Good Thing if it can be determined that the job has already been done "right and proper" on a previous owner's dime.

stephenson · #9 09-12-2006, 01:21 PM

Thanks, Eskimo ... did not see anything related to the evap in the paperwork ... A/C seemed to work fine, but if I get close on buying will check out further.

On the other hand, I haven't removed a dash in a long time .... :-)

Lostyankee · #10 09-12-2006, 01:27 PM

Try zooming with manual shiftiing. I have read a few posts concerning starting in 2nd gear as normal for some MBs. I belive they 'solved' the problem with better vacuum control. Do a search on shifting.

stephenson · #11 09-12-2006, 01:30 PM

OK - you think it may be starting in 2nd ... will check ...

Thanks!

sixto · #12 09-12-2006, 04:45 PM

That model should start in first.

Sixto
93 300SD

stephenson · #13 09-12-2006, 05:04 PM

Thanks, sixto - uncommon for the flatness of idle I spoke of relative to 3.5 mid range torque engine? ALDA adjustment? Ran very well when got to RPM for turbo.

Grdenko · #14 09-12-2006, 05:59 PM

im not exactly sure what you mean about 'flatness', but i guess you mean acceleration. that car should be pretty quick (for a diesel). 0-60 in about 10 seconds. could be just losing boost, but who knows.

diesel friend · #15 12-29-2006, 07:34 PM

Hi Stephenson, wondering whether you bought the car