I am looking (going to look) at a '81 300SD. It has 245k on the clock. They are asking $5000cd ($3000)USD. Should I be afraid of a machine with this many miles or not. I would not put many miles on but want something reliable. Any advice, please. Also is this a reasonable price if it is in good shape.

__________________
Mark
82 300SD 110k
91 Caprice SS
92 Jetta TD
97 Cadillac Concours(300hp)
84 Celebrity 4.3L diesel

Greetings Mark,

I'd say this machine would have to be in great cosmetic condition as well as all documentation on service and either an upper rebuild proof or rebuilt receipt. I bought an '80 300TD wagon with a beautiful body and only slight imperfections on the interior, and an engine that some fool must of either knew nothing about, or how to take care of it, and after another $500.00 in various replacement parts I have a very well running Benz, but only paid a fourth of it's value for it, and it's only got 156,000 on clock. Personally speaking, the seller believes his vehicle is worth that much, and it's your job to find everything wrong with it to bring your offer to this person to seem reasonable. Look at it, make a list of everything that's wrong or needs repair and if you are capable of doing those repairs. I'd price the parts, if you can do it yourself, and figure your time is worth something, the repair shops sure do. I'd do the talley of the total and add labor then subtract that from his asking price. If you seem anxious about buying it, the seller has already won, and you might as well hand over the money and drive it home the same day. There are several post covering what to look at besides the obvious, and if you have a friend that's a mechanic to take with you, the list of repairs will go much faster. I learned the hard way, but ended up with a great deal in the end because the seller assumed the engine was gone in my car, when in fact had all the routine maintenance been done, and things properly troubleshot, they could have gotten another grand or so out of me.


Charles

What is your definition of reliable? This car (assuming it has been cared for) will likely not leave you stranded, but maintainance can be quite expensive. In the past four months I spent $1700 maintaining my 300SD (that included 4 new tires and an alignment). Granted, I am anal and like everything to be perfect. I probably could have gotten away with only $300 of repairs (excluding the tires).

Make sure the transmission is in good shape, and check for excessive blowby, which is a sign of poor compression. Since you live in Canada, you may have a chance to start the engine when it is below freezing. If it starts without much effort that is a good sign.

If the car is in good shape then that is an excellent price, or at least it is a good price in the Denver Colorado market. I paid $4400 for mine, and it was in great shape.

__________________
Ben

The MBs:
1976 300D (W115) - 330K and still going (sort of)
1991 300D 2.5 Turbo - Sold at 221K
1983 280SEL - Sold at 206K
1981 300SD - Sold at 232K

Mark, I see in your sig. that you already own an '82 "SD", the engines are the same. So you already have some backround with this type of car and engine. For $3,000 (US) everything should be in working order. I bought my '80 300SD, 223K miles for $1500 (US). However there were things that needed to be fixed. Everyone says a compression check is a very good idea. Previous maintance records would be nice to have or at least see. I really don't know of any difference between the '81 and the '82 you already have. As long as the oil is changed "hot and often", using a good oil and OEM filters, there really shouldn't be anything to stop the engine. My father owns a '85 300D (W123), which has the same 3.0 liter engine and he has about 260,000 U.S. miles.

__________________
1999 MB SL500 (110,000 mi)
2004 Volvo V70 2.5T (220,000 mi)
2014 Tesla Model S 85 (136,000 mi)
MBCA member

Greetings Ben,

If you'd keep your speed down under a hundred, you'd probably save a little rubber too. Can't remember anywhere out in Colorado where the speed limit, even if you were following the crowd ever exceeded 85 mph. Anything above that in traffic as you would say, is anal.

Charles

Actually I never drive the 300SD above 70 mph. My mechanic told me that it would be wise to take it easy on the car, since the engine is starting to wear out.

I purchased it with nearly bald tires. I should have used that fact to talk the price down more than I did, but I really wanted the car and needed one quick (which is a bad position to be in).

I don't cruise at 85+ mph. I simply like to occaisionally test my cars abilities. I usually do this on Highway 58, which runs from I-70 in Wheat Ridge to Highway 6 in Golden. It is four lanes of straight and traffic free pavement.

I hope I didn't convey the message that I am a reckless speed freak because I certainly am not. My friends and family will tell you that I am one of the safest drivers they know, although I'm not fully confident that I am worthy of their trust. I do believe that I'm a relatively safe driver. However I sometimes have trouble avoiding Dodge Rams. Especially when they run red lights.

__________________
Ben

The MBs:
1976 300D (W115) - 330K and still going (sort of)
1991 300D 2.5 Turbo - Sold at 221K
1983 280SEL - Sold at 206K
1981 300SD - Sold at 232K

Greetings Ben,

Seeing as I have a maroon Dodge Ram, I'll leave it at home the next time I pass through Colorado. You'll definitely know it if you see it, you'll end up driving under it, instead of hitting it. I like to press the carbon pedal down too, just to let the ole girl breathe for a while, but as you say I won't keep her there, too many deer waiting to commit suicide where I drive.

Charles

Thanks Guys for the response. I guess what I was really after is 245k to many miles for the price. It is a lot of miles for any car. I suspect that this had regular service or it would have been toasted long ago. Everything works on the car, AC,cruise,etc. Has one small ding in the fender, good tires. Brakes and shocks where just done.
Anyhow, I will look at it today.
Cheers

__________________
Mark
82 300SD 110k
91 Caprice SS
92 Jetta TD
97 Cadillac Concours(300hp)
84 Celebrity 4.3L diesel

To repeat what has been said before...

At that price, I would expect:

- ZERO rust, especially underside.
- very good paint.
- no rips, tears or anything else wrong in the interior.
- Starts cold in 2 seconds.
- Shifts into reverse in under 1 second.
- Passes safety inspection w/o any questions. (perfect brakes, rubber, lights, exhaust, tires, wipers, windshield).
- Climate control works flawlessly (blows cold when it's supposed to and hot when it's supposed to).

-CTH

__________________
- cth350@gmail.com
http://www.111lakeside.com/

Thanks for the info. Just an observation of used car prices around here. They seem high compared to other places unless the posts on this site are blowing sunshine. Here is an example. '80 300SD, 220K, many items not working, used looking interior, poor repaint job. You get the picture. Asking $5000cnd. This is not unuasual to find people asking this for used up cars around here.
Here is another. '82 300SD 100K, mint, original, good tires.Sold for $14000cnd. Am I out to lunch or are these prices high?

__________________
Mark
82 300SD 110k
91 Caprice SS
92 Jetta TD
97 Cadillac Concours(300hp)
84 Celebrity 4.3L diesel