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#16
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'81 MB 300SD, '82 MB 300D Turbo (sold/RIP), '04 Lincoln Town Car Ultimate Sooner or later every car falls apart, ours does it later! -German Narrator in a MB Promotion Film about the then brand new W123. |
#17
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A minor point, but I always take a look at the antenna grommet. The original one on a 20 year old car is guaranteed to be bad. If it has been replaced, the car must have been maintained, if not, the trunk has probably been wet for years.
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Palangi 2004 C240 Wagon 203.261 Baby Benz 2008 ML320 CDI Highway Cruiser 2006 Toyota Prius, Saving the Planet @ 48 mpg 2000 F-150, Destroying the Planet @ 20 mpg TRUMP .......... WHITEHOUSE HILLARY .........JAILHOUSE BERNIE .......... NUTHOUSE 0BAMA .......... OUTHOUSE |
#18
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I've got a lot of respect for you Richard, and only busted on you based on your history of a good sense of humor. I hope you took it in the light-hearted manner in which it was intended......
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Jimmy L. '05 Acura TL 6MT 2001 ML430 My Spare Gone: '95 E300 188K "Batmobile" Texas Unfriendly Black '85 300TD 235K "The Wagon" Texas Friendly White '80 240D 154K "China" Scar engine installed '81 300TD 240K "Smash" '80 240D 230K "The Squash" '81 240D 293K"Scar" Rear ended harder than Elton John |
#19
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Rust never sleeps
While your looking underneath for rust, cracked boots, oil leaks ect., look at the condition of the exhaust. Not a cheap system on these cars.
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#20
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Comedian
Of course I did, I mean I must be the biggest joker or comedian around here. I'm not uptight and stressed out like Brian Carlton .I am flattered that you even thought you had to apologize~!
Last edited by Carrameow; 11-17-2006 at 10:54 AM. |
#21
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The dreaded part-- Engine Assessment
I'm still thinking about how to write this without making it overly expensive or time consuming. Also a lot of engine asessment has to do with Injection Pump assessment. Finally since the price of these cars is around the $1K mark, I doubt anyone wants to pay someone $100 to have it checked out and have a compression check done. Most buyers are probably shooting from the Hip and going by gut feelings.
Sadly a lot of these cars don't get well maintained towards the end of their use. If it has been, I am sure you will know that intuitively by the owner's presentation of the car. He will be usually knowledgable and probably have another Diesel. I would just hate to see a buyer burned by bad oil rings or serious engine damage. To that extent I would recommend driving it for at least 40 to 60 miles and checking the oil level before and after. Also though a diesel is noisy, a good diesel's noise is rythmic and periodic and doesn't have irregular sounds. I am going to give some thought to this this weekend. |
#22
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OK, I'll throw one in here by quoting myself from another thread:
Quote:
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#23
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Quote:
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82 300D....went to MB heaven 90 350 SDL....excercising con rods |
#24
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Quote:
I have seen some turbo models w/ generic setups...or 'pipes' that didn't make more noise than stock.
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82 300D....went to MB heaven 90 350 SDL....excercising con rods |
#25
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Purchasing A Diesel Benz
I posted a major check list a few months ago that centered around the engine only. If anyone desires this list, contact me at: alfredburn@hotmail.com
I would say that having mechanical ability is a great asset that will save owners a bundle. I believe that everyone desiring to work on their benz should go to a technical school and sign up for some courses (one or two at a time). Doing so will give you mechanical understanding and courage to tackle your repairs with confidence. I have an acronym that I wholeheartedly believe. It is called "TEKC". T - Training E - Experience K - Knowledge about the job you are getting ready to undertake C - Confidence that you can perform it These diesel benz are fun to work on and give you a satisfaction that will put a smile on your face and keep a bundle in your pocket. Peace. Alfredo |
#26
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The blowby test hasn't been mentioned yet. And check the front seat to see if anything has been stuffed in there. Broken/weak seat springs are very common.
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#27
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Vacuum system? Central door locks.... they're a pita to troubleshoot... definitely assign a negative value to this.
Since I'm in the rust belt - rust, rust, rust...look behind the bumper rubber trims especially the corner ones. They are held by a metal bracket that probably has disintegrated and affected the body. I took off the trims on mine and removed the brackets. Fortunately, the body was only slightly affected.
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the sooner you start... the sooner you'll get done If it ain't broke, don't fix it.. Its always simpler to tell the truth... 2007 Honda Accord EX 2007 Honda Accord SE V6 96 C220 97 Explorer - Found Another Home 2000 Honda Accord V6 - Found Another Home 85 300D - Found Another Home 84 300D - Found Another Home 80 300TD - Found Another Home Previous cars: 96 Caravan 87 Camry 84 Cressida 82 Vanagon 80 Fiesta 78 Nova Ford Cortina Opel Kadet 68 Kombi Contessa |
#28
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Don't think that low mileage automatically means a good engine-be SURE to get maintenance records, and any rough running hot or cold means that a compression test is MANDATORY-the cost of rebuilding a motor can be twice what the car is worth!!!
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1982 300DT 190K (Diesel Purge + synthetic oil=smoothness at last!!!) 2004 Ford E-350 6.0 L PSD 227K 2006 Dodge Ram 3500 SRW HO Cummins 4X4 48RE 42K (brute force tow vehicle) 2005 Scion xB wife's rolling pop can 1993 GMC Sierra C3500 6.2 142K |
#29
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A lot of excellent things pointed out here, and I wish an exhaustive list like this list existed when I was shopping.
One thing I would add is this: pull up to the seller's place in a Mercedes. Even if you have to beg to borrow someone else's. It shows that you know these cars, and you won't fall for things like, "sure it smokes, it's a diesel." Or "sure it uses oil, all diesels use oil." One other small thing. If it's not raining, take it to car wash or just spray down with a hose to make sure all the sunroof and other drains are working properly.
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1998 E300D, 287k, barely broken in. |
#30
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Rust.
The odometers just about always break on these cars. So unless the condition or records indicate otherwise, figure at least 10k miles a year.
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1999 SL500 1969 280SE 2023 Ram 1500 2007 Tiara 3200 |
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