Lets brainstorm and make a List Newbies should consider when buying a 300D..I see a lot of Posts from people asking us whether they should buy this or that Mercedes Diesel. I was thinking, why don't we all post a list of items that a newbie with average mechanical ability should look for when purchasing a W123 Diesel. This is just my opinion --every 300D by now has shot ball joints or leaking CV boots or some fault unless someone has attended to these items--but when a 300D is brought to fully renewed condition it often has at least another 300,000 miles left in it. So maybe we should quote repair procedures/prices as well wrt to certain items, such as nonfunctional AC or a nonworking odometer.

Here's my first several contributions:
1. Pull up all the carpets and look for rust on the floorboards.
2. Drive behind the car when someone else is driving it and look for smoke at acceleration or deacceleration or for smoke in general.
3. See if the odometer works. In many states now, your car will not pass inspection unless it works.
4. YOUR TURN Don't worry Brian Carlton or myself will editorialize and pretty everything up.

Be critical when inspecting the vehicle. Assign a dollar amount to everything that is broken, missing, or not working. This amount should be added to the cost of the vehicle. Evaluate your financial situation.

What is your current mechanical ability? Will you be able to make many of the above repairs yourself? Will you be able to do routine maintenance? While these are very dependable vehicles they are not indestructible. Anything mechanical can (and will) break.

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BENZ THERE DONE THAThttp://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...c/progress.gif
15 VW Passat TDI
00 E420
98 E300 DT
97 E420 Donor Car - NEED PARTS? PM ME!
97 S500
97 E300D
86 Holden Jackaroo Turbo D
86 300SDL
(o\|/o)

Look under dash for signs of a fire.....

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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

Had to think about that for a moment
LMAO

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BENZ THERE DONE THAThttp://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...c/progress.gif
15 VW Passat TDI
00 E420
98 E300 DT
97 E420 Donor Car - NEED PARTS? PM ME!
97 S500
97 E300D
86 Holden Jackaroo Turbo D
86 300SDL
(o\|/o)

I got the Last Laugh...I have the best 300D bar none now..

4. Check for cracked or broken CV boots.
5. Check operation of climate control including vacuum pods, a/c, heat.
6. Check operation of cruise control.

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"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970

On a more serious note:

4. Front End Inspection: Jack the car up and place it on Jack Stands. Inspect the rubber covers on the Ball Joints, tire rods, upper control arm and stabilize bars. Look for signs of cracks on the rubber covers. Cracks on these rubber covers will more or less necessitate replacement of these components.
Of these items, ball joint replacement is the most labor intensive.
While the car is on Jackstands, and with the engine off, turn the Steering wheel fully from left to right and right to left and note any unusual noises.
Finally give the Right and Left side a nice firm bounce and not the condition of the front Shock Absorbers.

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

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.

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~!

carefully inspect the headliner on the drivers side of the sunvisor. if there are signs of water, prepare for a rusted out sunroof drain... how do I know?...
look over VERY CAREFULLY the front and rear window seals. look at the condition of the sunroof seals, simple to change... sorta, but bad ones can damage the paint all around the sunroof.
check for rust or bubbles under the undercoating on the frame, the jackpoints, etc.
on a COLD engine, let the glowplugs heat up, then see how long it takes to start. should be almost immediate.
I have found common places of rust on all my 123's is fore and aft of the wheels on the fenders. hard to spot unless you are looking there.
also the drip area of the doors themselves. you may have to pull back the lower door seal to see it, but if there is a lot of rust there it's kinda hard to fix.
Next!
John

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 560SL convertible
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
2005 Dodge Sprinter 2500 158"WB
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

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

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

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.

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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2016 Corvette Stingray 2LT
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200