potential mb buyer with a few quick questions
 

I just got back from looking at a '76 240D. For the most parts it looks like it is in good condition. A few things I noticed were:

looks like 2 of the injectors are leaking
some (not alot) of surface rust
vibrations in the rear brakes when backing up (he said he just replaced them)

I am told it has 250k miles on it, but the odomoter "broke on the last tank of diesel" other than that, a few tears in the seats, and the door/trunk seals are worn, but not useless yet.

I have a number in my head, but wanted to see what you thought. How much would you think this is worth, and how much trouble is it to fix those problems from your experience?

It's not worth much.

The leaking injectors are likely just the soft return lines need replacing. You can get a stick of the hose for about $4.

The rear brakes have shoes for the emergency brake. They may simply need to be loosened up a bit.

Those not familiar with MB's, and sometimes those who are, can be fooled by the appearance of an old MB. The reason is that the paint, chrome trim and other cosmetic aspects of these cars are typically much longer lived than most other brands. This makes an old tired car, "look like new."

Be careful,

gotta be a smart a** and give you a couple quick answers.
leaky injectors, is it the return lines leaking ? replace um. they are inexpensive..
brakes are a tuff one. " don't back up, no noise" (sorry could not resist)
lots of miles but if its been taken care of mechanically, just buy it and use it !
repalce the trunk seals if they are leaking. no one like wet bags of groceries to carry in the house. . .
if the tires are good, transmission shifts ok (or is it a manual) stops good and starts good, chage the fluids and filters and drive it, enjoy it.
paint jobs are cheap in some parts of the country (not around here) so its a matter of $$$ for pride of parking it on the street and being proud of a 30 year old car.
value ? humm. . .depends on where you are. arond here in the salted northland it might bring 12-1500 bucks if its not all rusted to death. there are few to choose from up here. in the east, there are a lot of them so they may be cheaper.
there is lots of help around the forum for any problems / repairs you would need or want to fix.
what does your gut tell you to pay ? and how about some pix;s ?
davidh, (one of the elder members)

http://shreveport.craigslist.org/car/287216321.html

He is asking $2800. He just replaced the AC compressor, but one of the wires is disconnected on it, so I have to see if that is functional first.

It is an automatic, and I am wanting to get a stick...and a w123 300d with a turbo (if they made that). I am thinking I would like to hold out, but there aren't many of these cars around here. This one looks pretty clean too. Most I have seen have a bunch of rust, and looks like they have driven through hail storms.

To me, That price is so high it's not worth my breath tryin to talk him down. $1200 tops.

I've got lots of experience fixing rust in W115 bodies. Trust me unless you've given the car an extensive check on a lift I'd bet there is lots of rust underneath - even on one that has spent its life in cajun country.

There is very little demand for a 30 year old 240D in todays used car market. If the body is perfect I might pay $600-$700, otherwise its a $300 parts car.

Not a lot of faith in these cars?

Around here a rust free W114 would go for $4K.

That was my first Mercedes, a 1976 240D, Paid $4500 for it in 1988. I drove the hell out of it, I finally got rid of it after all fluids (and I mean all fluids) were leaking. I drove the thing 2 years having to ad tranny fluid on the side of the road because, like I like to say, the engine revved up, but the car didn't go any faster - that's when I knew it was time to add a quart.

One of those fast lube places changed the oil in the car once and didn't use the "O" ring for the oil filter (used the cardboard gasket instead) well I left a 30 mile long oil trail to my house and 1/4 of the way to work before the oil pressure gauge showed no pressure. I added 8 quarts and went back to the place,,, also drove that car to miami, nashville, cleveland,,, many many miles,,,

Well anyway, the rubber inbetween the glass and the body on those is pretty bad, it cracks easily and leaks. Very slow acceleration (with or without the A/C on)

Funny thing about my 240D, after heavy acceleration, If I backed of the throttle a gigantic black cloud of smoke would be emitted from the tail pipe,,, had alot of fun with that on the hills of WV.

All in All a good car, easy to work on, lots of room under the hood, good theft deterrent (turn key AND then pull knob to start.)

Oh wow that reminds me, I almost plowed into a NC trooper in the 240D. Grey uniform, no orange safety vest, and he was black, it was dusk, He turned around and I saw the whites of his eyes and slammed on the brakes. I was only going 25-30 mph and he was able to jump out of the way, but he did physically pull me out of my car and ripped my shirt in the process, and of course a couple of charges (both of which were DROPPED by the DA) I mean give me a break, the uniform matched the color of the street, he didn't have a safety vest on, and his flashlight didn't have a cone on it AND he was a black officer, making him hard to see at dusk.

I think $2800 is way to high unless the car is immaculate.

The 240d is a slow car, from what I hear.
No, they did not make a turbo 300d with a manual. Lots of us want one.
Rust is an ugly proposition. Check the floor boards, just under the rear window, in the trunk behind the wheels, and near the jack points.
I've been told it's not uncommon to find a 80's 300d with rough paint but very good mechanicals for 2000-3000. I think 2800 is a bit high for a 240 with rust.

Like I was saying before, it all looks like surface rust...I know where that leads, but much of it can be handled for the time being. I looked under the drivers floorboard, and in the trunk around the rear tire. There was nothing notable there, as well as under the hood. The surface rust I saw was mostly on the end of the doors (from bumping and chipping paint). All of the door/trunk seals are cracked, but not showing signs of leaking yet. I would have to replace them.

Anyway, I emailed him seeing if he is going to be willing to drop the price, but I haven't heard anything back yet. Oh well, I kind of wanted this car too.

Not at all, I have over 100k of ownership experience in W115 Diesel powered cars. They were fine cars, and I actually prefer them to the later W123 series, but the basic W114/W115 design comes from the mid 60's. By today's standards they are pathetically slow (almost to the point of being dangerous in heavy urban traffic - 0-60 times will be in the mid 20 second range), not really all that fuel efficient, have marginal HVAC systems, terrible rust protection, no airbags, no ABS, no traction control and no ETS. As the lowest cost four door sedan in the product offering line they really won't really have any status as collector cars anytime in the near future.

I guess it depends on what you want to do with it, I would never consider one for daily driver duty but I guess it would be a good candidate for a low-rider conversion.:cool:

That's exactly the info I needed. I will admit that I know very little about these cars, but I am trying to learn. Does anybody know of some database that I can reference?

Don't be a puss. Buying an old MB is like getting a new dog. It will be like family. Take it for a test drive & if you like it still then you PUT IT ON A LIFT -

Once you get it, you will want to keep driving it for years to come- You won't be able to part with it-

And when you do sellit 6 years later - you will lose sleep for weeks after - (Like you sold a child.)
You bastard!! How could you sell that old baby?!! (see Tom W. 500SEC :mad: )

You will put money into it - but you won't have a monthly car payment- YOu will learn how to fix things in your driveway & on the side of the road in at 2 in the AM....

It's a classic and nice looking !!!! Offer 2,200 cash in hand !!!

AA




...

I have one, as you can see in my signature, it was my first MB diesel. I totally love the car and will probably never sell it. It's super easy to work on, space everywhere. It's so much more stylish than any of the w123's, IMHO. Yes it's slow, but you will feel that only on hills. Otherwise it feels kinda more agile than the 123s. It has better fuel efficiency than the 123's, it get around 29mpg, and it's an automatic.

All of this is true for the 123's also.
Clearly it's not a modern car. But everything is so simple and clear that you can understand it just from looking at it. Mine goes and goes and goes and never needs anything. Glow plugs sometimes, but easy to do.
$2800 may be a bit much for it. I payed $1500, and mine had less than 100K miles, but since the odometer has only 5 digits, that could never be known for sure...