I was looking at a 75 300D, but have come across an 83 300D locally. I have not yet looked at the car, but will be soon.

-1983 300D
-291K miles
-Cold AC
-Good paint, roughly 2-3 years old
-No rust
-Few Cracks on dash
-Laminate by shifter is coming apart a bit
-The guy is a Continental Airlines pilot that bought a house and does not have time.
-He is the 3rd owner, but the 2nd owner had the car for 18 years
-Front tires might need replacing, rear tires are fine
-He has already installed a brand new Veggy kit
-No vacuum problems
-Asking price $3500

What is everyone's initial opinion on this deal compared to the 75 300D I was looking at? The one good thing I noticed is that the 83 is obviously much newer and has a turbo. Thanks again for reading and helping me out!

That doesn't sound like too bad a deal to me. About 6 months ago I bought an 83 300D Turbo from the original owner with 200k miles. It has been garage kept all it's life and looks great. But I had to spend about $2,500 in parts to fix the a/c, front end, tires, veggy kit, etc. It's a great car, but I have a fairly large investment now.

It runs great on the peanut oil. What veggy kit does it have?

Best of luck.

I forgot to say how much I gave for it....$3,000

KRW

I have the same year/model.. it's pretty nice when most everything works, if mine is anything to go by. You'll like turbo over non-turbo -- I can't imagine my car without the turbo as I'd never be able to keep up with the (relatively laid back) traffic around here.

The new paint makes me wonder though. Mine has had some paint work over the years, but nothing that looks recent and some of the paint is original. Why'd they feel the need to repaint the car? sun exposure (paint failure)? accident? rust repair? Just worth knowing if you can find out.

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'83 300DTurbo http://badges.fuelly.com/images/smallsig-us/318559.png

Broadband: more lies faster.

The paint on my 83 is great. I would ask why it needed painting.

KRW

Opinions? An '83 300D is a wonderful car that you will love owning if you are the kind of person who maintains your own car. If the suspension is in good shape $3000.00 is a fine price. I'd personally reccomend against running straight vegetable oil but there are many people who would disagree with me.

New paint on a 25 year old car is not too much to be worried about. However most aftermarket paint jobs are of poor quality compared to factory paint. The simple fact is that it is expensive and/or time consuming to do a good job repainting a car and if a car is only worth a few thousand dollars it usually ends up with the $400 special from Maco. Make sure you keep a good coat of wax on it.

Buy it, roll down the windows, open the sunroof, and drive the heck out of it. Casually leave your Mercedes keys on your desk at work where people can see them. Spend your free time debating the virtues of various lubricants and whether you should extend your oil change intervals when using synthetics.

My '83 SD does not have clear coat, my gain.

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83 SD

84 CD

Thanks for all of the posts guys! I will ask the gentleman the questions you all brought up and report back. I will also be getting a Carfax, but I only take that information like a grain of salt. I will also specifically ask him about what Veggy kit he installed;ie. components, size of tank, etc..

If anyone has anything else to add, please feel free.

One more question: Should I be worried about the miles? I know the Mercedes diesels last a long time, but what could I expect this one to last if it drives great and the engine is strong? Best case? Worst case? Thanks again!

The fact that it was repainted worries me a little, and I wouldn't touch anything with a "veggy kit" or that has been anyplace near WVO.

Craig, I can understand your opinion. The gentleman just recently installed the Veggy Kit. The reason I know this is because he is friends with another mechanic/Classic Restore guy that I know. I am going to ask about the paint job when I speak with him tomorrow.

Repaints just make me nervous because I have to wonder what they are covering.

Aren't you in Florida? The turbo doesn't make as big a difference there than it would if you lived at altitude. I'd want to at least look at the low mileage 115 before purchasing this one.
The veggy kit is worth some money but it will be hard to find anyone on this board who thinks it adds to the value of the car. Some will argue it detracts.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

I'd be carefull with the repaint. Go around the car and look for bondo, a small magnet will do the trick. Pay close attention to the wheel arch's, and rockers.

It has a lot of miles on it, I'd feel better if it was 100k less. A lot of expensive stuff is going to need attention in the next 50k miles.
Any front end part is shot.
If the trans is original its on borrowed time.
The engine will need a timing chain and oil pump chain.
Lots of other stuff.


I wouldn't touch anything with a WVO "kit" with a 10ft pole, unless it was dirt cheap.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Many miles for the money, and someone else installing a veggie unit...think long and hard.
I paid $2100 for my SD with 184k.
If the owner had clear coat that was failing, a paint job is a big help. But take someones earlier advice, and bring a magnet.

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83 SD

84 CD

That's about what I paid for my 84 300TD with about the same number of miles on it.

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" We have nothing to fear but the main stream media itself . . . ."- Adapted from Franklin D Roosevelt for the 21st century

OBK #55

1998 Lincoln Continental - Sold
Max 1984 300TD 285,000 miles - Sold
The Dee8gonator 1987 560SEC 196,000 miles - Sold
Orgasmatron - 2006 CLS500 90,000 miles
2002 C320 Wagon 122,000 miles
2016 AMG GTS 12,000 miles