Whats a 87 300d worth?
 

Went to start the car this morning and it did not want to start. Two bad glow plugs. I spent about 6 hours changing them out. My wife wants me to get rid of it now.

History
My father in law pre-ordered the car for my wife's grandma, and picked it up from the factory in Germany and had it shipped back. It is a US spec car. The car spent its life in the dry air of Utah. My F-I-L shipped the car to me about 5 months ago. I have driven the car about 1,000 miles. I live 3 miles form work.

Highlights of car
It has no rust what so ever.
Leather tan seats in perfect condition. Grandma weighs 98 LBS so springs in the seats are in great shape.
104,000 miles
Body is in great shape and paint is close to perfect
I have every record of all work done on the car.
Comes with just about every item that was in the car when it was new. The only thing I cannot find is the cigarette lighter. They do not smoke, so I am sure he tossed it.
The car has been serviced at every interval in the little book that comes with the car.
When I got the car I replaced vacuum lines, vacuum pump, Antifreeze, block heater cord and a bunch of other little things.
Everything on the car works except the head rest do not go up and down. Heater and AC work and function how they should. It does have the #14 head but does not have any issues. It had a new radiator and fan installed years ago and it never gets hot. The car is very very clean for its age. The car starts and does not smoke.

I am just tring to get an idea of what it is worth.

PM sent

to you, it should be priceless! a family car with that kind of history should last until your grandkids have grandkids!
that sucker ought to pull around 8 to 12K easy. but it is worth MUCH MUCH more really. your family gave it to you, you really should not consider selling it. and any wife that thinks it should go needs a serious spanking.
(hmm...., oh, sorry back on topic...)
is she jealous of the gift? does she hate your family? does she want you to drop all contact with your family? two glow plugs and she wants the car gone?
does she understand that over the life of the next lexus you buy to replace that car, it will need COMPUTERS and INSPECTIONS and Oxygen sensors, and spark plugs and wires, or full coils we are talking THOUSANDS of $$$ in maintenance alone! your car needs what? 6 glow plugs, some fuses maybe a gasket or two for 10 years!!! really, consider a new wife before considering giving up the car to anyone but family.

It sounds like a great car and I'd try to keep it. The glow plugs are a minor problem and now that they are changed you won't need to do it again for years.

IMHO $8-12,000 is high for a sedan. Wagons can pull that kind of coin due to relative rarity but there are more sedans around. Given the excellent condition I'd peg it closer to $6-8,000. Either way, try to buy a car of comparable quality for that money and you'll soon see the wisdom of just keeping it. Watch EBay for listings and you'll get a good feel for the market, at least for cars that aren't quite as nice.

Keep It!
 

Gawd, don't sell that thing. It could fall into the wrong hands. Glow plugs happen! Remind your lady that replacing an irreplaceable car with something "newer" does not mean you're getting something better.

He said father in-law
 

So she might not like her parents as they gave them the car.

By the time it's ready for the scrap yard, some new species is going to be digging us out of the ground and burning us to get to work.

Replace the glow plugs, do the afterglow relay upgrade and call it good.

I am a simple man when it comes to cars. If I sell it I would replace it with a > $2000 Honda or something. If I had a three car garage it would not be an problem I hate to leave a car in the drive. This is the catcher. My father in law bought him self an 85 300D from the same factory. He is thinking of getting rid of it now. It also has very low miles and is in next to perfect condition. I could have the car if I want it so I would have to chose which one to keep. There is no way in hell my wife would let me have both. At some point I will put one of them up for sale. The question is when will he be ready to part with his.

ahh. I misread the FIL thing... slightly dif story, but still that car is going to be hard to justify replacment. the 85 is inferior in many ways, but more durable too... the 87 is slightly harder to service but it does not need valve adjustments, and it has better power and fuel economy. not to mention more up to date/modern design.

The 85 is a more visually interesting car, has more character, the '87 is a couple of generations more modern with the safety, power, handling, comfort that comes with it. If it's a collectible to keep pristine go with the '85, if you have to drive it in traffic, keep the '87.

I'd say that a really nice '87 300D is worth $5k-$7k tops, an average rust-free one is around $3500-$4500. Your miles and records (if available) push it into the nice end.

Here is a link to a couple of pictures of the car.
http://picasaweb.google.com/pwagstaff/300d/photo#5177057577216533490

The 85 is just about at the Antique age. 25 years here in Tennessee. Lifetime license plate, no renewals. Restrictions on when you can drive it; ie. not a daily driver.

Does not really matter in your case. You don't have the storage space.

-Jim