New to Mercedes - 1985 300SD content
 

Hello all,

Just thought I'd give you all a little introduction. My name's Christopher and last week I purchased a 1985 Mercedes-Benz 300SD from a family's estate. (The PO recently passed away.) Its Silver with Red/Maroon interior, MB-Tex I think is what you call it? Not sure.

Anyway, its a pretty clean car, no dents/dings, no tears or cracks in the interior. And only 127,512 on the odometer. Has every maintenance records since new. I just took it to the Dealership here in Fort Worth yesterday and had an inspection done.

It needs a waterpump, motor mounts, belts, and rear Axle boots. Other than that, she's tip top. Runs wonderfully, and so far, I'm in love.

I come from the Volkswagen world of Scirocco's and Rabbits. So I'm not completely unfamiliar with German ingenuity. However, I will note there's definitely something about M-B thats different from everything else I've played with. This thing feels like a tank. Nothing rattles, or shakes. The quality definitely feels solid. I'm thoroughly impressed.

Without further ado, here are some pictures.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...g?t=1242866605

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/100_0394.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/100_0395.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/100_0400.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...o/100_0399.jpg

All that said, thanks for looking. I appreciate any tips or recommendations to maintaining this fine vehicle. And I hope to get to know all of you better.

Kind regards,
Christopher Thomas
DFW-Texas

Looks great!!! Welcome to the fourms

Barely broken in! Welcome to the forum. There's a wealth of information here. Most questions have already been answered; the answers can be found with the search function and if not, ask us--someone will know.

Nice car and welcome. Looks a lot like my 83 300SD except my interior is blue.

John;)

You did very well. I've had 2 '85 SD's.

That one is very nice indeed.

Absolutely gorgeous! I'm drooling over that car. Outstanding acquisition!

Nice, I have an Astral Silver '85 SD too. My SDL has that maroon interior also.

That's leather, not MB Tex. Time to condition it big time. Leatherique is best, look for it online. It lifts the crap to the surface and helps the leather grain best.

Get some tint ASAP too (as well as a windshield reflector for when parking in lots/outside in general), summer is coming and it's awful for interiors due to the heat and UV.

Nice score.

Nice find. That thing's in good shape. If you're a DIYer, all those things listed are fairly straightforward and can be knocked out pretty quickly (coming from a novice, you should have full confidence).

I'm with Hitman...in DFW, the sun will wear out your ride quickly, so get some tint to protect the interior - it's in good shape now.

Welcome to the forums...forget all your other sources for info...you'll not have any trouble finding your answers with the lovely search function.

Enjoy.

Beautiful car, mine is the same color exterior but I have the beige/mushroom interior. 127k....amazing. And its the 1985 so it has the lower final drive, awesome!

That car will run for a loooooong time if you treat her right. ;)

Welcome to the forums!

Very nice car indeed.

May I ask how much it took to pry that away from the estate?

That does look like a nice car! As with VW, you'll want a proper repair manual to see how to conduct repairs properly. The W126 is a big step up engineering wise from a Mk1 VW, I liken it to a Mk1's engineering level x 4 :crazy:

-Jason

Thanks all for the warm welcome.

Did all '85 300SDs come with leather? The guy at the dealership thought it was MB-tex, (granted he was my age and I didn't get a feeling he particularly knew much about my car, or diesels for that matter.) When I said, well, it feels a lot like leather, he said, "Mercedes had a company specifically design a Vinyl to feel and act like leather. So its really hard to tell."

And if thats the case, I should probably remove the armorall that was applied by the detailers, yes?

I'm familiar and confident with most automotive principles, as well as mechanically inclined to do most of the work myself. However, for the sake of record keeping and resale value. Wouldn't it behoove me to take it to a certified shop to maintain its value? Or is it beyond really doing that at this point? With my '02 VW Jetta TDI, I did all the work myself because I don't think they'll ever be considered true classics, nor be worth much in the future.

However, these old MB's, while still readily available. In 10-15 years, they seem like they'll be rather collectable in good condition. This question primarly pertains to the water pump and belts and generally most work that has to deal with the mechanical longevity of the engine. Brakes, CV boots and regular maintenance items are a no-brainer of course.


Again, thank you all.
Christopher

I got it for $2500, seeing as how the A/C needs to be recharged and the rear window regulators didn't work.

EDIT: I hope its not a faux pas to disclose my purchase price.

Beautiful car. You definately got a good deal on that one.

You should be ashamed of yourself. Really, really ashamed. :) You stole that beautiful automobile! As was said, "great score".