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  #1  
Old 05-24-2009, 01:32 PM
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Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Houston, Texas
Posts: 1,137
Test Drive: W124 2.5 turbo - What to think?

Hello Friends,

I have been reading the Diesel Forums for a while, gathering information to make an informed purchase decision. I have narrowed my search to the W124 2.5 Diesel because it seems modern enough and is less expensive to maintain than a W140 diesel (also avoids the rod bending risk of the 3.5).

Yesterday I looked at a W124 2.5 with 180k miles. The car started right up. Air conditioning works. During the 30 minutes I had the car running, it did not over-heat. I let the car idle in the driveway when returning from the test drive long enough to see if it would overheat and the temperature stayed right right at the middle mark. There was no smoke. The engine sounded normal.

The transmission shifted through all the gears. The shift from first to second was more pronounced than the shift from second to third or third to fourth.

The car drove like a slug. This was only the second 2.5 turbo I have driven, so I don't know if this car was slower than it is supposed to be. The other car I drove as I recall seemed quicker and torquier? The suspension and handling felt good. It tracked straight braking quickly, with the brakes gripping as expected.

The owner was not forthcoming about problems and repairs. He did tell me about the new tires, but didn't want to disclose repairs to the AC system which was working well. He said he didn't have any repair receipts, when pressed on the issue he said he might have one or two. I told him I could come back later to see what he did have. An hour later he had a dozen receipts but far less than a complete service history for an original owner vehicle. The oil change sticker on the windshield indicated the car was 1,000 miles past time for oil change.

I was not looking for amunition to reduce the purchase price, rather attempting to get a realistic picture of the condition and what issues that are known for the model that might have already been addressed. Suggesting that the car is excellent and has never had a problem or repair in 180k miles except for tires and oil is fantasy or fantastic. The owner's original asking price was double NADA book value, higher than dealer retail.

The interior of the car is clean. The wood is good with the exception of the panel at the shifter which has the typical dry cracked lacquer finish. The seats and the carpet are clean.

The exterior is good, with minor scratches covered in touchup paint. Typical bumper scrapes. A few dings without paint damage. Chrome grill has a ding on the top. The front bumper is loose on one side that was noticed because of a gap exposing the gasket and holding snaps. If this seems picky, it is. The car was garage kept, until two years ago. The paint needs a good cleaning and a coat of wax.

The car looks good. What concerns me is how much trouble-shooting and maintenance it will take to get the car running dependably as a daily driver. Houston traffic would be dangerous for a slow moving target as this car had trouble getting out of its own way.

At $4300 it seems affordable enough, maybe a little high on the price? The book value for Excellent Private Owner is $3200. NADA is not always the best at true value and actual selling prices.

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1962 220Sb ~ The Emerald Bullet http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hx6tN1W48_o
1957 Ponton 220S

2001 S600 Daily Driver
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  #2  
Old 05-24-2009, 01:55 PM
Oldwolf's Avatar
124.128/602.962/722.418
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Raleigh, NC
Posts: 1,017
I paid $6k for my 93 300D last month. It has 137k on it. The interior is perfect. I few minor scratches on the exterior and the white paint needs a good buffing but it is still glossy. Engine runs very well, turbo kicks in as it is supposed to it seems to me. I am going to have to fix the tach, cruise control, and the gas gauge is flakey. Probably needs an instrument panel rebuild.The transmission has some flaring when cold, not too bad, and works perfectly when hot. The car has a great ride but it has crummy Chinese tires it hat will need to be replaced. I am going to replace some fuel lines and vacuum lines and of course filters but not much else. I feel like I got an acceptable deal on mine. Remember these are old cars and will probably require a little work once you get them. Your $4300 does not sound too bad too me. Did you get a Carfax report on it?
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1993 W124 300D 2.5L Turbo, OM602.962
2000 Chevrolet Cavalier, 2.4L DOHC
2002 Ford Explorer, 4.0L SOHC
2005 Toyota Prius, 1.5L

http://www.fuelly.com/sig-us/40601.png
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  #3  
Old 05-24-2009, 03:13 PM
General n'er do well
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 18
For what its worth.....
I picked mine up at the end of February in Phoenix w/220K. Ran good, but nailed a little. No blow by, and no oil consumption. The shifting and sluggishness you describe seem very familiar. I put a set of tires on it.I sent the injectors off and had them rebuilt (Less than $200.00 Bucks) I spent some time with fuel lines and filters, hunted down some vacuum leaks and replaced the VCV (which I ham- handedly broke) I cleaned out the alda port on the intake as well. Mainly through the vacuum work, the harsh shifting and sluggishness went away. The injectors, and a pump timing adjustment took care of the nailing. Everything works on this car except for the rear windows. The interior cleaned up great with no tears (the piping has seen a better day, but is fine for a driver) The dash has no cracks, but I will be refinishing the wood trim later in the summer. The AZ sun has taken its toll on that. The body is straight, but the sun has had its day with that as well. I will paint it after I finish all the odd and end mechanical things I'd like to do (EGR delete ETC.) No point in having fresh paint to worry about when I'm planning on leaning over the fender a lot. It averaged 34.7 MPG on the first tank, and that was a 200 miles of around town in Phoenix and then about 150 to take on fuel in Flagstaff. (This is before I started patching Vacuum leaks, replacing leaky fuel lines ETC) I am sure I could have picked up a nicer car for more money, but I wanted something to do in my spare time and this car has been great to work on so far so I am not ashamed of picking it up for $2000.00.
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  #4  
Old 05-24-2009, 04:15 PM
pawoSD's Avatar
Dieselsüchtiger
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Grand Rapids, MI
Posts: 15,438
And that is why I did not buy a 300D W124....very expensive! I searched for one for a long while, and the only one I found was junky and way over priced. I settled for a 300E (bought with 133k and only minor issues for thousands less than a diesel version)....so far it has been just as reliable as the diesels...and the M103 can be exiciting. Premium is up to $2.79 now though.

Someday I hope to find a nice 300D 2.5.....it could be a looong time.
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-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)
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  #5  
Old 05-24-2009, 04:42 PM
compress ignite's Avatar
Drone aspiring to Serfdom
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: 32(degrees) North by 81(degrees) West
Posts: 5,554
Owner's Service Records

Ask him if he'll give you permission (To the Dealership Service Director) to look
at the 124.128's service records.
[If he says NO, he MAY have something to hide]

The Turbocharger's Boost is not getting to the intake.
EDS (Electronic Diesel System [engine computer] ) is "Dumping" the Boost in
response to a real [or perceived]sensor input.
'could be a Vacuum leak or something simple.

These Mercedes are not SLOW...
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124.128
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  #6  
Old 05-24-2009, 06:08 PM
General n'er do well
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 18
Amen, since I sorted the vacuum system, and cleaned the ALDA passage, mine has great throttle response and builds right at 15 Lbs. of boost. I am at 7450 above sea level, but it still runs great and has pep aplenty.
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1990 124,128 602,962

Beware the hobby that eats.
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  #7  
Old 05-24-2009, 06:17 PM
Registered User
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Houston, Texas
Posts: 1,137
Thank you for the responses...

Compress, I think Walmart may have more service history on the car than his original dealership. He had three receipts from dealerships, none of them for an oil change. He had the windshield wiper fixed twice at the dealership during warranty, not a lot of dealership paper in his stack. The AC repair ticket was from an indy and mentioned a button that was installed on the dask to bypass and some other creative engineering to make the AC work. If I ever have to address an AC issue, I will discover some things that are not covered in a wiring diagram. This is not extremely uncommon but less than desirable, as the mechanic writing the ticket seemed to express.

My experience of maintaining cars that were previously owned is that shop mechanics tend to do the exact job they are getting paid for and nothing more. Shop mechanics don't look for all the things that need to be cleaned, which is more work that owners don't want to pay for. They fix complaints quickly and move on. When I changed my valves cover gaskets, I cleaned the valve covers in a way that a shop would never spend the time to do.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/attachments/vintage-mercedes-forum/61411d1227744985-changing-my-valve-cover-gaskets-w108-4-5-help-valve-covers.jpg

I am sure that if I buy this car, I will spend time doing all of the things you guys have mentioned like cleaning out the ALDA passage and hunting down vacuum leaks.
__________________

1962 220Sb ~ The Emerald Bullet http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hx6tN1W48_o
1957 Ponton 220S

2001 S600 Daily Driver
The Universe is Abundant ~ Life is GOOD!http://www.classiccarclock.com
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  #8  
Old 05-24-2009, 10:11 PM
sixto's Avatar
smoke gets in your eyes
 
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: Eastern TN
Posts: 20,841
Get a PPI. Purchase price is less of an issue on a car that's had proper maintenance and lots of recent work, particularly suspension work. Reference oldsouth's S350 in the cars (for sale) forum. I suspect a 180K car maintained by Walmart is due for a number of rear suspension links and possibly some front end work as well. Factor that couple of grand into your offer.

Read gsxr's buyer's guide - Common issues - but cylinder head cracking is very uncommon in the 90-up OM602.

Rather than sort through the back-@sswards boost control, join the enlightened who've converted to mechanical boost control - Wastegate actuator swap for OM602.962?

Sixto
87 300D

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