I went and drove a 1983 300d Turbo today. It has about 303K miles on it. It was about 80 outside, so it cold started immediately...seemed to have very decent power after all I've heard about awful acceleration. When I punched it from a stop, it took off like a shot. Once it hit 60 on the interstate it seemed like it immediately wanted to go to 80. No smoke at idle, on startup or on acceleration.

When I got back, I immediately popped the hood and took off the oil cap and did the "teapot" test. There was blowby there but the cap just rattled rather than shooting off.

The body was great, two rust spots were fixed on the passenger side, one on the rear floor and one near the jack point. both were professionally done with new metal welded in. The only remaining rust is at the very bottoms of the drivers side doors (is that a dealbreaker?)

The car's being sold by the son of the original owner, and all the dealer materials, the stamped metal sheet, etc. come with the car.

The owner has put MUCH money into the car in the last 5 years, replacing the brakes, odometer, air conditioning system, injection pump, etc, etc. The records going back to 1984 are all bound in a folder.

So, my question is, with all the positive things I've noted, is 303K miles too much to consider for a daily driver 300d?

Thanks,

Joe

If it's been taken care of, 300k is not that much for one of these cars. With the car warm and running, take off the oil cap and check how much blow-by it has, that will give you an idea of the internals of the engine. If it feels good, it's probably fine.

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My Primary Driver - '85 300CD - 4-speed conversion, 2.47 rear, lowered, euro headlights, rebuilding (not restoring so much)

Wife's - '08 Saab Sportcombi Aero

Riding a '03 Yamaha Warrior

The transmission may be nearing the end of its life . . . there are "wear parts" (clutch packs, etc) in it. If it has never been overhauled, it will probably need it soon.

You don't say what part of the world you and the car are in, that affects the rust diagnosis. At the least, have a body shop look over the car. Also pull up the carpet and pads and check the footwells for rust resulting from water leaks into the car.

As always, an inspection by an independent mechanic is a good idea.

Jeremy


Has the timing chain been replaced? It might be worth removing the valve cover to check the stretch. Timing chain replacement is not a major job, medium DIY (or so I am told) but you can make it sound like a major job, a negotiating factor in your favor.

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"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970

I have 315,000 and use it everyday.Ready to go to California anytime.Of course new timing chain,and rebuilt trans.

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1999 w140, quit voting to old, and to old to fight, a god damned veteran

I sold my 84 300D with 330K miles. 40K was on VegOil. Everything else on the car was wearing out but the engine and tranny were still strong.

Well, now I'm starting to worry about the transmission...from what I've read, the blowby is fairly normal, but I don't think the Trans has been rebuilt, and I don't have $4000 for that right now, despite how good it felt when I was driving it.

I live in Northern VA, and I saw the owner pull up all the carpets and pads to show me there was no more rust on the floors. He is checking right now on the timing chain and oil cooler hoses.

I bought my 84 with 309K on it. It has been a wonderful car. I wouldn't be afraid of that many miles if it was taken care of. But as others have mentioned, if it is the original tranny, you could be looking at that rebuild down the road.

It all depends on how much he wants for it. It the price is right, it sounds like an excellent car.

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85 300D 75K Anthracite Grey 0-60 in 13 seconds **For Sale**
84 300D 333K Black (The Velveteen Rabbit) 0-60 in 14 seconds
00 Toyota Sienna 208K (Sold)
15 Subaru Outback 43K
11 Subaru Outback 67K
98 Ford Taurus 100K (Gertie - Was Grandma's - drove it to church and shopping - really) Daughter's car now.
30 Model A Ford 2 Door Sedan (Sold) 0-60 in . . . Never reached 60

The price is pretty right....less than $1500.

I just don't want to be shelling out big bucks very soon on the car, as it's already had a bunch of resto work done.

For that kind of money unless the trans is ng I would go for it.

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1981 240D 143k 4 spd manual -SOLD

2004 VW Jetta TDI 5 speed 300k -still driven daily

Forgive my ignorance, but what does "ng" mean in reference to the transmission?

no good?

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1986 300SDL - 71K miles - Champagne metallic w/Brazil brown interior
1987 300SDL of the same colors--239K miles...soon to be sold to my cousin...

NG=No good. NFG does not need elaboration and is common as well. Remember there is a possibility the transmision has already been rebuilt sometime. Keeping an eye open for a good used spare might mitigate your concerns a little.

The claimed milage on the odometers on these cars is probably seldom accurate. Even this one has had the odometer repaired. The senario of the odometer breaking and the owner rushing right away to have it fixed as an emergency does not wash well with me.

No rust, runs well, fifteen hundred or less, take a chance. Especially if you are willing to do your own repairs as you go along. If you have to farm out all the repair work to garages this is not the car for you in my opinion. The first few paid for service bills would pay the diference to something low milage and almost pristine. I guess what I really mean is these cars are not practical if you are not willing to get your hands dirty periodically in my opinion.

With a little instruction and some pictures, I'm willing to do most any work that doesn't involve machine tools or welding...so I can handle repairs of the basic kind.

I've rebuilt old VW engines, and basically renovated other cars, so I can and will work on them myself.

As for the odometer repair....I saw the records that show the mileage before the repair and after. They literally dialed the repaired odometer to the exact mileage that was on the old one and went from there. The guy that owns it now was NOT bashful about having Don Pool Mercedes in Falls Church do anything and everything to keep it running in top shape.

Not being combative on that, but it helps to highlight the kind of care the car's been given throughout its life.

Seriously dealer maintained is a real plus. The difference on the odometer I reffered to is the miles accumulated while the odometer was not functioning. That time interval can vary. I did not think about resetting it lower.

That method was usually done when the cars where fairly new way back then. Made a large difference in the resale price. Most people purchased diesels by and large to drive excess miles.

Right now the practice might be back. Some of the claimed low milage examples on ebay are more than a little suspicious. I see things indicating it sometimes in the pictures presented.

Unless you have owned a few simular mercedes they high milage indicators might be missed by many. A lot of crooks seem to have gravatated to ebay over time. Buyer beware on that site is not strong enough.