I Recently bought a well used ,not abused ,300td .Interior is as near perfect as you can expect for some 20 yrs of service.My problem is the dark blue paint color really doesnt match the interior burgundy scheme.I was on ebay and layed eyes on a burgandy wagon ,so nice.Yeh or neh.Pics or on my other thread,"cheap wagon story".

Changing color correctly will require significant work/money. You don't want to end up with mismatched door jambs, wheel wells, engine compartment, underside of trunk lid, etc.

It's easier to change/paint/dye the interior than to make such a drastic color change in paint.

SEM makes some excellent paints for vinyl. I have used their "Shadow Blue" (#15043), which is a near-perfect match for the dark blue interior of my '85 and '87 300Ds. It covers other colors without a primer -- I have used it over both black and tan Mercedes colors. The results match my existing blue interior so well that you pretty much have to be told it's been painted. Google "SEM paint" for more info and various buying opportunities. Comes in spray cans for US$10-15 depending on the vendor.

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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

A proper paint job at a good body shop will cost the same as just buying another 300td.

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'98 E300 turbodiesel

Probably more. I'm about to have my 300D repainted and expect to pay between $5-10K for a decent job and some very minor body clean-up.

It is VERY labor intensive. A lot of the cost is just removing/replacing trim rubber, masking etc. If you can find a body shop that will let you prep the car and then they just shoot it you can get a decent deal.

Rick

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80 300SD (129k mi) 82 240D stick (193k mi)77 240D auto - stick to be (153k mi) 85 380SL (145k mi) 89 BMW 535i 82 Diesel Rabbit Pickup (374k mi) 91 Jetta IDI Diesel (155k mi) 81 VW Rabbit Convertible Diesel 70 Triumph Spitfire Mk III (63kmi)66 Triumph TR4a IRS (90k mi)67 Ford F-100 (??)

The SEM paint is some very good stuff.

This link shows a bit of the color change I did on my wife's 250C.

Door trim/moulding

To do an extreme color change properly requires removing EVERYTHING from the car inside and out until you have just a shell sitting there. Any other way cuts corners and isn't worth it. The only color change I've seen done that didn't require an entire teardown was from Orient Red to Bordeaux Red. Those two shades are about the same, except one was from the 70s/80s and the other was a shade used on late model MBs.

That color combo is interesting. Is it factory? Post the VIN so we can look up the build data.

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'81 MB 300SD, '82 MB 300D Turbo (sold/RIP), '04 Lincoln Town Car Ultimate

Sooner or later every car falls apart, ours does it later!
-German Narrator in a MB Promotion Film about the then brand new W123.

dude, paying that much for a beat up old 300d is insanity. buy yourself another nice benz

or you can just take it to maaco for $300 and call it a day.

Dude, if I wanted some newer cars I would buy them.

Forgot to say I will be doing the paint job prep and my mechanic friend can shoot paint like a pro,all done at my shop.Materials should be under $250 so cost isnt a factor its originality.ONE STAGE OR 2 STAGE is the question after Ive made my mind up.

This is where the cost comes from.

I think the navy burgandy combination is very nice. I would not change the color if mine.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.