looking at an 84 300CD
 

Hey All,

I have not posted for some time as my concerns of my 240d have been searched and or answered. Thanks to all.

Two years ago I nearly bought a 300CD, but the seller sold it to his friend for the same price because he offered it to him first. Well last weekend the buyer offered it to me for 2 grand as opposed to the original price of 3400.
The buyer has only put about 3000 miles on it since.

The vehicle, I know, needs the following:
Brakes - compete
Rough shifting tranny fix
Drivers side window adjustment
Paint (clear coat peeling)

The good:
Straight body - no rust or dings
Interior is clean with no signs of water leaks
New tires
171 k miles

I love the lines of the coupe and may test drive it today-wed-, do a car fax and decide this weekend.

What do you guys and gals think of this?
Any input about repairs or previous experience with this model will, as always, be appreciated.

Thank you again,
type you soon
Bernie

Wow very jealous. I love the coupes as well.

I'd say typical pre buy look over. Make sure you can get a hold of the maintenance records, see if the rubber on the underside is ok (CV joints, etc). I just did my axles and it was a miserable yet mildly rewarding experience.
Get a good look at the mechanical under belly and innards of the beast for leaks and out of place items. Oh yeah and blow by too!

This thread is worthless without pictures! Let's see the good.

Hard and cracking door window seals and weatherstripping are a real problem on the coupes, as the replacements are not available in the aftermarket, and are WILDLY expensive from Mercedes.

Seems like they usually start to shrink at the tops of the side windows and a large gap is created right where the front and rear windows meet. Lets in water and all kinds of wind noise!

+1

The brakes are simple mechanics and easy to work on.
The tranny may be just a vacuum issue. (or not)
Window adjustment again a simple thing- just a major PITA to get it just right. The regulators twist and bend over time, and may need replacment at the worst case.
Do the back windows go down all the way?
A new coat of paint will do wonders..... and new window rubber ($$$$$)

Only 171k miles? No leaks? No rust!!!! Straight Body?? 2K?

Now you'll tell us that the AC works too.

It sounds like a decent deal, it also sounds like it will cost a few $1000 more to get it sorted out. If it was me, I would probably grab it, knowing that for a total cost of $5-6K I would end up with a pretty nice driver.

As usual, do an inspection if you don't find anything unusual, sounds like a good deal if you can put up with the paint.

Bern, how's it going? You're right, you've been absent for a while. I'd have to grab it anyways. I'd like to have a coupe.

Other pricey/hard to find coupe specific stuff: the rear window is supposed to be in excess of $1000, coupe seat frames are technically unavailable, but can be sourced from Germany for $400 if you substitute a Japanese or Euro part number.

There's an added vacuum element to lock/unlock the seat backs with the doors. I consider it an important safety feature that it work properly, otherwise the seats will fold on you in an accident. Mine didn't work initially due to leak in the defroster vent, but it would work with the ACC set to defrost. You might want to check that.

Otherwise it's mostly standard 123 tech.

The 300CD is right up my alley... top to bottom & front to back, some (or the sum) of the seals are exorbitant.

From my order sheet... and these price quotes are over 12-months old now:
PART NO. / PART DESC. / QTY. / $ LIST / $ DISCOUNTED PRICE
123-673-00-24 VERTICAL ¼ GLASS SEAL 2 $11.50 $9.62
123-720-01-54 L. LONG WEATHERSTRIP 1 510.00 382.50
123-720-02-54 R. LONG WEATHERSTRIP 1 510.00 382.50
123-670-09-38 OUTSIDE ¼ GLASS SCRAPER 1 117.00 87.75
123-670-10-38 OUTSIDE ¼ GLASS SCRAPER 1 117.00 87.75
123-673-09-65 INSIDE ¼ GLASS SCRAPER 1 80.00 60.00
123-673-10-65 INSIDE ¼ GLASS SCRAPER 1 80.00 60.00
123-725-05-65 INSIDE DOOR SCRAPER 2 85.00 63.75
123-725-02-65 OUTSIDE DOOR SCRAPER 2 20.00 16.00
123-690-03-89 Lt ¼ glass trim “C shaped” 1 $480.00 $360.00
123-690-17-80 Lt door top trim 1 $414.00 $310.00
123-690-17-80 Rt door top trim 1 $414.00 $310.00
123-670-04-39 Front windshield seal 1 $125.00 $93.75 (Note: currently NLA)
123-670-05-39 Back glass seal 1 $140.00 $105.00
123-720-11-78 Lt door w/strip 1 $100.00 $75.00
123-720-12-78 Rt door w/strip 1 $100.00 $75.00

The rear glass is easily over 1K as mentioned above and the back glass trim are also premium-priced:
Lt side…………… 123-678-05-30 $154.00 $115.50
Rt side………….. 123-678-06-30 $154.00 $115.50
Bottom………….. 123-678-07-30 $142.00 $106.50

If you aren't really concerned with a concours car, I would bet one could piece many of the seals together from common sedan versions for much less money. It would be a lot better for the car than letting water in and rotting the floor...

The glass, however, is another story. I believe the windshield is unique to the CD, although it looks the same as the sedan.

I did figure out that the W126 SEC coupes, have several very similar seals. Maybe the prices for those are less? Anyway, not trying to threadjack, just thought I'd add a useful piece of advice. :)

Maybe rubber from a northern enviroment might do. Unusual to ever replace rubber here. Hard to find a junk coupe as well but not impossible by any stretch.

For the most part, 123 coupe seals are specific for the coupe (except a few of the lesser expensive items).
All F & R and L & R 123 coupe glass panes are specific for coupes only.
I have owned 5 123 coupes and extensively replaced the seals on 2 of them.

Bernie

Did you buy it??? I have two and might like to look at this one. I live in Wilmington.
Robert