I am looking at venturing into the world of a 1970's diesel.
Any opinions on this car would be appreciated.
The seller wants $1,300 for it. I have not seen the vehicle yet, it is an online listing but I do have some photos (see below).
Thanks,
Luke

Notes from the seller:

"The car has 150000 miles on it. An attorney in Atlanta owned it for most of its years . Then a young person bought it but it sat most of the time for him and I bought it about 4 years ago. The only thing I've had to do with it,is put a new alternater on it.
Yes, it has a clear title
The inside is not as good as the outside. The drivers seat is bad,the head cloth is starting to come loose near the rear window and the cover over dash is cracking due to years of sun exposure.
I used biodiesel in the vehicle and when I would put it in I'd spill a little and it collected dust-What you're seeing is a layer of dirt around the fuel opening.

IMO, too much given the interior. That said, if it drives really well, no rust and everything works...$1000, maybe. See below as a $1500 example:

FOR SALE 1976 MERCEDES BENZ 300D GOOD CONDITION MUST SEE!!!

1976 MERCEDES BENZ 300D
5-CYLINDER DIESEL
69,000 ORIGINAL MILEAGED.
3-SPEED AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
4-DOOR POWER-LOCKS
POWER-WINDOWS
WHITE EXTERIOR /BLACK INTERIOR VERY GOOD CONDITION
CLEAN INSIDE AND OUT WITH GOOD
CONDITION TIRES ALLOY WHEELS
VERY GOOD FUEL MILEAGED ABOUT 22 MILES PER GALLON /HIGHWAY
FOR MORE INFO PLEASE CALL@ 408 726-9089 ASK FOR CHRIS (BETWEEN 10AM-4PM)WEEKDAYS MON-FRI...

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too many w123's
84 280 SL 5 speed

I disagree, especially when considering the cars location and apparent lack of rust. Of course, try to get the price down, but if it were in my area I'd be jumping on it if everything worked and it were as rust free as it seems in the photos.

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1985 500SL Euro w/ AMG bits 130k
1984 300SD Turbodiesel 192k
1980 240D Stick China 188k
2001 CLK55 AMG 101k
2007 S600 Biturbo 149k Overheated Project, IT'S ALIVE!!!

$1500 is too much. Is that 155k or 255k ??

That interior sure doesnt match the exterior. I think Id be offering more in the $500 range. There is a lot of meticulous work to do inside.

This link will take you to a nationwide CL search site. This will provide you a much better picture of the pricing for the yrs and models you are seeking.

http://crazedlist.org/

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1985 300D 198K sold
1982 300D 202K
1989 300E 125K
1992 940T

"If you dont have time to do it safely, you dont have time to do it"

"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."

Car looks in overall somewhat rough condition to me from the pictures. Especially the interior shots.

Given that, I would probably not be an interested buyer on this car for that reason alone.

So, the Minnesota plates don't bother you concerning rust? Granted the seller said "a doctor from Atlanta...most of it's life" but, how many years in Minnesota?

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too many w123's
84 280 SL 5 speed

I think it would clean up nicely. Those seats and interior bits would be easy enough to find. The paint a body looks like it would come out great after a thorough cleaning.

Its better than battling rust.

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1985 500SL Euro w/ AMG bits 130k
1984 300SD Turbodiesel 192k
1980 240D Stick China 188k
2001 CLK55 AMG 101k
2007 S600 Biturbo 149k Overheated Project, IT'S ALIVE!!!

Of course I would look the car over thoroughly, but in Minnesota I imagine it would be hard to find a good body.

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1985 500SL Euro w/ AMG bits 130k
1984 300SD Turbodiesel 192k
1980 240D Stick China 188k
2001 CLK55 AMG 101k
2007 S600 Biturbo 149k Overheated Project, IT'S ALIVE!!!

I wasn't aware of MB building a "3-SPEED AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION" IN THAT YEAR.

I also believe the; "22 MILES PER GALLON /HIGHWAY" to be untrue information as well.

That said - it sounds like a terrific car for only; "$1,500!"

This is not a $500 parts car.

We forum members are traditionally lowballers though.

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1985 500SL Euro w/ AMG bits 130k
1984 300SD Turbodiesel 192k
1980 240D Stick China 188k
2001 CLK55 AMG 101k
2007 S600 Biturbo 149k Overheated Project, IT'S ALIVE!!!

Don't know anything about that particular car. It was only referenced as an example sight-unseen (like the car in question) similarly priced vehicle, particularly the interior condition. It may be a dog as well.

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too many w123's
84 280 SL 5 speed

I'm just speaking hypothetically too. You're right, it could be a dog. I was just stating if most of the accessories worked, it had no rust/decent paint, good compression and went down the road just fine its worth his asking price. There will of course be some issues with it. That is to be expected of a car at this age and price point.

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1985 500SL Euro w/ AMG bits 130k
1984 300SD Turbodiesel 192k
1980 240D Stick China 188k
2001 CLK55 AMG 101k
2007 S600 Biturbo 149k Overheated Project, IT'S ALIVE!!!

Tyler,

You pay $500 for a parts car!

Big spender

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too many w123's
84 280 SL 5 speed

I've never bought a parts car. The only car I've paid $500 for was a '85 300TD wagon with a pristine interior, and excellent mechanicals. Came with nearly 30 grand in service records. Too bad it was completely consumed by rust on every panel. Floors and 3 of the four wheel wells were solid, but one had a fist sized hole, and the jack points unusable. My friend Zach bought it from me and drove it nearly 2000 miles to California. Still going to this day.

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1985 500SL Euro w/ AMG bits 130k
1984 300SD Turbodiesel 192k
1980 240D Stick China 188k
2001 CLK55 AMG 101k
2007 S600 Biturbo 149k Overheated Project, IT'S ALIVE!!!

Buy it!
That is what my 240D probably looked like before it was repainted blue (it was originally Astral Silver). Mine was in much rougher condition when I got it, and had more miles; it was listed for around the same price, but I negotiated a signifiantly lower price primarily due to the failed heater blower, which is a very time-consuming repair (probably exceeding the value of the car if you're having someone tear the car apart to do it). I still haven't fixed that blower....

If the heater fan works - and there is no major rust -and the car starts well cold, shifts properly, and idles smoothly - $1500 seems pretty reasonable to me; the more issues you can find & identify, you can probably knock off a few $100's. There are probably be a lot of little things to replace from age, from fuel lines to injectors to seat pads to tires & shock absorbers.

One thing I just don't understand: WHY do I see so many W115 240D & 300D's with the "DIESEL" & the model number badges reversed like this one? I've never seen that done on any other model yet I've seen it in photos of W115 diesel cars on ebay and Craigslist all across the U.S. It's even more irritating to me than calling an '85 W123 diesel wagon a 300TDT.

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1976 240D "Katja"