1987 300 SDL? Reliable and cheap transportation? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

JeffreyNMemphis · #1 04-05-2010, 04:07 PM

Hello Diesel Experts!

You will find me on the vintage forum every day. I am fearless and capable of repairing most problems on vintage gasoline cars. Currently, I own three vintage gassers. My W108 is beautiful to look at, but the 4.5 liter V8 guzzles gas and is too expensive to drive regularly. I have been considering the purchase of a Mercedes diesel.

There is a 1987 300 SDL for sale in Houston with 115,000 miles that I can buy for a reasonable price. The paint is faded from being parked outside in the sun all day for 20 years. The interior is in reasonably good shape with the obligatory dash cracks.

The car runs well and has been meticulously maintained with dealer stamps for every oil change in the owner's manual. I was told that the turbo charger and the exhaust system was replaced due to build up of soot?

The car has an assortment of interior electrical issues that will have to be sorted out and it needs a paint job.

With this information can you offer an opinion; If I start driving this car 10,000 miles per year, will I be repairing it more than driving it? How expensive is the car to maintain? What should I expect for annual maintenance costs if the car has been faithfully maintained? What types of expenses might I encounter when the unexpected happens?

Skid Row Joe · #2 04-05-2010, 04:15 PM

In a word - maybe. They are not known to be a cheap car to operate over time - with the exception of fuel it burns per mile.

It already somewhat sounds like a project car - what with your description of it. You say it has records? You need to list the items that have been replaced - and at what mileage for us to give you the short list of items it already is likely to need at it's age and mileage - if not replaced already.

How much is the asking price?

daw_two · #3 04-05-2010, 04:25 PM

Jeffrey.

You might to check out this thread --- it lists and addresses some of the issues I had with my "beloved" 1986 300SDL named Coda, recently purchased by Chad300tdt.

In addition, if there's anything you want to ask me, please give me a ring, a ding ding.

JeffreyNMemphis · #4 04-05-2010, 04:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by daw_two

Jeffrey.

You might to check out this thread --- it lists and addresses some of the issues I had with my "beloved" 1986 300SDL named Coda, recently purchased by Chad300tdt.

In addition, if there's anything you want to ask me, please give me a ring, a ding ding.

I read through a few pages. It might take me a week to read all 259 posts. I will give you a call...

Jeremy5848 · #5 04-05-2010, 04:46 PM

The OM603 engine is generally very reliable, so long as you don't lose coolant, overheat the engine, and crack the head. At 115,000 miles the engine is barely broken in. It might help us to help you if you could find out which version of the head it's got. The later versions are less likely to have problems although even the original #14 head can be trouble-free (mine is).

The 300SDL can be inexpensive transportation only if you are willing and able to do as much of your own maintenance as possible. There's a lot to take care of, even more in the 300SDL (W126) as in the 300D (W124). If you are intending to use the car just for driving and can ignore the cosmetic issues, you'll save a lot of money. The car will run just fine with the faded paint and you can put a cover over the cracked dash.

I would advise you to make sure the climate control system is working properly. It is no fun to lack heating and cooling at the appropriate times and repairs can be very expensive.

The sunroof is very expensive to repair, is difficult to DIY, and is not critical to driving the vehicle. If it doesn't work, use it as a bargaining chip and then ignore it.

Most electrical issues can be sorted out, especially if you know which end of a soldering iron is the hot end. Relays and such can be sourced from a junkyard for a fraction of new cost. The gasoline versions will have many of the same parts are tend to get junked under the CARS program.

The 300SDL is about a foot longer than the 300D and will be a bit less nimble and a bit harder to park. The S class has more gadgets that the E class, which can be nice if they work and not so nice if they don't.

What is the asking price?

Jeremy

ah-kay · #6 04-05-2010, 04:47 PM

I like all my 300SDLs. 2 are daily drivers. One is a loooong term project car. I buy project cars with only 2 criterias in mind, good engine/tranny and as rust-less as possible. The rest I do not really care as it can be fixed over time. I source most of my spares from JY as there are a lot w126 gassers to choose from.

Have a good repair manual and you are all set. I tinker with all my SDLs and make a to-do list with prioritize them. I find the SDL is cheap to keep, run and very reliable.

compu_85 · #7 04-05-2010, 05:05 PM

Running a car that MSRP'd at around $85,000 in 2009 dollars will never be cheap. If you find one that isn't totally broken / don't care if it's totally broken then it might not hurt your wallet so badly.

-Jason

JeffreyNMemphis · #8 04-05-2010, 05:10 PM

The asking price is $4000.00. I think the car is worth $2500.00. What I need to know is whether $1,500 will make it a $4,000 car? Or, will I be spending $5,000.00 to have a $4,000 car?

I spent $12,000 on my Porsche for basic mechanical items necessary for normal operation. That was zero dollars on cosmetics; engine rebuild, clutch, brakes, tires/alignment and air conditioning. This did not make the car worth $12,000 more.

My experience with Mercedes has been considerably less expensive to maintain and operate. Is diesel engine more maintenance intensive or costly than gasoline engine?

ah-kay · #9 04-05-2010, 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeffreyNMemphis

I spent $12,000 on my Porsche for basic mechanical items necessary for normal operation. That was zero dollars on cosmetics; engine rebuild, clutch, brakes, tires/alignment and air conditioning. This did not make the car worth $12,000 more.

if you paid someone $12,000 to fix up your Porsche then you can forget the 30SDL. $1500 will not get you anywhere.

2.5-10 · #10 04-05-2010, 05:17 PM

the SDL is a very reliable car as long as the 603 has been treated well and doesnt have the defective head batch.

just fix the electrics with JY parts and keep up on preventative maintenance and you will likely have little to no problems with it for a long time.

JeffreyNMemphis · #11 04-05-2010, 05:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ah-kay

if you paid someone $12,000 to fix up your Porsche then you can forget the 30SDL. $1500 will not get you anywhere.

"Basic mechanical items" was probably not an accurate description. The money I spent was not to change the spark plugs. The engine was smoking from worn valve guides and leaking from the engine gaskets.

I paid someone because the engine needed new valve guides which involved pulling the engine, doing machine work to the head and installing new gaskets and studs. The flywheel was resurfaced and clutch re-installed. The Porsche 911 Carrera engine is not cheap to rebuild or a project for the casual Do-it-yourselfer. The shop that rebuilt the engine is known for building race engines that compete at Daytona or the Rolex 24 hour.

My experience with Mercedes has been more do-it-yourself type projects with basic mechanical capabilities being sufficient for 90% of the work. I would still need professional help to machine the head or replace pistons.

Agreed, $1500 won't go far. How much should I expect for annual maintenance costs? What would a best-case/worst-case scenario be?

brandlj · #12 04-05-2010, 05:48 PM

My 86 300sdl has been very reliable in the 5 years that I have owned it. I purchased it for $3500 when it had 79,000 miles on it.It now has 121,000 miles on it. It had been well maintained by the previous owner. Routine maintenance has been performed by me, therefore no labor costs. This included trans fluid and filter, oil and filter every 5000 miles, brake fluid every year, both fuel filters every year, serpentine belt, power steering fluid and filter yearly, air filter yearly. These parts are not expensive at all.
Things that have broken in 5 years include monvalve diaphragm, aux water pump ( still disconnected) Climate control Unit ( pushbutton unit), One relay in the fuse box, alternator brushes, a battery, the plastic clips that hold the fuel lines to the intake manifold, the front rubber brake hoses, the front brake calipers,both Upper control arms, one tie rod, the driver's side ABS brake sensor wire, and 3 vacuum diaphragms in the dash for the A/C. I replaced all of these things myself and the parts were not very expensive at all. Some were new parts, some were used. I like to tinker so I find this a very inexpensive car to drive. I continually get 24-25 mpg in combined city and highway driving. I feel very secure driving it and I really love this car. I enjoy driving it more than my 07 BMW 530i which is an electrical nightmare waiting to happen.
Make sure that your radiator hoses are in good shape, your fan clutch works, your aux fan comes on with the A/C, you have good, clean filters and this car will roll a long time.
There have been some crazy little electrical flareups which can be attributed to gummed up switches, and dirty fuse connections.
My car has the "14" head and is perfectly fine.
Good Luck with your plans.

ah-kay · #13 04-05-2010, 06:55 PM

Put it this way. IRS mileage rate is $0.50 per mile. If you do 15K/yr and the total fuel, insurance and maintenance is less then $7.5K then you are ahead of the game. I don't know anyone can give you true maintenance figure as every car's need is different. What I can tell you is that I log all expenses to maintain my cars and they are low. The whole family do about 40K per year and the maintenance costs is less than $1K for the 2 SDLs. It would have been a different story if I charge out the labor. Both my daily SDLs have good maintenance history from PO so they are the exceptions rather then the rule. If you are willing to get your hands dirty then SDL is a good car to get if the price is right, but that is a BIG if.