Hello everyone! Noob posting alert here

Looking at getting my first TD, a 98 E300. Owned by a coworker for the past 10 years, they are ready for something new. I just happen to be needing a car to drive to/from work and maybe some road trips, so....here I am!


165K miles on this one. Turbo was replaced last year. Owner states the car never had the same pickup after the turbo was replaced. On the test ride today, I could audibly hear what sounded like a boost leak (or quite a bit of turbo noise) coming from under the hood. Upon close inspection I notice the lower intercooler hose on the right side has some DUCT TAPE on it . He doesn't work on his own stuff, so it sure seems to me like somewhere along the line it might have had some bandaids applied to it....

It's had the services done at the dealer (A&B), needs a motor mount (and the boost issue fixed), but seems to drive nice, suspension seems nice and tight (especially for the mileage), and the price is pretty darn good ($3500).

Assuming I need to replace hoses, a motor mount, and track down what I hope is a boost leak what should I expect to spend (in parts, I can tackle most any thing mechanical). ?

Looking at the moment for:

Lower intercooler hose
Fuel filter (s)
Trans filter and fluid
Oil filter and oil

anything else you think I ought to do to give a known "starting point". I'd like to keep something like this long term, at least put 100k miles on it.

ITEMS REPLACED/REPAIRED ON MY '99 E300TD W/122K, - THAT WAS DONE @ OR BEFORE 100K MILES:

Glow Plugs Replaced
Fuel lines under the hood replaced
Air Mass Sensor replaced
New MB turbocharger
New Left/Right Engine Mounts Installed
Both Rear Door Window Lifts Replaced
Lower Ball-Joints Replaced
Front Rotors New / New Front Wheel Bearings / New 4-wheel Disc Brake Pads / Brake Fluid Flush
Radiator Flush Completed
Transmission Fluid/Filter/Gasket/Sending Unit Replaced
4-wheel alignment completed
2-year old MB battery
New Fuel Filters Replaced every 20K miles
New Engine Air Filter every 20K miles
Mobil 1 Engine Oil Replaced every 10K miles
New HEPA Type Cabin Air Filters

I am thinking of buying a 98 300 turbo diesel with 113,000 miles on it. Two owner car and the asking price is aroud $9,500.00 Seems a bit much??? Wow!!! thats a great price $3500

I hear the Glow plugs are a nightmare, be SURE you do some italian tuneups or diesel purges to keep the carbon low around the plugs!

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

italian tuneups!!!! hahah i remember when i first read that..on the forum a few months back.. I could not stop laughing...the guy was from texas I believe???

intercooler hoses are 90 and 80 at the dealer. one of my hoses had a huge hole in it and it still ran fine.

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1993 e300
1995 e320
1994 e320
2006 s500 4matic
2004 Jeep wj overland
2001 Ducati 748
2004 Honda shadow aero

Car seems to run fine, just VERY sluggish pickup. I know the owner had some issues with fuel leaks....just need to see what and where.....

I'm hoping someone hasn't jacked up the injector pump....the fuel leak was a reoccurring issue. As long as that piece is fine, the more I read the more confident I feel about handling most problems that could come up.

Depending on the condition of the car, at $3,500 you can easily spend another $5,000 or more on things it never got AND NOW NEEDS in maintenance and repairs over it's 165K miles. That's, give or take, already an $8,500.00 car. Still interested?

I buy cars based on their condition for the dollar, holding out as a price-mantle, the same model with low miles and nearly perfect condition. I then compare how much money I'm really saving, buying a less than perfect used car of that model and year - that needs a lot of work.

If a car you are looking at has been trashed, neglected maintenancewise AND appearancewise over it's life, I would generally not be interested in it at any price.

Reason why? I can get an almost perfect specimen with lower miles for not many more dollars.

Cosmetically it's really not bad at all. Needs some love in the detailing department.

I'll report back tomorrow and see what the owner says
about the fuel issue (that is now fixed). If the oranges havnt been done, would it be wise to go ahead and tackle them?

I do plan on taking care of all the fluids and filters immediately after buying the car.

Boost leak fixed

Car now scoots decent with the skinny pedal... A bit of smoke at wot....could the pump be mistimed or something? Perhaps it's getting rid of excess fuel that has been probably sitting in the intercooler for some time (with the boost leak)

I need brakes all around, do all the fluids and filters, and should be set for awhile....car came with records, and all of the fuel lines/rubber bits have been replaced