Hi everyone. I recently just purchased a 1984 300TD. The car is beautiful. A little slow but runs great! Only 1 previous owner. I took it in for diagnostics test thinking that it will need minor repair but then I got the bad news... Let me just say that going by their reviews, this place is known for good thorough work.

Click below to look at the report.

http://img844.imageshack.us/img844/7633/carproblems.jpg

$3000 is the total for all the work.

Now my questions are... Does the costs seem right? Is all this work necessary? Can I get it cheaper? Recommend anyone in NY area?

I was told by the mechanic that there are 3 major things that can happen. I'm not sure if he was exaggerating... He said that the steering damper and the center link (could be the upper control arms. can't remember) needs to be changed because if they break, I could lose control of my wheels and have a really bad accident. 2nd... He said if I don't deal with the transmission mounts, that the transmission can suddenly fall off... 3rd... The engine can also fall off if I don't do the work. He said that he recommends not doing the work and reselling the car. That broke my heart!

Is it possible to get the parts from ebay or other sources online and get a self employed mechanic to do the work cheaper?

I'm not sure if I'm willing to put in another $3000 in it. If it was half that, I would do it in a heartbeat. The car has obsolutely no rust and is cosmetically in great condition.

Any words of wisdom are greatly appreciated! I was feeling so good about this car... Such a shame. I want to CRY!

Digieditny