Thank goodness for the solid composition of our '85 300D. My wife, 10-year-old son and son's friend were all wearing seatbelts and walked away with nothing more than bruises from the shoulder belts. Good brakes and new tires also helped to protect life and limb. Almost head-on, 35-mph road. Young driver of the opposing SUV suddenly crossed over the narrow 2-lane road, trying to get to a driveway (he and the 5 passengers in his car are all OK too).

Anticipating a visit from insurance adjusters soon, I got the NADA price range. Any other favorite price guide resources out there besides the local classifieds? We will definitely need another 300D from the '83 to '85 era. Any leads in the San Francisco area?

I'm hoping that the insurance company will let me scavenge some parts out before they take possesion. I'd like to use parts from the interior and the new tires to freshen up my '84 300D. Fat chance?

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Until you sign the title, you own the car. Do what you want or buy it back from the carrier.

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85SD 240K & stopped counting painted, putting bac together. 84SD 180,000. sold to a neighbor and member here but I forget his handle. The 84 is much improved from when I had it. 85TD beginning to repair to DD status. Lots of stuff to do.

Glad you and yours are ok.
It brings a tear to my eye to know our MB's will give their lives to save ours and it is a big comfort to know my family is protected when out on the dangerous highways populated by fools and other unattentive souls driving massive weapons of destruction!

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1981 240D 143k 4 spd manual -SOLD

2004 VW Jetta TDI 5 speed 300k -still driven daily

Scavenging obvious parts would be discouraged. You want the car to appear as whole as possible to receive your best value for the car.

Now, then you get to flip around and say that the car is near worthless to salvage yards because they do not wants cars that have to sit on the lot for very long to sell spare parts. They like newer cars that shops & DIYers will pick clean in a short amount of time. You can always offer to buy the car back for the negotiated salvage value.

I just got $5400 for my '84 300TD. Before the accident (rear-ender) mechanically in excellent condition, just needed some cosmetic work. I argued them down to a salvage value of $330. So, essentially I got a near-perfect 178k mile engine & tranny, full leather interior w/ headrests & third row, all other interior mechanicals in great shape.

Then I turned around and bought a well-running 228k '85 wagon for $4500. While I could've found a cheaper wagon a little further away. This one was close, drivable and kept in good mechanical order. The leather seats are shot, but I'm reconditioning / re-dying the ones from the '84 to go in this car. So far they are looking near-new!

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'85 300TD "Puff The Magic Wagon" - Rolling Resto
'19 Mazda CX-9 Signature - Wife's sled
'21 Morgan 3-Wheeler P101 Edition
'95 E300d - SOLD
'84 300TD "Brown Betty" - Miss this one
'81 240D "China Baby" - Farm grocery getter

Good call on NADA, those prices are way inflated = good case for more money in times like this.

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TC
Current stable:
- 2004 Mazda RALLYWANKEL
- 2007 Saturn sky redline
- 2004 Explorer...under surgery.

Past: 135i, GTI, 300E, 300SD, 300SD, Stealth

I wouldnt take parts out of it, just try to buy the whole wreck.

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68 280SL - 70 280SL - 70 300SEL 3.5 - 72 350SL - 72 280SEL 4.5 - 72 220 - 72 220D - 73 450SL - 84 230GE - 87 200TD - 90 190E 2.0 - 03 G500

Nissan GTR - Nissan Skyline GTS25T - Toyota GTFour - Rover Mini - Toyota Land Cruiser HJ60 - Cadillac Eldorado - BMW E30 - BMW 135i

GLAD EVERYONE IS OK!
It's amazing how the front windshield stays intact. That looks similar to my prior wagon's front end. The impact broke a motor mount off and ripped the trans mount apart...didn't crack the window or tweak the dash at all. I promptly bought another one.

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1981 300TD "The Green Lantern"
1980 300TD
1983 300D Euro "China Cat"

The engine and tranny both got ripped from their mounts. Pushed in the bulkhead at the driver side foot area a little. Oil pan also cracked open, spilling all of the engine oil onto the ground. Engine kept running (without oil) until the fire department arrived to get the hood open and push the red 'stop' lever (my wife had to show them what to do...). *sigh* Neither the engine nor the tranny had ever been rebuilt. Over 360k miles. Grateful that my wife was able to slow down as much as she did before impact, and grateful for the rock-solid construction of these cars. I'll definitely be on the hunt for another.

Wow. That's hard-core.

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'85 300TD "Puff The Magic Wagon" - Rolling Resto
'19 Mazda CX-9 Signature - Wife's sled
'21 Morgan 3-Wheeler P101 Edition
'95 E300d - SOLD
'84 300TD "Brown Betty" - Miss this one
'81 240D "China Baby" - Farm grocery getter

Sorry to see what happened to your car but glad your family and friend are OK. This is why I like these cars so much.

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85 300D 75K Anthracite Grey 0-60 in 13 seconds **For Sale**
84 300D 333K Black (The Velveteen Rabbit) 0-60 in 14 seconds
00 Toyota Sienna 208K (Sold)
15 Subaru Outback 43K
11 Subaru Outback 67K
98 Ford Taurus 100K (Gertie - Was Grandma's - drove it to church and shopping - really) Daughter's car now.
30 Model A Ford 2 Door Sedan (Sold) 0-60 in . . . Never reached 60

arrrrgh!!!!
I HATE drivers that 1 don't pay attention to the road they are on,
and 2, pull into opposing traffic to make a RIGHT!!! do they think they are towing a trailer? SUCH a waste.
glad your family had no serious issues!

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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!