a 1980 300D with 300km in good running condition with some but minimal rust, new tires, decent brakes, working heater, locks etc and previously maintained by a mechanic that now works for mercedes?
A ballpark idea based on the info I've supplied would be helpful

I also realize it seems to be different for different areas

1200? Without more information its difficult to assess. Pics would be helpful as well.

We paid $1800 for a 82 300SD with 240k miles on it, a good amount of rust, but all else was working fine. The motor only had about 80k on it was rebuilt or swapped in for a younger motor. I can't remember.

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82 300SD 145k
89 420SEL 210k
89 560SEL 118k
90 300SE 262k RIP 5/25/2010
90 560SEL 154k
91 300D 2.5 Turbo. 241k
93 190E 3.0 235k
93 300E 195k

$800-$2500 depending on the actual amount of rust.

Very much so, so reminding us where you live would be good

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Mac
2002 e320 4matic estate│1985 300d│1980 300td
Previous: 1979 & 1982 & 1983 300sd │ 1982 240d

“Let's take a drive into the middle of nowhere with a packet of Marlboro lights and talk about our lives.” ― Joseph Heller, Catch-22

I'm going out on a limb, and guessing you are in Canada.

minimal rust bumps up the price, from rusted out, but does not make the car valuable.

new tires, makes the car worth, 200 ish, IF you need a set of tires.

working heat... um, yeah. kinda hard not to get the heat working, but is the CLIMATE CONTROL working? is it manual controls? A/C? american vehicle, means evil servo...

anyway, I'm going to say 600 to 1100, depending on actual amount of rust, and interior condition.
low KMS, means either it's been sitting or it was well cared for, and driven little...

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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!

Is 300,000km low?? I thought below 200,000km was lowish , below 100,000km excellent (Just in case anyone thought it really only had 300km on it!!)
Anyway I'm in Vancouver BC, a mecca for rusty mercedes
I went and checked out the car. pretty rusty.
All the door bottoms were very rusted out,rubber seals hanging
there was some engine compartment front fender rust
The floorboards were solid and the car looked pretty good from the outside
It looked like the rear exhaust might be need fixing soonish (pretty rusty)
And while it drove nicely. the back end(drive train?) felt rough, at least compared to my rusty wagon.
I personally think it's a $600 car

I knew he was in Canada, but could not remember where, which is why I asked....

Unfortunately used Mercedes and Volvo are worth quite a bit in bountiful British Columbia, versus the rest of the country (inflated cost of living out there).

VStech gave an excellent snapshot of its real worth and liabilities. Given where you are, the seller may get more for it, however.

If it has that much rust elsewhere, I will bet the floor is rusty somewhere.

Except for BC, most of the older diesel models are worth 40-60 percent less here in Canada than the figures normally thrown around here. People have a devil of a time even finding someone to buy them in Ontario and Quebec, overall. So do the w124 owners but they all want $12k for their cars, so no sympathy from me....

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Mac
2002 e320 4matic estate│1985 300d│1980 300td
Previous: 1979 & 1982 & 1983 300sd │ 1982 240d

“Let's take a drive into the middle of nowhere with a packet of Marlboro lights and talk about our lives.” ― Joseph Heller, Catch-22

Nope the floors aren't rusty
I know mercedes floorboards.and what to look for
I rebuilt some a month or so ago..should've kept that one
However the seller wants $1500 for it and won't go lower so I'm going to pass..I already have an overpriced rusty benz! grrrr

You made the right call. Used vehicles in general are priced way over market in BC. If you want to get a 1980's Mercedes I would strongly advise picking up a California vehicle on Craiglist and importing it. The process is straightforward for an older vehicle and you will have a rust free specimen if you are careful.

Aside from the higher cost of just about everything out here... I think part of the reason for the increased cost is that driving here is generally the easiest on cars out of anywhere in the country. On the coast we hardly get much of a winter, and in some ways they end up in even better condition than cars from the southwest because they don't get blasted in the sun and sand. Less salt, less cold weather idling and everything else...

I think you'd be hard pressed to find anything older than '90 with less than 2-300k on it. I've seen some nicer looking ads than my '81 every now and then, but assuming they're in the same mechanical shape - they're all stock and don't have the nice interior, wheels, and all the cosmetic updates mine has... and most of the nicer desirable ones are upwards of $5k.

I'd love a nice looking late 80's 300SDL with the black leather interior like I've got and some nice modern wheels. Add on a few performance bolt-on's and I'm in business!

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1981 300SD - 283,000 KM's at purchase, 360k+ now. Engine replaced at 311k. 16" CLK wheels, w126 gen II cosmetic upgrades, late w126 leather interior. RIP. Parted and gone due to fire

1987 300SDL - 243K miles and counting. In winter hibernation!

2001 Ford F250 Super Duty "Platinum Edition" Lariat 4x4 7.3L turbo diesel, 295k+ miles, various mods for reliability and performance.

I know that California cars used to be a great bargain, lots of supply, but I thought the WVO movement had driven up the prices on old diesels in CA....

Anything south of the border, on the US west coast, will be a better value than buying in BC, won't it?

Cali cars are good if they've been kept in the shade or in a garage. I have bought three and learned my lesson about sun-kissed interiors and dried-out seals.

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Mac
2002 e320 4matic estate│1985 300d│1980 300td
Previous: 1979 & 1982 & 1983 300sd │ 1982 240d

“Let's take a drive into the middle of nowhere with a packet of Marlboro lights and talk about our lives.” ― Joseph Heller, Catch-22

Most of the 80s Mercedes I've seen around here are pretty rusty
I didn't realize what a deal my original one was till it was too late
I like them stock, how they were intended to look...same goes for women!
I was looking at a 78 240D project that somebody had put 60R wheels on with shiny hubcaps and they looked ridiculous. One of prettiest things about the older W123s are those nice mercedes hubcaps.