+Please help with purchase of 93 300SD W140 Rare Beautiful Rod Bender+

[Mauidieselpetr]

im very interested to discover W140 series, ultimate luxury, and there is on neighbor Oahu island very rare listing on craigslist...93 Mercedes 300 SD Diesel..i just did talked to the guy on the phone, he says that everything works, he drives it daily, no smoke, puls strong, etc. no service history, it has 230kmiles, as you can see on listing, he's down to $2500, as he says, ..nobody here knows how rare it is w diesel...he didnt know that he actualy has rod bender engine in it..........i'm thinking about flying there and buying it.......never had W140.....right now getting familiary with lovely 99 E300 turbodiesel.....so i dont know, what to look for....i dont know, how to find out if it has replacement engine or original one.......yor help will be very appreciated !!!! Thanks.

[diesellac]

[diesellac]

I wouldn't blow 2500 without service records, but i'm just really cheap

20k 300sd/s350s made, I wouldn't exactly say rare

I bought one cheap, great car. but its still a risk, very comfortable. mine still runs nice no smoke or oil burning at 290k.
so that one might be fine.

I heard that many rod benders still run well, even when a rod is bent.

[Mauidieselpetr]

i love this forum, you can learn so much in just hours....thank you diesellac for picture, advice....so how much is it worth it? 2k ?

[diesellac]

value depends on the car.

I can't help you with that because i never buy cars that cost more then a grand lol.

but if you look at eBay completed listings of similar cars you can get a general idea.

I only said i wouldn't buy a w140 for much money without service records, because it has a lot of stuff that can go bad.

common problems in w140s are a/c evaporators and wiring harnesses.
its a heavy car so at 230k the suspension may need work.

its a car that can get expensive very fast, I only bought mine because it was cheap and I saw the wiring harness was replaced and many suspension parts. and i do my work myself.

if you don't do the work on the car yourself then be prepared to spend a whole lot of money at the shop, like a few grand a year.

[Mauidieselpetr]

Thank you diesellac..i was aware of a/c evaporators, but didnt know about that wiring harness...im certified toyota mechanic, so i do all work by myself, and diesel mercedes benz is just a hoby......thanks for all your advice. Aloha.

[SD300]

have u bought the w140?
the 350sdl is definitely a no go!

[t walgamuth]

The 140 body could have a 3.0 liter motor in it, which is not a rod bender. The cause of the rods bending is uncertain but some seem to be ok on it, while a lot do not do well. It is a big heavy complicated car so even with an excellent motor it is a tough sell.

For most people who might take it to the dealer for all their repair work, 2500 is what they would pay for a tuneup.

[glenlloyd]

Originally Posted by diesellac

I wouldn't blow 2500 without service records, but i'm just really cheap

20k 300sd/s350s made, I wouldn't exactly say rare

I bought one cheap, great car. but its still a risk, very comfortable. mine still runs nice no smoke or oil burning at 290k.
so that one might be fine.

I heard that many rod benders still run well, even when a rod is bent.

Yes...total production was around 20k or just over, but what I've read says that only 37xx of that 20k total made it to the US so of all W140 sedans it is by far the most rare.

[dieseldiehard]

Originally Posted by glenlloyd

Yes...total production was around 20k or just over, but what I've read says that only 37xx of that 20k total made it to the US so of all W140 sedans it is by far the most rare.

Steve A did you verify whether your 140 diesel is or isn't a rodbender? If, as was stated earlier, its a 3.0 l engine then its not a rod bender or shouldn't be included in that group.
I was wondering what the US import number was for the S350D's, thanks for that info.
Even more interesting would be the actual number of cars remaining in service in the US. I'll wager its nothing close to 37xx and maybe less than 2000.

I once had an opportunity to buy an S350D with a blown engine, the owner turned the sale over to his son because he was heartbroken and didn't want to throw more money on it fearing it would give up again. I didn't ask if they had pursued a dealer remedy, it may have been too late for that.
I believe he wanted $2500 but probably had to settle for less, it was super clean inside and out, the engine was locked up.

Now flash forward some 10 years, I would love to find a similar car as a recipient for my OM603 engine out of my wife's '87 300D. Thats the engine they should have used. The big bore engine was a blemish to Mercedes reputation but its probably forgotten in Stuttgart management. Onwards and upwards with new technology