What to do with my 1983 300D?
 

Hey everyone! I’ve relied on the collective wisdom of this group over the past 10 years for the care and feeding of my 1983 300D. But the sad fact is that I’m just not driving it that much anymore and need to figure out what to do with it. Here are my options, as I see it:

1. Fix it up and sell it. I kept it in decent shape for most of the time I’ve owned it, but the issues have started to pile up over the past couple of years and it needs a bit of TLC.

2. Sell it “as is” and see what I can get for it.

3. Donate it and try for a tax write off (I really don’t want to do this for some reason, but it would certainly be the easy way out).

The car has 289K miles but starts and runs like a champ. It shifts reasonably well (with the exception of a little 2-3 flare). There’s an oil leak somewhere to the tune of about half a quart between changes, but it doesn’t appear to be burning oil. The interior is in pretty good shape with the exception of a few small cracks in the dash and a tear in the headliner by the passenger window. Brakes, tires and battery are in good shape. Windows and locks work. No vacuum leaks. The heat works great, and the AC was working up until recently but now blows only hot air (maybe a mono valve issue?). Regular oil and filter changes, etc.

But there are definitely some bigger issues that need to be addressed, and I just don’t have the time to deal with them. It vibrates like crazy at idle, which I’m pretty sure is the engine mounts. The sunroof opens but won’t close. The driver’s seat sags more than I’d like. There was serious sun damage in the middle of the roof when I bought it, and that’s starting to rust up (although no other rust, as far as I can tell). And when it really rains I get too much moisture inside the car. It might be related to the sunroof, the roof damage, or maybe a bad windshield seal – I haven’t been able to figure it out.

So… what to do? Any thoughts what a car in this condition might get on the market? I really have no idea what to even ask. What fixes could/should be done before trying to sell? I’m willing to put some money into the car, but I obviously don’t want to put more in than I’ll get back when I sell it.

Any help at all on how to move on would be much appreciated!


Randy

With out photos it's hard to say....at the milage and it sounding like its becoming a convertible.....it may be best as a parts car....either donate it and there's a big chance it will end up at pick n pull or slap it on the internet as a parts car with an 800$ price tag....I doubt a tax write off would get you much more, if you don't want to keep it....then there's no point in fixing stuff prior to sale...

Hmmm. I did post a few photos, but they didn't come through for some reason. Trying again...

And I won't have time this evening, but I'll try to get a few more pics tomorrow.

It's a beater.

Whenever I see front rims like that, I cringe as to what to think about lack of maintenance lurks elsewhere.

Shake at idle or vibration? Shake can be a rack damper bolt, $. Motor mounts, more $.

Paint, rust...

Good luck.

Here, a tax write off goes like this, whatever the auction company sells the car for is your write off.

Around my ways that is a <$1000.00 car unless you tell some lies. If you put $750.00 in it it would be a $1400.00 car.

Vibration could be lack of a valve adjustment.

I wouldn`t condemn the car to PNP just yet w/o actually seeing it in person. It may not be all that bad. the pictures look decent enough so far.

Yeah when I see dirty front wheels, a greasy grimy eng, unwashed/waxed body I feel a vehicle has been neglected in all other areas too, but may not be the case. the eng maintenance etc... may have been kept up, never know.

Moisture getting inside, is a red flag, could be rusted floor pans under the carpets, and rusted out under the windshield gasket or sunroof pan rusted along with plugged drain tubes.

Any vehicle that is donated, has a 90% chance or greater to be in a PNP type Junk Yard. I have seen some nice MB`s in the yards, and wonder???? some of the gassers may be a smog issue not passing, especially here in Kali land.

Charlie

Oh please don't look at my car, I have no paint left to wax :bigcry: but don't blame me....blame the original owner who need to order the extra special metallic paint....and don't blame me from the condition of the engine, the previous owner decided to go single tank veggie oil.....my car led a worse life then me, we are a perfect fit :P then she gets plenty on attention now :D

Don't put a dime into it. Sell it as is. You will never see the money you put into fixing anything before you sell any car. List it for $1200 and take $1000.

I've owned the car for 10 years. For the first 7 years it was my daily driver and was well taken care of. The past 3 years -- not so much. My teenagers were driving it for a couple years (need I say more), and the last year it hasn't been driven much at all.

I think it will clean up pretty well. My bigger concerns are the vibration and the moisture. I've done all of the easier checks and fixes for the leaking, to no avail. I do have a local mechanic who knows these cars pretty well. Maybe I'll have him give it a quick once over too.

Thanks for the input so far. This is very helpful. I'll get up a few more photos tomorrow.

Vibrating idle is probably collapsed engine and transmission mounts.....

Leaks are 99900 to 1 the rear and front windshield seals.....

You can get the mounts and seals probably for under 100$...but they will be uro products....not so good, but better then nothing....fuel filters, valve adjustment, air filter may also help.....could be injectors and or primer pump too...

Its up to you, if you want to do the dealer thing....throw the cheapest stuff on it to get it running, polish the snot out of it and then coat every square inch with amorall and slap it on eBay for 4500$....

You could also install another speedometer on it, and call it a low mile one owner example, never seen salt....

There is ways to sell trash but you have to think is the karma worth it?

If you don't want to keep it, spend a day detailing the interior, washing (including engine bay), and maybe waxing if the paint will look somewhat ok afterward. Then take some new pics and list on craigslist. Sell as is/where is and be done with it. After looking at W123 prices I think an ask of 2000 to 2500 is not out of the question, but be prepared to take the first thousand in cash that shows up.

X2, id clean the car up and list it even at 1500 bucks and take 1200 or 1000.

Fwiw, there's a lot of judgement here based on dirty tires and paint. My car looks the same and is pretty well maintained, I skimp on washing it in the summer, but I keep the mechanicals up.

The only thing you should do is wash and wax this thing, clean th dust out of the tires, and then list it for sale. My take is the PNW is a good market for old diesels.

I would urge you to join the growing trend around here of giving your car away to someone who would appreciate it, not a charity mind you, but a person that might want to drive it every day. Just yesterday, a guy here got a running old MB diesel just for saying yes to a guy near him. Unless you're strapped for cash and actually need the money - were it mine, I'd give it away in 2 seconds........could make someone very happy. I've given two cars away, and I'm probably going to start giving more of 'em away rather than try to extract money from unwilling buyers. To me, I don't want to spend time doing that anymore. Anyway, consider that it'd be gone and out of your hair in 72 hours too!