After much dreaming and perusing of classified adds, I think I may have found a 300TD.

Here's the lowdown:
'85 300TD
249K
Gunmetal grey with black interior
Every maintenance stamp and receipt from day 1.
All the power accessories work. Original radio is bad though.
Interior is perfect.
Manual sunroof, no third seat.
Original Paint.
A/C recently redone and blows COLD.

Here's the bad:
Rust on the seams right in front of the front wheels. Small for now.
Rust behind one of the rear wheels.
Hood paint is cracking.
Right fog light cover cracked.
Shakes like a paint shaker at idle.

They want $4000 for it.

Additional questions from a Benz newbie:
Do these usually have this much body roll? (I'm coming from a sports car here...)
Is it Base Coat/Clear Coat Paint?
More to follow, I'm sure.

Scott

Well,

Here is my experience.

My 84 TD was 4400 (original ask was 4000, but a bidding war ensued). 217K at present. I have had it 4 months.

nice but slightly worn interior and exterior with some heat damage (dash cracks and melted interior vinyl trim). Mechanically in excellent shape for the first owner (up to 168K), but about 50K of defferred maint. I have put about 800 in parts into it, but I really didn't have to. (belts, all filters, fluids, vacuum connectors, shocks, motor mounts, etc.) No clear coat, but the paint had a few checks in it that were remarkably well hidden by colored turlewax (a rec from this board). No excessive body roll. Shakes mildly only when hot at a standstill- that is next weekends project.

My brothers 85 TD was 3200 and had a new engine (190K). He has had it for 5 months. With an 85 check to see that the oxidizer has been changed/upgraded/replaced. His has what he calls 'slippage' on corners. He has a clear coat, metallic blue paint. He has a lot of broken stuff like rear wiper, leaky glow plugs, a short in the glow plug circuit. etc. He got a new master cyl last week.

The shaking could have multiple causes from cheap to real expensive.

In terms of price, depending on the area, they may be a few hundred high, but it all depends on how hot these cars have become in your area. The shear number of new european made wagons on the road seems to validate that the old ones would also be valuable, at least in the bay area.


I hope you like to do it yourself, because buying one of these is a real commitment....either time or money - hopefully not both

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84 300TD - 235k - Farbe "Surfblau" bought at 213k
87 300SDL - 131k - Farbe "PimpGold" bought at 115k
00 Klepper Faltboot Expedition Double

As the owner of an '85 300td I can hopefully help a little bit. First I think the asking price is a bit high so if they aren't willing to dicker a bit you may want to keep looking a bit.

As to your questions, yes they will roll more than a sports car but shouldn't roll a whole lot either. Figure that a used Benz probably rolls somewhat in the vacinity of a newer Taurus but not more. You might want to give the front end a bounce or two because you may only need new shocks, a fairly cheap & easy fix if you do it yourself. Properly set up these handle pretty well.

The shaking at idle is likely bad engine mounts, valves needing adjustment, and/or a variety of more complicated fixes that can usually be done by a semi skilled home mechanic at fairly minor cost.

The rust should be carefully checked out. This will be very expensive to fix if it has started to get away from you so look at it carefully.

As to the paint I believe MBZ used a clearcoat but I may be wrong, I'm sure others here will know for sure.

Hopefully this will get you started. Others here should be able to add to this. Good luck.

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LRG
1987 300D Turbo 175K
2006 Toyota Prius, efficent but no soul
1985 300 TDT(130K miles of trouble free motoring)now sold

I paid $5k for my 85 300TD. I knew the original owner and compromised a bit on price plus some reoccuring rust problems. I wish I had been a bit more selective. I have a buddy who bought one in fairly nice shape for $2400. I'm not sure that price could be duplicated but deals are out there if you have 6-12 months to search.

Don

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DAILY DRIVERS:
'84 300DT 298k (Aubrey's)
'99.5 Jetta TDI IV 251k (Julie's)
'97 Jetta TDI 127k (Amber's)
'97 Jetta TDI 186k (Matt's)
'96 Passat TDI 237k (Don's
'84 300D 211k Mint (Arne- Undergoing Greasecar Conversion)

SOLD:
'82 240D 229k (Matt's - Converted-300DT w/ 4 speed

I've got an 85 300CD.

I'd say the two major concerns are the rust (a bi*ch to fix) and the rough idle. Rough idle could be any number of things--from a minor dirty injector to a bad cylinder (total overhaul). I'd have a good pre-purchase inspection done, with a compression and leak-down test, before I'd buy it.

The price might be a shade high for the car as you describe it, but cherry CDs do go for a high price.

Scott N ( not surfblau, sorry - edit)

Well, it sounds like you may be getting serious and if so you should take the car to an independent Mercedes Specialist to have it checked out, then get an estimate for what it will cost to fix the stuff that has to be fixed, and then the stuff that should be fixed and finally the stuff that you would like to fix.

One of the essential diagnostic tests on a Diesel would be a compression check. If the compression is good, there is usually nothing really expensive that is going to hurt you in the engine. These cars also have automatic transmissions, and I have very little experience with any automatics (do my best to keep it that way, too) but the forum is full of issues with shifting hard, to slipping and overhauls. A good independent Mercedes specialist will know about the transmission issues.

Sounds like a great car all around though. I would be a little concerned with the rust, but with records from day 1 and all the accessories working, it would seem the vacuum system must be in order as well as the climate control system. Both can be sources of difficulties, but the A/C is sometimes expensive to fix.

Good luck, Jim

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Own:
1986 Euro 190E 2.3-16 (291,000 miles),
1998 E300D TurboDiesel, 231,000 miles -purchased with 45,000,
1988 300E 5-speed 252,000 miles,
1983 240D 4-speed, purchased w/136,000, now with 222,000 miles.
2009 ML320CDI Bluetec, 89,000 miles

Owned:
1971 220D (250,000 miles plus, sold to father-in-law),
1975 240D (245,000 miles - died of body rot),
1991 350SD (176,560 miles, weakest Benz I have owned),
1999 C230 Sport (45,400 miles),
1982 240D (321,000 miles, put to sleep)

4 grand is a bit much. I agree that the rough idle is probably eng mounts and possible worn engine shocks. Yes the engine has 2 shocks, they are about 10 inches tall and cost about $35 a piece. The rear "fog Light" is actually your reverse lights. You are talking about the lights under the bumper? A new lens might run you about $15. One thing to check for is the self leveling system. This is on all TDs. With about 2 people sitting in the back, and the engine running at high idle, the rear should raise to level. The system is pretty relible, the thing that goes usually is the air cells in back. There are 2 of them, one for each hydro-pneumatic shock. I paid $2900 for my TD and all I HAD to do was put some new tires on it and new belts. I of course changed all fluids and filters just to establish a base line. My TD still has it's original Becker "Europa" cassette/radio and it still works. Just a little FYI, for model year 1985, MB made only 3,713 turbo diesel Tds. They also retailed around $34-36,000. My TD in 1983 cost exactly $34,612.

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1999 MB SL500 (110,000 mi)
2004 Volvo V70 2.5T (220,000 mi)
2014 Tesla Model S 85 (136,000 mi)
MBCA member

I paid 2100 for mine, and am into it for another $3000 (front end work, which is pricey, and a quirk that you shouldn't experience. just make sure your air cleaner oil drain tube goes directly into the upper oil pan!) in repairs

One problem rust area is the rear sub-frame mounts, just forward of the rear wheels, on the underbody. Check those well.

On some of these, the coating on the car masks rust. Push up on parts of the underbody and see how firm they seem, or whether you hear any crunching.

The levelling suspension has been mentioned. Heavy roll could mean problems front or rear, not cheap.

I'd try to get him down in price. I would have paid more in hindsight for a better version, but that's hindsight. I know more what to look for now than I did then.

I like mine, and am in for the long haul now (just got my AC fixed, ne radio on the way). They are great cars.

peter
1985 300td

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Peter
1985 300TD 4-speed 212K
1992 400E 343K
2001 E320 72K

oh and by the way, shaky idle could be nothing. Mine did when I bought it, and a 1000 highway miles later it was smooth. It changes sometimes based on the quality of fuel.

Just a thought, it MIGHT just need some driving!

peter
1985 300td

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Peter
1985 300TD 4-speed 212K
1992 400E 343K
2001 E320 72K