A good friend of mine is selling his 1990 300 turbodiesel, and I am thinking about thinking about purchasing it. He has owned it since new and it now has 200,000 miles. The exterior and interior are excellent.

Known problem areas (according to my friend's description: I haven't seen the car in a while): a fuel injector -- or hose -- is leaking; needs a new antenna; needs motor mount(s) -- drives fine, shakes at idle.

Never wrecked.

He has replaced the exhaust system from the manifold back.

He has changed the oil at 5,000 mile intervals.

But...he has never changed the ATF, nor adjusted the valves (are these mechanical lifters like my '85 300D?).

So my questions are:

1. Should the lack of ATF changes stop me in my tracks?

2. If the answer to the above is "not necessarily a problem", then what would be a fair price to offer if a further pre-purchase inspection doesn't show up any other problems?


Thanks as always,
Dan

A Benz always LOOKS much better than most cars of the same vintage. As you describe this car, frankly, it has not really been that well taken care of. Unless he drives this car STRICTLY on the highway, this oil change interval is not conducive with long engine life.

I'm pretty sure that this particular car has hydraulic lifters so the valve adjustment is not a problem.

I don't think the lack of ATF changes in itself should stop you in your tracks, but I would suggest that you find out what a complete transmission for this car costs and negotiate that amount off the car, then change the ATF and filter as soon as you buy it. This lack of attention is a bad sign though, has the rest of the car been equally neglected.

Another thing that may surprise you is that these motor mounts are pretty expensive. Once you change them, it will make a huge difference in that shaky idle.

Although cosmetically this car sounds nice, don't judge this book by its cover. This car does not warrant paying top dollar for, if you can negotiate the car for a very good price, THEN put it on a much better preventive maintenance diet, you MIGHT be really happy with it.

My $0.02,

thanks larry,

Good advice.

By the way, I did the math and it looks like you can change your signature to over 900,000 miles.

Dan

I have a '91 300D 2.5Turbo (W124) with 210K, that I got from my late grandfather.

I love the car. It's comfortable, handles great and gets between 29 and 33 mpg city/highway. Mechanics tell me that, compared with other 300D five- and six-bangers, it rips.

Unfortunately, the 300D has cost me thousands to repair.

The injection pump was ruined by an ignorant mechanic attempting to fix a leak, which cause a cylinder to become starved for fuel, which caused it to blow -- which forced a rebuild and purchase of a rebuilt MB-issue pump.

The handling also went south; for awhile it felt like I was standing in a canoe at 75 mph. To fix the problem, I replaced the shocks and some linkages before discovering I needed new suspension and differential subframe mounts. End of yaw.

I also replaced a window regulator and a headlight wiper motor, not to mention a cam and two glow plug regulators (again, bad mechanics).

The car now runs like a dream (though you can tell, by my omitting the cost of maintenaince, I'm somewhat embarrassed by the expense). I'm told its aluminum-head engine is a complete redesign of older motors; in fact, it doesn't resemble them. The only concern is overheating, and ruining, the head.

As for 5K oil changes: Don't worry. If the owner used a CH-4 rated oil made to handle the soot and heavy metals of a diesel motor, they should be no problem.

Good luck on your purchase.

__________________
'91 300D 2.5 Turbo 330K
'00 VW TDI Golf, 190K
'67 BMW R50/2
'73 Norton Commando Interstate

I have one and I love it. Check this site out:

http://www.mindspring.com/~houlihan/mb.htm