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