Picking up a w123 204d tomorrow, need some tips

[mabbonizio]

Hi All,

I've decided to pick up a 82 240d tomorrow that I looked at Wednesday. Please excuse the top-o on the subject line.

When I checked it out I noticed that the air cleaner cover could be picked right up and off the car. The screw on top of it was missing.

I presumed that the screw or wing nut on top was what held the air cleaner on however when i search through google it appears that there are several little rubber mounts that also hold the cleaner to the car?


Since I'm planning to drive the car home tomorrow I was hoping to pick up a wing nut and happily be on my way... is this possible or will I need more?

Additionally one of the vacuum line nipples from the hose coming off the brake booster had snapped and was preventing the car from shutting off. I as able to temporarily plug it back in but would assume that it won't stay plugged in too long. Thoughts on using some JB Quick weld to hold it together til I order a new hose?

Anything else I should look out for? Car has passed a recent inspection and has very minimal rust underneath. The only thing that frightened me was that when I checked the oil the dip stick was dry It was parked facing down a hill so I'm not sure if I was able to get an accurate reading but I did add 3.5 quarts to get it to read full.

Engine appeared to run fine and have good oil pressure with the exception of the awful racket the loose air cleaner was making.

[oldsinner111]

Super glue jell and tape would be faster,small hardware store should have loose nuts to look thru for air cleaner.

[Demothen]

Find an owners manual and read through it before you go, make sure everything on the car works correctly or note anything that is fishy before you pay.
Look around for a pre-purchase checklist and have that with you as you do your final inspections.

[moon161]

I would back out based on the dry dipstick or at the very least find out why. Has money changed hands? I had one with a motor, I think the oil control rings were loaded or clogged, it could use a quart of oil in a hundred miles or less, by the time I put in another motor.

In this case one of the normal warning signs- low compression was not there. Your best sign in this case would be a large puddle or stain where it is normally parked, an obvious valve cover gasket leak or a dry and dirty engine above the lower oil pan, and a sheet of black oil below the gasket. Other explanations for lots of missing oil (blowby, head gasket, main seals)involve lots more pain and money. If the inside of the air cleaner (a normal oil cleaner will be dry or have a light film of oil from the crankcase breather) is just black with oil, run away, or negotiate down to the value of the body only.

Buying any car means that when you don't know who the chump is, the chump is you.

[charmalu]

Some tips here for a TD Wagon, go down to Post# 10 for a link
to a good W123 Pre Purchase Inspection write up.The list is for a 300D, but more or less the same for a 240D

300TD Buyers Checklist?

Here is one post from an old thread.
What should a pre purchase inspection cover?

Another one.
https://www.mbca.org/star-article/january-february-2010/buyers-guide-1975-1986-w123-diesel

https://ranwhenparked.net/2014/05/22/five-common-issues-to-look-for-when-buying-a-mercedes-w123/
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[mabbonizio]

Originally Posted by moon161

I would back out based on the dry dipstick or at the very least find out why. Has money changed hands? I had one with a motor, I think the oil control rings were loaded or clogged, it could use a quart of oil in a hundred miles or less, by the time I put in another motor.

In this case one of the normal warning signs- low compression was not there. Your best sign in this case would be a large puddle or stain where it is normally parked, an obvious valve cover gasket leak or a dry and dirty engine above the lower oil pan, and a sheet of black oil below the gasket. Other explanations for lots of missing oil (blowby, head gasket, main seals)involve lots more pain and money. If the inside of the air cleaner (a normal oil cleaner will be dry or have a light film of oil from the crankcase breather) is just black with oil, run away, or negotiate down to the value of the body only.

Buying any car means that when you don't know who the chump is, the chump is you.

Actually the car has pretty good history. Its was the current owners fathers who purchased it new. He gave it to her and she then gave it to her son to use who recently passed away from a substance abuse issue. I think it might be as simple as he perhaps just forgot to top off the oil between gas tanks and it burned a few quarts. I could be wrong.. but got a pretty good sense from the little old lady.

The motor appears to have decent compression given how quickly it turns over, doesn't produce excessive blow by out the oil cap, and had the oil gauge pegged at 3 once I filled it up.

Its for sale for $1,400 and has almost no rust. I'm thinking I'm just gonna take a chance since the motor doesn't make any abnormal noises and doesn't produce excessive smoke out the tail pipe. No money has exchanged hands yet.

[t walgamuth]

I would assume the addicted son drove it for a long time without ever changing or checking the oil. Damage could vary from nothing much to serious wear. I'd normally walk away from a dipstick not touching any oil, or use that as a negotiating tool.

OTOH these cars are getting pretty old and hard to find a really nice one. But 1400 sounds like all the money with any questions on the engine.