New to the forum, but have been following for quite some time. I've done my due diligence when it comes to entering the world of W123, yet still have difficulty pinning down reasonable valuation when buying a 300TD wagon.

I have been looking for a while and come across a local (CA with trap oxidizer) 1985 wagon with 300,000 miles on the odometer. The buyer is asking $3500 (down from $4500) and has had the following recent work done:

1. Rebuilt driveshaft
2. New vacuum pump and lines
3. Glow plugs and timer relay
4. Radiator fan clutch
5. Transmission gasket
6. Rebuilt brakes
7. Turbo rebuilt
8. Fuel pump & lines

The overall condition of the car is decent. Paint is ok, clear coat peeling on the roof and bubbles in a few spots here and there. The only ding is in the driver's side fender that could be easily fixed if I have the paint done. It has some rust spots, and one bigger hole in the spare tire well where it looks like water had collected after leaking through the antenna seal/mount area (which is also rusted). Also light rust around the bottom of the doors under the seals as well as sunroof channels, but the interior is quite good, the only tear in the MB Tex being in the driver's armrest, with good carpets that have been well cared for. All the door panels are smooth, wood trim is 95% perfect. Sunroof works great, both rear windows do not, AC does not work, radio does not work, antenna does not work. Rear hatch, however works perfectly! And even though previous work was done to the vacuum system, auto locks don't work.

I took it to a classic Mercedes specialist to give it an inspection, and it got the mechanical seal of approval besides needing alignment, the previously mentioned issues, and a few minor things that I can sort out pretty easily. I should mention that while I'm no mechanic, I enjoy fixing things myself and like to learn as much as I can about my vehicles. Anything important I leave to the professionals.

Being in California, these cars go for a premium, especially the wagons. I was thinking of offering $3000, but not sure whether that is reasonable for a wagon in this condition with this mileage? I know it's a labor of love and will be a project, but I'm mostly concerned about the cost of fixing the rust and paint before it gets worse.

Thanks for the help, I'm looking forward to getting deeper into this forum when I do buy.

What do you qualify as "important" and "mechanic only" jobs?
Two things that come to mind instantly are shock replacement and injector calibration

No way i'm doing shocks on these cars, i'd def kill myself. I "mess up" and have to back track a lot since i'm new to working on cars. Messing up or skipping a step on a shock job could mean your life.

These cars will get expensive very fast if you let someone work on it.

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1998 Ford Escort ZX2 5 speed - 279,000 miles My Daily

1992 Mercedes 300D 2.5 202,000 - Pure junk
2000 Mercedes E320 Black - 136,000 miles - Needs repair

Don't forget to grease the screw and threads on the spring compressor.

Any time you see rust you need to move on and find another.

There is no rust underneath or in the engine bay, confirmed by mechanic...it seems to be pretty well limited to a few superficial points. At this point these are so hard to find at a decent "fixer" price that i'm willing to contend with a little rust if it's not structural.

But I generally do hesitate to even go that route. Maybe I should run screaming anyway...

I'm not about to pull the transmission out myself, or the engine for that matter.

It shouldn't come to that.


If i had to, i'd pull and install my engine and tranny

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1998 Ford Escort ZX2 5 speed - 279,000 miles My Daily

1992 Mercedes 300D 2.5 202,000 - Pure junk
2000 Mercedes E320 Black - 136,000 miles - Needs repair

Don't forget to grease the screw and threads on the spring compressor.

I know that rust is a problem, but a completely rust free wagon in nice condition is approaching 5 grand in CA, so 3 grand seems like a good deal knowing what work was done. Doors are no problem around here, they can be replaced with rust free units.

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All Diesel Fleet
1985 R107 300SLD TURBODIESEL
2005 E320 CDI (daily)

LOTS of parts for sale!


EGR block kit
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/355250-sale-egr-delete-block-off-plate-kit.html

1985 CA emissions 617 owners- You Need This!
Sanden style A/C Compressor Mounting Kit for your 616/ 617 For Sale + Install Inst.

Sanden Instalation Guide (post 11):
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/367883-sanden-retrofit-installation-guide.html

I think you mean springs. Replacing the shocks is a walk in the park and not in any way dangerous.

Injector rebuilding is very simple and straightforward if you have the proper equipment and are capable of reading and following basic instructions.

Dkr.

Oops, well I feel slow .

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1998 Ford Escort ZX2 5 speed - 279,000 miles My Daily

1992 Mercedes 300D 2.5 202,000 - Pure junk
2000 Mercedes E320 Black - 136,000 miles - Needs repair

Don't forget to grease the screw and threads on the spring compressor.

I think the price is fine for a good example. The problem you have to price out is rust. Ive chased rust in these cars and it never stops.

Not sure why anyone would be afraid of doing shocks. But the self leveling suspension in the rear of a wagon is very expensive if parts are needed. So make sure its working.

Go back and read your original post again. Check how many times you mentioned rust.

Just remember the term "tip of the rust-berg" if you see rust, there is guaranteed to be more hidden rust...

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2004 F150 4.6L -My Daily
2007 Volvo XC70 -Wife's Daily
1998 Ford F150 -Rear ended
1989 J-spec 420SEL -passed onto its new keeper
1982 BMW 733i -fixed and traded for the 420SEL
2003 Volvo V70 5 Speed -scrapped
1997 E290 Turbo Diesel Wagon -traded for above
1992 BMW 525i -traded in
1990 Silver 300TE -hated the M103
1985 Grey 380SE Diesel Conversion, 2.47 rear end, ABS -Sold, really should have kept this one
1979 Silver 300D "The Silver Slug" -Sold

I am not seeing Valve Adjustment on the list.

Also the suspension parts pivot on rubber bushings that can rot out and ruin your suspension and the same can happen to the rubber flex discs on the drive shaft.

If a Flex Disc goes bad and the drive shaft comes loose it often tears tail shaft of the transmission off.

Look closely at the power steering belt if the motor mount on the drivers side collaspses the belt cuts through the Oil Cooler Hose and you can loose your Engine.

The same with the Oil Coolers Hoses. If the Hoses are seeping Oil now and you drive you risk the Hose failing and again killing your Engine.

(This happend to me) When you remove the Oil Cooler Hoses from the the Aluminum fitting threads ofthen strip off. There is a reapair fot that but it requires drilling and tapping.

On Cars this old the B2 Piston in the transmission frequently break (less frequently the B2 band breaks) and you loose forward movement. Them B2 piston can be replaced but to get at the band you need to take the trans apart. My B2 Piston broke.

You can see what others have been doing Repair Links
Fast navigation Fast navigation Do It Yourself Links

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

As far as buying the car, you could have $5000-7000 in work if you hire it out and want everything done right with non-Chinese parts. In addition to the repair items and maintenance items, you will have a long battle to slowly replace all of the old rubber in the car. For all of the items you know do not work, you can count on finding a bunch of additional ones and even more will develop as you put miles on it.

My 1984 was in a lot better shape than yours with 108K miles and it took about $2000 the first year and $2000 the next year with me doing a lot of the work. Those numbers do not count the money I spent on all the special tools I bought to work on low-clearance areas.

Consider for all of the people that say DIY, you will still spend a lot of money on parts. You are also at a disadvantage of not having a shop, special tools, etc. Some of the jobs are cheaper to hire a mechanic than to buy the expensive tools or do without the car while waiting for parts/tools unless you have alternate transportation. Also, many of the special Mercedes mechanics do not really know how to work on this car. I can give you some first-hand stories from SoCal.

I think they are asking a lot, but wagons do sell at a premium. You would probably be better served paying more for something with less miles and better condition. Some of these jobs can be guestimated by someone familiar with the car, but the labor involved can get much bigger as you find other items that need attention in the middle of the job. You can pay a lot more for a fixer-upper than a good one -- just ask me, I've been down that route.

Consider also that at 300,000 miles the engine and transmission may be getting tired. A lot of that comes down to maintenance and use. Some people post some very high numbers for longevity, but the question is whether your car will make it there without major work. Was the transmission fluid changed every 30K miles and if seals were leaking, were they replaced or was the transmission allowed to run hot for extended periods? Did the engine ever overheat or run low on oil? Were the valves adjusted regularly? Was the oil changed regularly? Did it sit for long periods of time or was it run regularly on short trips without getting to operating temperature?

Being a used car, you probably won't directly know, but you can snoop around to find telltale signs. Those answers will determine (in part) how much left you have out of the engine and transmission. Consider also the transmissions are rated for about 400,000 miles so you may be getting towards needing an overhaul.

Dkr.

Wow, lots of great advice to unpack here. Thanks to everyone for the insight.

Honestly, part of the reason I'm so enthused on getting one of these is how helpful the community is...much friendlier than the Harley forums when I'm working on my bike. Next bike is going to be German too if this is any indication.

I'm going to see if he'll come down on price to the $2k range and maybe take the chance with the rust. I'm aware of the other issues that will come up due to age and mileage and feel equipped to handle them on my own mostly. I prefer to invest in tools rather than always paying for a mechanic to take care of things that I could learn about on my own.

In general though, I'm willing to spend up to $5k on a lower mileage granny grocery getter within 1000 miles from me if anyone has any leads...

I'll update with the outcome soon.