300TD shopping

[mark82]

I am not necessarily in the market, but one of my mechs has a customer '81 300TD they want to sell. I dont follow the posts specific to these because I dont have one. This is what I would call an OK car, could use some cosmetic help, RF fender small crunch, interior is OK with expected wear, worst thing I saw was rust under rear hatch bottom lip. Havent driven it and dont know the asking price, 280,000 miles (which seems to be typical).

What are TD specific issues to look for? Rear suspension is a problem with these, are they fixable or are parts NLA?

Thanks

[resto108]

Rear suspension is fixable as long as someone hasn't deleted the SLS. SLS parts are all still available.

[t walgamuth]

The 123 TDs hold their value and are sought after cars to an extent. OTOH they have a lot of stuff to take care of and can absorb a lot of $ until things get up to snuff.

[mark82]

Originally Posted by t walgamuth

The 123 TDs hold their value and are sought after cars to an extent.

As I explained to a friend; they are desirable cars for a very small eccentric group of people within an already eccentric group of people.

I understand total value can vary greatly based on many factors, mainly location and condition (mechanical and cosmetic). So putting a price on it is difficult. My main concern is what systems, different than the W123 sedan, should be of concern. What parts are difficult or impossible to source.

Thanks

[vstech]

Speedometer is 81 specific. And repair of it means getting plastic gears like the 126 chassis speedometer.
Rear hatch rust is often due to the star or trim leaking.
If original sls hose is leaking, repairs are diy.
I have a lot of wagon spare parts.
Front fenders are interchangeable with sedans.

[andrewjtx]

I'm considering selling my '85 wagon as well. I just haven't driven it much and it's too awesome of a car to let sit. Mechanically in great shape, cosmetics are in need of help. We have had nearly none for sale on CL in the Austin area for months. eBay has very few as well. It's getting harder to gauge what the going prices are.

[BirthdayBenz]

I like to look at BaT (bringatrailer.com) to get ideas of what these cars sell for. There you can actually see what they're selling for in auctions and cars there are typically well represented.

[tdoublenastywitit]

Yea but BaT cars are typically in pretty immaculate condition. And that there is worth a couple thousand more than a "daily driver" condition

But yes if u look at Craigslist to make a price estimate typically people on there are jacking the price up to way more than its worth. Your wagon should cost 5-6k it sounds like

And since it's a wagon, u should Prolly jump on it if u can... They a very hard to come by

[t walgamuth]

The leveling system is really about all. Different back seat and doors. Most everything should be available new or used. Some stuff getting rare like rear bumper and taillight lenses.

[ngarover]

Tailgate glass, rear quarter windows, rear doors anything in the interior wagon specific all tend to be high dollar items. The manual sunroof, while you can still get the front and rear seals from MB, the felt side strips are NLA. SlS system seams hard till you get in it, it's actually very simple. Rear sub frame mounts are different on wagon, and almost 400 bucks for a set and you can bet any wagon you find needs them. Rear wiper is almost always broken. New part around 300 bucks. there's more.. lots more.. the most expensive used car you can buy is a cheap used Mercedes lol.

[sgnimj96]

The wagon subframe mounts seem to expensive because, NOBODY BUYS THEM. Most people just use the sedan mounts because they are practically identical. Cost ~$60 for both.

Speaking of rear axle stuff, an easy test on a w123 is to push (hard) inward on the top of the rear tires and see/listen if you can make it clunk. If it's bad, you could have bad subframe mounts/bushings, or worn wheel bearings (PITA). Get someone to look under the car while you do it if its clunky. While down there look to see if the control arms themselves are rusted out.

When the rear SLS system is messed up the rear sits too low. If oil is leaking out the rear hydraulic shocks, it could be expensive to fix; That's why some people delete the SLS and put in regular shocks with stiffer springs.

The truth is, everything is well documented online of how to fix w123 issues for a diy willing to get dirty. The reality is everything either has been fixed or needs to be fixed. The questions are- Do you feel lucky? and Can you handle the truth?

[vwnate1]

I can't imagine a TD in this condition getting $5k .

Maybe if it's near perfect with working AC.....

These are great cars no doubt but my greymarket TD fully optioned with a crunched fender was only $1,800 (thanx Fellas !) , the interior was perfect and it has low miles and ZERO rust any where .

I still spent $5K getting the paint and fender done plus new taillights (I found cheap NOS ones for $200 EACH) so buyer beware .

Truly, it's a small niche market .

Ask $4K and don't haggle unless you see cash in hand, take the first real $ offered .