Considering buying a 1997 300D
 

What should I look out for, the seller lives 4 stop lights away from me. I'm mainly worried about rust. The seller says it runs (if it acts like my current SDL I will walk away) and the transmission works but it failed inspection due to an electrical issue??? Is this the W210 in the era of the biodegradable harness? If so I possibly have a BIG wiring project on my hands.

Thoughts?

98-99 has turbo

maybe a couple years less rust

I don't believe that the harness was an issue in the 97, and as far as failing inspection due to an electrical issue, I don't know what standards your state uses to flag an electrical issue. It could be a tail or front headlight, or something more serious. In New Jersey, when they inspected the entire vehicle (no longer done), they would give you a printout of the what was wrong and what was needed corrective action. The seller should have some idea of why the car failed. Next on the agenda are the spring perches. They were coated from the factory with some type of covering that was supposed to stop corrosion. Problem is, that to the naked eye, everything might look great, but the corrosion is active under the coating, and can fail catastrophically without any danger signs. Two weeks before my passenger side perch let go, the car was up on a lift for tire rotation, and I inspected both perches at that time and both looked perfect. When it let go, the passenger side fender was sitting on top of the tire, suspension spring broken in half, and the passenger side of the engine compartment was ripped off. Finally, you have the glow plugs to consider. They have a tendency to get stuck and break off when they need to be replaced which may require machine shop work to get them out. Some crooked owners have even left a broken glow plug in the head, and had a good glow plug welded to the side of the head with the wire attached to eliminate a code being thrown.

Wow, that's scary, so the only way to know is to somehow remove the undercoating. Another ouch from Quahog, because it's non turbo. I heard the non turbo diesels are a little louder than the turbo ones. I'd imagine so because the turbo is a very good muffler. We'll see, I just need the seller to respond again!

Maybe they think it’s an electrical fault because most 210 engine faults flash a “check engine electronics” warning. Could be a tired glow plug or EGR vacuum hose. A generic OBD code reader should tell you more about engine faults. You’ll need more sophisticated equipment to connect to the 38-pin connector in the engine bay to check for faults in other systems.

Jeremy’s ‘95 E300 (basically the same NA 606) is a lot quieter than an SDL.

Sixto
98 E320s sedan and wagon
02 C320 wagon

My W210 had a perpetual "bulb out" warning, among other not so endearing traits. And about as much rust at ten years as my W201 has at 31. I'd never own another.

My 97 E300D has been totally trouble free at 237k miles. 97 was the first year for the 5spd 722.6 and the last year that is smog exempt in California. The most obnoxious issues I encountered was the totally clogged up intake with EGR soot and a water pump leak. Cleaning out the intake made a huge difference in acceleration but the car is still slow. The best I can say about it is that it's slightly faster than an om617 turbo in stock form which isn't saying much. My om603 turbo 5spd leaves it in the dust. My only other complaint is short gearing for long highway trips at 80mph. The drone gets annoying after a while. I plan to swap in a taller diff.

Thanks, learned a lot, the seller is asking $400, there has to be 1 of 4 possible issue

#1 Severe structural rust
#2 Bad engine
#3 Bad transmission
#4 Bad injection pump

There's a .1% chance it's in the clear of all issues. I'm supposed to meet him Thursday.

I have a '97 E300D in Newport News. I can't imagine how it is only worth $400. VA does not worry about check engine lights, so an electrical problem that causes a rejection would have to be a problem with a safety system like lights or brakes. Third brake lights were a problem with this car and bad connections on the regular brake lights are also a known problem. The car is slow to accelerate but if you are old enough, it is not a problem. It is in it's element when cruising on the expressway. The only car I have owned that was a better cruiser was a '79 98 Oldsmobile. What a car that was.

I remember when I was a child 2001ish, late 70's and early 80's square body car where still somewhat plentiful. Even back then I was intrigued by their design.

Now yhat you mention the Olds, I actually myself thought about getting a 1991 - 1996 Buick Park Avenue, supposedly they are great cruisers. I would buy one, but they're uncommon.

Just got in contact with the owner, right turn signal doesn't work. Even still, before I even turn the car on I'm going under to check for rust.

Let us know how this turns out. That is super cheap.

Well good news is car runs fine, MUCH better than my SDL :D I was smiling like a fool when it started and purred. The OM606 is FAR quieter than the 603.

Bad news it will have to sit in storage for two months because I need to save money for tires, ALL fluids, a power steering hose, and possibly a power steering pump.

It won't pass inspection in it's current condition and I can't just leave out on the street unplated (apartments suck). Also I pissed off the seller because I won't have the money on time, basically the purchase date has been pushed back. I'm worried he won't respond. I might have to call him to work this out.


Some more good news is there's storage facilities that offer the first two months free! So thats the situation.



Will update again.

Purchased it! Seems like everything works but the gauge cluster is inoperable, electrical issues where do I start? Where can I find wiring diagrams? All data DIY?

Start here.
https://www.mbcluster.com