New addition to the fleet - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

dieseldiehard · #1 06-19-2019, 11:03 PM

I had to do it!

I checked CL one morning and spotted a '99 300D turbo, I always look for them I guess I am just like my moniker, a Diesel DIEHARD!
Having driven a '99 turbo for several years I somewhat reluctantly let my wife's niece drive it to college.
I am happy with the M104 in my '95 wagon but I do miss the torque AND fuel economy of the '99 turbodiesel. Stuttgart really got that one right in my book, its the last production I want to own, no newer models for me, no thanks.
I debated buying it for 2 hours or so, then made the call. I told myself there would never be another opportunity like this

The seller must have been taking a call as I got a busy and then I couldn't get thru to his mailbox so I left an email.
Another hour or so and I was about to write it off to a missed opportunity then the seller CALLED!
He said he was getting calls from all over! Los Angeles, Washington State but none in the Bay Area. I didn't realize so may people checked CL so far away. Maybe there is a method of searching anyhow he had a flurry of calls soon after he posted the car fs so there has to be some networking going on.
The seller was surprised I was so close, just 3 miles away, and I was eager to see it so off I went.
Car is a beaut, garaged most of its life, dealer maintained, clear title and clear Headlight Lens! Ran like a new car! No diff whine like my '99 with 265K miles. I always wanted to feel what a new '99 ran like. The only mod I would like is to do a serpentine fan delete so I can hear the turbo spin up.

Now I'm explaining to my wife why I bought another 20 y.o. car. Well, its hardly broken in I told her!
DDH

RunningTooHot · #2 06-19-2019, 11:35 PM

Wow, what a score! Only 48K... amazing find. She's beautiful - congratulations!

I know it's nobody's business, rude to ask, and I wouldn't really expect you to answer the inevitable question. All I know is that paying a big, BIG premium to get a perma-car like that would be fully justifiable. (Maybe show this to the wife so you don't end up sleeping on the couch tonight?

)

Again, CONGRATULATIONS!!!

dieseldiehard · #3 06-20-2019, 12:26 AM

well, lets put it this way, here's my justification. My "old" '99 300Dturbo cost me close to $5K.
Within a year the transmission went bad, I knew it was flaring a bit but didn't realize it would go downhill so quickly.
I have a laundry list of things it needed to meet my standards:
Removing PO's darned poly bushings replaced with OE rubber.
New front wheel bearings.
Rebuilt cylinder head, new timing chain, 2 new exh valves while it was off.
The headlights were so fogged up due to the PO installing a plastic film over them that wouldn't come off I had to buy new headlights (well used off ePay) and swap the covers, a real PITA.
Rebuilt alternator
New flex discs
New heater valve assy,
Replaced front diff seal (I looked for a low mileage diff at the time and couldn't find one)
Motor mounts (need to replace again soon)
Trans mount,
Ball joints, lower control arm bushings
A rear antisway link busted when I cranked hard to avoid a collision
probably a few other things I forgot, like belt tensioner, Fan thermo clutch, Rad hoses, then there are brake rotors and Porterfield pads, SS brake hoses but I won't include all that in the grad running total on the "Old" '99 turbo,
sheesh! I spent well over $12K (including basic car).

It still ruins like a scalded cat, cruise control works, AC is great. Hugs the road and stops great when you want it to. Clearcoat is mostly gone as the PO lived in the high desert.

One odd thing is it has the full DIN Computer display (WTF is a CDROM- based roadside map feature worth now? nada! Esp since GPS came along).
But then there's the fact its a EURO based version! I do not know how it got installed whether it was OE or the PO found it and put it in but its a kick to show people what technology was like pre-Y2K. If you go to enter your location it has Spain, Greece, Germany etc. just NO North America! and no way to upgrade the firmware.

I bought this "New" one for $13K go figure. The seller called and said he had a call from a man who pleaded with him to sell it for $15K but he honored our deal and I got it - now its off to the races.
Call me nuts or whatever I figure I will drive it a few years then give to my daughter, as my wife has failed to see the beauty of the '99 turbo but thankfully she's very content with her E320, the gas guzzler it is, but I really wish I could take the lumbar seats out of it and put them in my "New" '99! If there was an easy way I might do it! thats the only thing I really wish this one had.

DDH

Marshall Welch · #4 06-20-2019, 01:13 AM

Wow ! That’s inspiring !

SonnyMorrow · #5 06-20-2019, 02:45 AM

Nice find! Did you buy it from the original owner? Post some more pictures of the car when you can!

barry12345 · #6 06-20-2019, 12:15 PM

If you purchased almost any new reasonable car. The cost of this one is perhaps three years depreciation of what it would experience. So if you get three years in with no major costs. To me the price of that car is free.

I know the logic is convulted but explaining the justification when I feel it is needed to the wife. Has helped the methology develop over the years.

One spectrum to another. The wife claims today that I do not spend enough money. Although wait until she finds out what some automation equipment is going to cost that I am probing the prices on right now.

Who says at my age you cannot bring back the good old days. I only hope some of it may be rubbing off on the local grandson.

I gave him a drive yesterday and it was hot out. He immediately said that the air conditioning is usually not working on cars this old. As the ice cubes came out of the dash. I responded everything works and works well on this old buggy for all practical purposes.

So I got into my cost per mile versus most peoples with him. Plus how we handle new cars for his grandmother at minimal real cost as well. We get about .60 cents a mile for a lot of use of it that the rate has just increased again. The old 2006 volkswagon jetta TDI cost less than the sales tax on a new one to start with and is in exceptional condition for the age of it. In my mind for all practical purposes it was free some time ago.

If I had purchased the car new it would already have depreciated far more than the 3.8K we paid for it. Plus the return on investment of the cost difference would not exist nor the principle. I am pouring the miles to it and expect it with some luck to still be going fairly strong five years from now.

I expect I might not be. So I asked him if he wanted me to ask his grandmother to give it to him if I depart. She will not drive older cars.

I will be keeping it up and expectations are a clutch and cam issue on this year may have to be dealt with sometime before he may see it.

These two items are a semi mechanical design deficiency on this year and model. His other grandmother has just passed away reciently. She has given him the Buick she had. So as soon as he gets his drivers licence. He already has wheels.

He already knows that he will be spending a lot more years in school and that his living grandmother will be funding that. What he does not know is that we have a policy. That money is only for tuition and living costs.

His old worn out poor grandfather drives old cars and all other kinds of things to make many things possible. I personally approve of what we do. As does the wife. He is a credit to the family so far. As the other two older grandsons have proven to be.

I think we are lucky as I see a lot of common sense in his behaviors. .. Where there seems far less in one of his parents. That daughter has told me that the son in law just never had the same kind of family behind him.

Examples like yours make a lot of common sense to me. I probably stumble upon perhaps two exceptional beaters per year as I call them. Some years none. They are far from beaters in reality. Usually I pass them by. Or mention them to someone that may take advantage of them. If you are in need of a car at the time you seldom will find them. They turn up in many different unexpected ways.

t walgamuth · #7 06-20-2019, 01:43 PM

Congratulations on what appears to be a great score!

Best luck with it.

dieseldiehard · #8 06-20-2019, 08:42 PM

thanks for all the comments, etc. Barry12345, I told my wife what someone paid for the taxes when they purchased the car new, I figure it was about $38K and out here the sales tax plus a federal tax would amount to at least $4K. I avoided all that, plus a lower registration fee.

I raised the hood again, this being the second time (the first time was to see the goodies, which are sparkling clean. I think the PO detailed it before the sale but honestly the turbo is shiny! I will post pics later.
I went to change the oil, not sure what was in it and how many miles on it.
I recently found Motul Synclean 229.51 rated at a good price and prepared to change oil and when I raised the hood I immediately noticed the air shock/ piston thingies are tight, not droopy like on my other car.

OK, then the BIG surprise! I am a bit embarrassed to admit but I went to put on my seatbelt and discovered the car has the LUMBAR SUPPORT OPTION! I don't know how I missed that the first time I drove it, I guess I was so excited I was concentrating on something else. SO whats that option worth?
with my bad back this is a Royal Treat!!

pawoSD · #9 06-20-2019, 11:17 PM

Beautiful W210!

I am mixed on the W210 because they are nice cars (I own one...) but man do they rust. Around here even a mint nice one like that would be rusting to pieces after 3-4 winters. If I lived in a warm place I'd probably still own one as my primary driver. the post 2003 cars are SO much more rust resistant. My GLK has now been through 4 winters, not a spec on it. My brother and dad's W211's, virtually nothing, and they are 10-13 years old.

Hard to beat the power/torque of the newer diesels though.

gsxr · #10 06-26-2019, 05:16 PM

Looks great! Any other options besides orthopedic seats? Maybe heated seats? I can't recall if ASR/ESP was offered on the 210 diesels. Front photo indicates it doesn't have the HID option (or headlamp washers). Congrats on the new ride!

dieseldiehard · #11 06-26-2019, 07:51 PM

NO RUST. Nada!
has ASR on it and leather seats, plus the Ortho option.
Self dimming mirror with Homelink.
No fuel mileage calculator.
got some fotos of the engine.

vwnate1 · #12 06-27-2019, 11:48 AM

Looks *very* nice ! .

I learned long ago that those jerkhoffs who promise to pay more if you just hold it for them, are always time wasting low ballers when they show up .

I enjoyed reading all the cost = value opinions as I have only older, high mileage vehicles and the accumulated co$t$ over twenty years is startling

I know it's cheaper than buying anything newer with payments but dang ~ for a Blue Collar schlub like me having well over $15,000.00 invested in a beat up 34 year old 440,000 mile vehicle is very sobering .

I hope this one is everything you hoped for and more, now go begin rolling on the miles ~ keeping it low mileage means you don't like driving it, whatever the ride may be .

BWhitmore · #13 06-27-2019, 11:56 AM

Wow! Super clean engine compartment. A great find.

dieseldiehard · #14 06-28-2019, 04:12 PM

I am back from a trip, or a couple of trips back to back.
Arrived in Napa on second end of a trip and the car was at 407miles on the trip odometer and my friend said I was risking it with an unknown car, raise a few "what ifs" like what if the car suddenly runs out of fuel in the boondocks? that would be a bad thing I agreed especially without a manual primer.
Anyhow around 415 miles the reserve fuel lamp came on and I eventually found a gas station with diesel at the nice low price of $3.959 (I know, folks not living in the state of CA will find that a high price but where I live its $4.30 and up/gal).

I hadn't filled the car up to the filler neck as I do when I am trying to get an accurate mileage figure but using the amount I put in at this fill-up was 15.3 gals, that gives fuel mileage of 27.3 MPG.
This was over about 30% city and 70% freeway at 70-80MPH. With AC.
The factory specs for the fuel tank are 21.1 gals, so if I were to drive until I ran out of fuel, using this MPG, I could theoretically drive another 156 miles or something like 570 miles.
DDH
I'll be off on a short trip again tomorrow then I need to get with the brake renewal program, I'm waiting for the Porterfield pads to arrive .

dieseldiehard · #15 06-30-2019, 12:31 AM

as I was headed along on a trip I was doing a steady 60MPH in the left lane and a car slowly passed me and as it did the driver leaned out of his open window and waived a big THUMBS UP

not once but twice!

My wife asked me what all that was about and I said he must appreciate a 20 year old car with less than 50K miles on it and he probably liked the like new appearance.
Every now and then I get a few middle digit salutes especially driving my blue bomb when I cut some idiot off but never have I received such a show of affection over my car.
it made me feel really good! Maybe I should wax it and see kind of attention I can get