'80 240D
 

The car wouldn't shift. I got it into 1st and drove in 1st to the shop. Shop was then 1 mile away. They installed 1 bushing. Shifter worked fine for a couple runs, then didn't. Drove it to the shop in 2nd. (it worked in 1st and 2nd, but wouldn't go into 3rd) The shop installed 2 more bushings (total 3).
It worked for a couple runs and then I drove it to the shop in 2nd. What's your advice/experience on this? Thank you.
OOPS! It's an '81 !!

Sell/donate car, or, deal with a different shop.

Does the shifter feel tight? As in no slop in the linkages? Is it sticky, or getting stuck popping it up for reverse?

Maybe the linkages are bent or hanging up some way..

Is the clutch working ok? Might be a good idea to change out the trany fluid.

Years ago I got a free toyota 4spd truck that wouldn't go into gear. Changed out the fluid, it worked fine for years after....

I'm not saying this will be your case, you have nothing to lose trying.... Me thinks it takes ATF, need to use a allen/hex key, or male allen socket.

Ive been around several manual 240d, and 220d . I've never seen a bad manual box yet. My last 240d had over 300K miles. Shifted fine..

It's quite easy to rebuild these shifter linkages. There's no reason for this to be such a problem for you. Take it to someone that knows what they are doing!

I have had second gear synchro go at least once before. Not typical though. I have adopted a very stress free driving style. Coast to a stop leaving brakes alone until necessary, shift to the gear needed as you are at your slowest, turning or taking off from the stop sign. Less wear and maximum fuel economy.