Need to sell :( Need help with pricing - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

ck42 · #1 04-26-2021, 06:00 PM

Been a LONG time since I've been around here, but I regretfully need to say goodbye to this project. The wife has been MORE than patient with me on this, but I've finally admitted to myself that it's just not going to be finished by me.
Problem is, I have no idea these days what sort of price I should be looking for and what these diesel's value are anymore.
It's been sitting in the garage for quite a while now, with the original intention of me going all through the car and basically restoring everything...but it just hasn't happened and isn't going to. I thought I would be keeping it for life. But, my DIY time is very limited anymore.

So this is where I need some help. I'd honestly, seriously appreciate any feedback you can give regarding asking price...or even other suggestions, for this car.
Below is as much detail as I can come up with.

1985 White 300SD

Major options:
- Driver's side airbag, heated seats, ABS

I'm the second "driver" (3rd technical 'owner'. Second owner was MB shop guy who bought it from the original owner. Second owner (shop guy) didn't put miles on it - just ended up reselling it.
Just shy of 200K mi. Bought it at about 102K mi.

Interior condition:
- I'd give it an honest 7-8/10. No rips in the leather, carpet is in good shape. Interior is that red/burgundy color.
- Wood is pretty decent. Glossy. (none missing).
- Very Good quality burgundy sheepskin seat covers on both front seats and in excellent shape!
- Put in new Mercedes floor mats couple years ago.
- Nice wood shift knob, I put in.
- The stitching in the back seat, in the middle (where your head would rest) is just now starting to come loose.
- The vinyl 'skin' material that covers that pillar between the front and back seats is looking pretty sad though. Needs to be replaced or glued down or something.

Exterior condition: This is harder to give a rating. It really depends on how you define things. So instead - Here's some wording that should hopefully give a good feel.
- Paint - Once I have it cleaned up and freshly waxed, looks really nice! - There are the scattered small chips (front, door edges) and minor scratches, but there isn't any rust (at least that I can see anywhere!)
- Football sized smooth indention (no creases) in front right corner panel behind the chrome strip.
- After spending about $700 at an excellent ding removal place when I first got this car, a couple years later, it managed to find a single new ding in the driver's door. It's an ugly one but can be fixed. Otherwise, no other big (or minor) dings since then.
- Engine bay area is really nice and clean. One thing I hate is getting dirty just from sticking your hand/arm into the engine area...so I've always tried to keep it wiped down and clean. No oil leaks in there either.

Problem areas:
- For the most part, just about everything works.
- Right front window regulator is pretty iffy. In the process of trying to fix right now.
- A/C needs a recharge. Seems to get to this point every couple of years. Probably needs to be diagnosed to locate a leak somewhere, but once it's charged up, it's COLD for years.
- Trunk lid won't stay open due to a repair on the rear end and they used a STEEL trunk lid (new). These '85 300SD's use aluminum hoods and trunk lids to save weight. The trunk lid has springs that are designed to hold up the weight of the lighter aluminum trunk lid. Now, with the heavier steel one, it doesn't stay up on its own.
- Front tires prematurely wear out inner edge tread. Next project to address this was going to be the UCA's. Easy DIY job.
- Nice rear speakers that I originally put in have finally gone bad. Needs new rear speakers.
- Dash has one crack on the driver's side that's about an inch long (very narrow split - not a gapping crack). Otherwise, it's in great shape!
- Rear window needs tinting (other windows are already tinted)
- Driver's seat belt sometimes gets locked up. It's weird. I have to open the panel up and play with it to get it to retract. Then it's fine again for a couple months.

Major/important/'worth mentioning' repairs/upkeeps/upgrades/additions:
Keep in mind that pretty much all the things listed here were not replaced/installed because something was broken - I just wanted to completely go through and refresh the car, so things were simply replaced with new OEM parts. (No aftermarket junk used)

- Fully Rebuilt turbo (Would have to go look it up, but this was a high quality full kit!)
- Rebuilt vacuum pump
- New Bosch alternator
- New alternator bracket(?) assembly
- New oil cooler lines
- All new parts and tube for the air cleaner oil separator drain tube assembly
- Brand new auxiliary heater pump - very low mileage since then.
- New air bracket assembly
- New radiator about 20K ago
- Been using Mobile 1 oil since I got the car with ~102Kmi. Regular oil changes with OEM filters.
- Valves adjusted by MB Indy ~20-25Kmi.
- Primary water pump replaced couple years ago (developed small leak)
- Tranny serviced at MB Indy shop ~25Kmi.
- New differential mounts (haven't done tranny mounts yet)
- New rear subframe mounts
- Euro-lights (Bosch) installed! (huge lighting improvement)
- New Bosch starter not many miles ago
- New coolant overflow tank and cap
- I even have one of those rebuilt cruise control amps ($$) that I haven't yet installed. Otherwise, the CC engages and works great about 30% time. Once it engages, it's fine...it's just a matter of it deciding WHEN it's going to actually engage. Just never got around to installing the amp because I didn't do much travelling that needed cruise AFTER buying it. D'oh.
- Replaced all the fuses with copper ones
- Many new vacuum lines and various fuel lines in the engine bay replaced
- Almost everything in the front suspension has been replaced. As far as I can recall, the only things I have NOT replaced are the UCA's, LCA bushings, ....hmm, that might be it. - Tons of fix-up work on the front suspension over the years.
- New guide-rod mounts (no more clunkity clunk clunk)
- New motor mounts
- Off road EGR kit (*ALL* tubing, wiring, EVERYTHING associated with the EGR is gone and removed 100%)
- Shift linkage bushings replaced (no more wobbly shifter)
- Had the power steering unit assembly rebuilt by my local old-school diesel MB Indy mechanic. There is minimal free-play in the steering now. Unit was pulled out of the car and calibrated.
- Sunroof opens/closes nicely. Never have had a problem with it since I bought it. Lubed the slides a couple years ago, but other than that, it has just worked.
- Have replaced the door check straps on probably all four doors by now.
- New power window motor on driver's front door.
- Hood pad is currently removed. I have a new one that I just haven't had a chance to install yet.
- When I got the car, the chain stretch was measured to be about 2-3 degrees. Been using Mobile 1 since so I imagine it's not much worse now.
- Brand new front grey plastic grill insert. New chrome strips too.
- Dash clock works
- New front ATE rotors
- New front wheel bearings
- No Rust!! (maybe somewhere there's some normal minor surface fuzz like you'd expect to see on pretty much ANY car, but otherwise, this is a rust-free car)
- Power antenna works

Running condition:
- Starts great (WHEN I have a battery and things are all put back together). The car hasn't been started for about 5 years, but last time I did start it, it was the coldest day of the year so far (about 20F). Glowed it twice and it cranked right up and ran beautifully!
- 100% oil pressure as soon as you start to rev engine. At idle, sits at ~2 bars
- Idles excellent
- Accelerates smoothly - Power is about what you expect with these cars.
- Measured ~9PSI being generated from the turbo.
- Shifts smoothly - NEVER have had a problem with violent shifts on this car like I've read with others. No issues here.
- Brakes work nicely. Been using PBR deluxe last couple years. Been Very happy with them....and that's what's on the car right now. They're pretty fresh too.
- New front Bilstein HD shocks couple years ago. Have not replaced rears yet since they don't 'seem' to need replacing.
- Rear springs have been replaced to help with the 'saggy butt' W126 syndrome.
- Burns minimal oil. I pretty much go a whole oil change cycle w/o adding any oil. Have always run synthetic oil.

I've got all the records and receipts. Receipts are both mine AND from the original owner. TONS of them.
I'm sure there's more. This is just what I can recall off the top of my head right now. As I remember anything worth mentioning, I'll make an update.

If someone is looking to adopt one of these beauties as a 'lifer', this would be a really nice candidate. My investment loss would be your gain. I'm scared to even start adding up what I've got invested in this car. Between the original car price, Indy mechanic repair bills, parts I've replaced, etc., it's....a LOT. Didn't care though because I thought I'd have it forever.

If you've gotten this far, thank you for reading. And if you are interested, let me know.