78 300D with "issues" - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

#1 08-15-2002, 04:23 PM

Hey! I am new here.

I have a 300D (1978) that we have had for about a year. I got it from my aunt for $200. She had it for about 10 years and before that a lady owned it (all in this area) since it was new.

the PRESENT condition is this

take this car new, and subract these things

1) bad paint, very very faded grey
2) automatic climate control buttons dont' do anything?
3) needs a new flasher, just haven't found one yet.
4) reverse just stopped working yesterday, park, neutral and drive still work though

5) locks are funny, sometimes they lock, sometimes they won't
6) dash has a couple cracks in it
7) 190K miles
8) someone stole the emblem on the hood

9) windows act funky sometimes.

ok, these are my questions

how much is my car worth? not much I assume, but just wondering.

and this reverse thing, has anyone else had this problem? how much $ is this type of repair?

I would like to keep this car since it was given to me (FREE!!!) and work on it, but I dont' want it to turn into a thousands of dollars hobby.

I have a vehicle (98 explorer XLT) so this is going to be "Just for fun".

Thanks in advance!

billrok · #2 08-15-2002, 05:19 PM

I like to think in terms of what your true goal for the car is. Do you plan on it being your daily driver?? Will it be just a project car to work on and learn diesels? Do you want it as a "fix it up and sell it" project? Your car has seveal issues. No reverse is a really bad sign and the worst of all your problems. Trans rebuild may be in order and they can run from $1000 to much more for a dealer. You've got some vacuum leaks- hence the door lock problems and possibly related Climate control problems. Then of course there is the engine and whether is may need some work. Determine what you really want out of the car, take 2 aspirin and call us in the morning.

#3 08-15-2002, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by SoKo_LoKo
Hey! I am new here.

I have a 300D (1978) that we have had for about a year. I got it from my aunt for $200. She had it for about 10 years and before that a lady owned it (all in this area) since it was new.

the PRESENT condition is this

take this car new, and subract these things

1) bad paint, very very faded grey
2) automatic climate control buttons dont' do anything?
3) needs a new flasher, just haven't found one yet.
4) reverse just stopped working yesterday, park, neutral and drive still work though
5) locks are funny, sometimes they lock, sometimes they won't
6) dash has a couple cracks in it
7) 190K miles
8) someone stole the emblem on the hood
9) windows act funky sometimes.

ok, these are my questions

how much is my car worth? not much I assume, but just wondering.

and this reverse thing, has anyone else had this problem? how much $ is this type of repair?

I would like to keep this car since it was given to me (FREE!!!) and work on it, but I dont' want it to turn into a thousands of dollars hobby.

I have a vehicle (98 explorer XLT) so this is going to be "Just for fun".

Thanks in advance!

Thanks for the reply!

Well, I have a daily driver, so that isn't really my "need" for this car. I wanted it to be a project car, but if its going to end up being a lot more trouble than it is worth, then I don't want to get started to have to give up, know what I mean?

JOn

surfblau · #4 08-15-2002, 06:03 PM

I would like to amass a collection of cars like yours, but I have issues, some of them may resonate with you.

- apartment dweller (no garage and no place to work on cars, no place to store them)
- full time job
- one year old kid
- wife that doesn't work or cook
- like to surf and run

So, there are a lot of better things to spend your time and money on besides old diesels, but nevertheless, I have two of them and really enjoy working/learning them.

Bottom line, unless you really enjoy working on mechanical things and really have some time/patience and also like to spend a lot of time learning new things, this may not be your cup of tea. Best case at the end of several weeks or months of work you will have a 25 year old car that looks it....

Of course if I had the space, that would be fine with me.

Just some things to consider.

later

deezuhl · #5 08-16-2002, 03:51 AM

Welcome to the forum and congrats on joining the MB family. Personally I would invest a little money to get the mechanical stuff working again. Have the car checked out it could be something simple to fix. If not and you don't want to invest money in it then you might want to part it out.

#6 08-16-2002, 05:35 AM

Great that you found this awesome site!

Some quick thoughts:

No Reverse, may be a simple problem. The 123 cars are known for the reverse band adjustment bolt backing out of the transmission case. Its on the pass side of the trans, toward the front just above the trans oil pan, can't miss it.

Climate control in-op, may be just a simple vacumn leak. Do the door locks work? If you lock the drivers door from the inside do the other 3 doors lock? Nevre mind that past question, since your locks intermittently work, that is most likely your climate control problem, the ACC relies heavily on the vacumn system being up to par.

Cosmetic stuff, no biggie. The dash cracks on every single car eventually. Paint fade, well, could be a $2000 paint job. Personally I'd live with that!

If there isn't a ton of mileage on the car, its definitley worth fixing. Especially being in FL all its life, there shouldn't be any major rust on the car. Probably worth 2000-3000 bucks, educated guess without seeing the car.

It would be an excellent hobby car, that you shouldn't get too buried in. Even if the trans is bad, you can pick up a used one cheap, post on this forum, someone probably has one. I do!

#7 08-16-2002, 05:09 PM

Thanks for all the replies guys! definently something I am going to have to think about this weekend....

will know an answer next week

#8 08-20-2002, 04:32 PM

Ok, So I talked to a few experienced people whom I trust, and they told me my car looks like poop

So I am selling it as a parts car.

Here is what it looks like (more pictures in next post)

If you know anyone in florida ( I am in north central florida) area who is interested, let me know.

jhsoko@ufl.edu

#9 08-20-2002, 04:33 PM

The Warden · #10 08-20-2002, 08:24 PM

Too bad your interior's blue and not palomino; I'd be interested in the seats...and the aux cooling fan if it works

Actually, the exterior is in rough shape, but the interior looks pretty good. However, it's your call. I've been in situations not too horribly different...good luck!

gsamuelson · #11 08-21-2002, 11:00 PM

Dang! That baby has no rust! Give her a coat of paint, some new carpets, bunch of rubber connectors and get the tranny looked after!!! Hate to see that poor ol'girl go to the crusher!!! Find someone to put her in shape!!

Us poor bastards in the north dream about getting cars with steel that good!!

190D22 · #12 08-21-2002, 11:27 PM

Well it's evident that the exterior wasn't cared for very well. And it's sad too, a coat of wax every 6 months, or even once a year would prevent that from happening! With the exterior in the condition it's in, the interior seems to have been treated a little nicer.

I think that you will get the most money by parting it out, but that's the most work for you. You could sell it to someone (and it's going to be profit for you either way since it was free to you) for cheap who's willing to do the work it needs. Since there's no visible rust on the body sheet metal, it could be very useful for some of the other 300D owners on here!

Maybe you can investigate the car a little deeper (compression test on the engine, etc) and see how the rest of her is.

unkl300d · #13 08-22-2002, 01:40 AM

I sent you an e-mail.!!

Jason Beal · #14 08-22-2002, 03:41 AM

Dang. I wished I still lived in Fla. I'd pick her up as a project car for sure. If the compression was good , I'd find a tranmission. Good luck whatever you do.

J

#15 08-22-2002, 01:39 PM

Brandoncrone

You said the reverse band adjustment bolt is famous for backing out? Amazing. I am having some crazy reverse problems with my 78 300D and have asked the local gurus. None of them had mentioned that. Too quick to condemn the whole car.
Questions is how do you properly set that? Do you just tighen a little and test? I don't have a lot of trans work under my belt yet, maybe this is the time to start.