Question about a nice gold '85 300TD on Ebay
 

There is a nice looking 1985 for sale on Ebay right now,
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1867207172&rd=1 and it looks pretty good.
Studying the pics, though, I have a couple questions... the rear carpet looks either sun bleached or redyed, and the seats appear to be a two tone color.
Is this the hybrid MB-Tex/Leather that I see referenced in parts catalogs?
Is the fading/color mismatch on the rear carpeting normal sun fade, or a sign of something more ominous? Redye, flood, ... ?
I'm not connected to this auction in any way financially, but I will be looking at wagons as soon as my old house sells and I have some extra $$$ :)
If anyone wants it though, go ahead and bid; I'm not quite ready yet financially (or free time-wise) to buy.

I notice that two tone look on the texture in many pics on ebay. I'm wondering if the digital cameras accent more of a disparity than really exists.

Looks like a very nice car

Don

Thanks for the reply, Don.
Certain colors can be weird to photograph with a digital camera. My wife encounters this quite often with our trusty Nikon Coolpix 800. Blacks and blues come to mind as difficult colors.
This looked like a near-mint TD until I saw the weird pattern along the rear carpets. It does seem to be consistent from picture to picture, so I don't think it's solely an artifact of the camera or a chemical smear on old-style film (if they're not digital pics.)
I agree with you, though Don, this does look like a very nice car. Certain colors make the TD look very rich and modern, like the metallic blues, black, and gold, and some make them look like cheap beaters, like white and silver. Although most cars do look good in silver, I don't really think silver TD's are that cool looking.
Just my $0.02.

I've got the same sun fading on the back carpet of my 85 300td. It's odd. The palomino fades to a pinkish color.

Mine has the same type color fading in the back area. The covering on the sides has faded to some shade of "reddish/pink". Looks like that is just the color the area fades to.
Seats look pretty good for 17 yr old MBTex.

Thanks for the info on the palomino carpet fade issue. The knowledge bank available here is amazing.

One thing that I just noticed about this auction is the statement: He seems to deal in lots of Mitsu's, and some American iron, and has good feedback. Also he seems into guns, judging from the AR-15 barrel he sold... He did sell an '88 300SEL for $4550, which is about half of what a PA dealer would ask for a similar car :eek: :)

300td
 

If anyone on-list buys this car, contact me for a decent (though not perfect) right rear taillight to replace the broken one on this car. My extra has a broken edge that is not terribly noticeable. This is a leftover piece from when I found a guy who was parting his car out and bought a few things to replace on mine.

Doesn't the rear seem to be sagging a little too much?
And what about the pinstripe? I personally am not too keen on pinstriping, especially when it dead-ends into the rear emblem.

I have a 1981 300TDT (LOVE IT!) and the pinkish fading of the MB Tex is there too.

Whoa, looks like this car may have been a limo for the "Fat Boys" (80's rappers). :eek:

Look at the rear seat sags...

Doesn't it look like the seller diddled the photos, right at the jack points? Rust?

The '84 and '85 123's got different style seats, and yes that type of sun fading is normal, like TX Bill said, the two different types of material in the seats weather differently. I have not seen a 300TD that didn't have badly sun bleached rear carpet, and yes it is also normal for the carpet to turn 'pink'.

This wagon has also been repainted, notice the incorrect pinstripe on the rear hatch. The wagon looks good overall though.

looks nice
 

the wagon looks nice. the wagons are hard to come by especially looking nice, especially 1985's, and especially ones with the 3rd seats and rear headrests.

the fading is normal, and i too have the same problem on my 1985 300TD. go ahead and look at the pics of my interior and you can see that anotehr 1985 does the same thing.

http://groups.msn.com/w123club/peyton1985300tdt.msnw

the car in teh auction seems like it probably spetn a lot of time outside which causes the fading. mine has spent some time outside but most of the time in teh garage so it may appear to be less. but i doubt you can find any wagon without the similar fade patterns

good luck on your decision

eric

Fading
 

My 300TD rear is faded, too. It's blue, so it's really just become lighter rather than shifting the hue. The blue interiors are also especially bad for heat-related issues (cracked dashes, plastic inside door trim, seats). Fortunately, my interior is still in good shape, but it may be because the PO's had dark tint applied.

These cars are almost like a greenhouse on wheels due to all the glass. I wish I could get one of those rubber cargo covers that was specifically made for the rear. I've checked but been unable to find them.

I want another...

I'd also like to find a set of crossbars for the roofrack like this car has.

I'm on a search myself for a nice wagon, preferably an '85, with the roof rack, third seat, cargo cover, and hopefully the cargo net so the dog can be kept behind the back seat.

The dog's fur is the same color as palomino, and it invariably happens that I must transport said dog.

Anyone want to trade our golden retriever for their TD? LOL.