240D cruising speed & reasonable $'s?
 

Hi:
I am looking at a Mint condition 1983 240D with 134K miles. It's been very well maintained by the local MB dealer. It's perfect except the cruise control does not work, and the headliner above the rear seat is sagging just slightly. I have a few questions before I buy this.......
1) What can I expect as a reasonable highway cruising speed?
2) How many miles can I expect to get out of this before it must be retired?
3) Can a 240D of this age be driven as a daily driver?
4) The asking price is $5995 - I think I can get it down it $5200. As I said it is mint. Is this a reasonable price?
Thanks,
Jim

I've got an '81 manual, and it will do 70mph without any problem. The are a 55mph era car, so things are spinning pretty fast at that speed and it may get to you on a long haul. They are great daily drivers. If I don't have to drive above 60, it would be my choice hands down for running about.

The price depends upon the car. Your best frame of reference is to check out eBay where you can see just 240Ds. Top dollar cars tend to go for about 3,500 with the majority under 2,000. If yours is a museum piece, maybe it is worth it.

If it's got a bad headliner and a broken C/C, it's not mint.

I think price is way high, as you can find a true mint one for $5 K.

You can cruise at 70-75 or even pushing 80, but the car is working. If you want a road car, you should probably be looking at a 300D rather than a 240D. I use my 240D for commuting and it's perfect for that--top speed rarely above 55, with a lot of 35 and 45 mph driving. If you're doing mostly freeway driving, a 300D or 300SD is a much better machine.

The price is kinda steep. I pretty much agree with everything that has been said in regards to which one is driven when.

Buwaahaaahaahahahaha! Sorry... I just don't often think of "speed" and "240D" in the same sentence. :D :D

First, I hope this is a 4-speed manual, as the auto versions are really slugs. With the manual, my old '83 240D would do 65 and be happy about it, at 75 it was unhappy, and above that you were nervous. The gearing is very low and the engine is VERY busy above ~70mph. It's more of a low-speed cruiser. Cruise control is probably the amp ($175 rebuilt, easy to R&R). Be careful with old, low-mileage cars though! Rubber wears with age, not mileage. It may have suspension bushings that will need replacement shortly (hard to tell). The life expectancy (chassis & engine) with good maintenance is 400-500kmi. Most have 200-300k if you shop around.

Finally, the asking price is insane unless it is really, totally mint... I mean a CA or southern car, never seen snow, full records from day 1, original paint still shiny, seats like new, excellent power/brakes/handling, etc etc. And even then $4-5k would be a lot. You could get a 1987 300D for that much with more than double the power and the same MPG! (Of course, I'm a little predjudiced toward the 124's). :) :)


Regards,

A little more positive...
 

If this 240 has been a Pennsylvania car all its life, think you very likely will have rust issues whether they are obvious or not.

Cruise control is one of the FEW things that rarely work right on any of these cars. The good side of this is the fact that in 20 years of service life, almost all of these problems...and solutions...are known. Many can be found on this site.

My '83 240D with automatic is happy cruising at 80 with little complaint (245k miles). If the oil has been changed regularly and other maintenance performed on schedule, you will have a car that can be made to last another 20 years...maybe the last ones to be so constructed. Parts are cheap and available, and the cars are easy to keep up.

I recommend the "Mercedes-Benz Buyer's Guide" available for less than $20...great tips on what to look for and avoid in shopping old Benz, as well as a good history. I'd also join the MB Club of America, which has a very good magazine and a chapter in your region (MBCA.org).

Good luck...and keep us posted.

Also check out the MBZ.org site, they have some great mailing lists.... the diesel list in particular is fantastic (very high traffic though- you've been warned.) The site just had a hard drive crash and is partially down, but if you check back in a day or three you can look at the archives and decide if you want to sign up. If you wrench on your own MB diesels, I highly recommend it, I have learned an incredible amount from there (and this forum as well). :) :)


Regards,