I am beginning a search for mid 80's diesel. I live in St. louis now, but still have a brother in Dallas, and therefore would consider purchasing a southern vehicle and driving it home.

Does anyone know of a Mercedes mechanic or shop in the Dallas area that they would recommend to have a vehicle thoroughly inspected?

Specifically what model Benz are you looking for? I could probably do this for you if the timing is right.

Have a great day,

If Larry's timing is not " right" .. then you might consider an independant service like " lemon busters".......

I know of three or four good shops on the North side of Dallas & suburbs. Try using the search function to find them. There are quite a few metroplex members, and hence has been plenty of discussion about good shops.

- Jim

Thanks for the replies guys, and the offer Larry. I may take you up on that if I find something interesting. I am looking for a 123 model (82-85), preferably a 300cd, but would consider a sedan as well, in the turbo version. This will be a daily driver at about 18k miles a year. If you see something, let me know. I check out ebay, autotrader and the dallas morning news frequently. We are still in the process of selling one of our vehicles so timing is kind of an issue, but we could purchase right away for the right veh. Thanks guys.

I spoke with a Arlington owner of a 1982 240D, 4speed. 160k+ miles. Third owner, no real history on veh. current owner purchased in April for daughter. She has had approx $400 in ac work done, and had aamco put in a new transmission/clutch at $1400. She says she purchased veh for 2k in April.

. oil leaks
. sunroof is not operational
. left quarter panel from photos, looks like it has 6-8 hours of repair plus refinish. (crease running down side)
. red paint is oxidized
. boot on gearshift is ripped apart
. dial for cool/heat looks like it is knocked loose and sideway
in dash.
. dash is cracked
. a/c does not cool again, per owner
. daughter ran car dry of oil. they had to put 4qt of oil in motor. now is runs very rough and veh is not driveable. she spoke with a mechanic who advised top end needs work probably, but lower should still be ok?

Asking price is 2k or best offer, and owner realizes that is a stretch. sounds like they do not want to put anymore mone in the veh.
. Question is about the motor. if ran low on oil, assume maybe it got hot and blew a head gasket or something? What kind of minimu cost would I be looking at to have the head taken off for est on repairs?

And, is car even worth pursuing if you could get it at the right price? I assume there is at least $1500 immediate cost in motor?

Thanks for any input

There are too many nice cars for you to settle with that one.
Usually one of the items one that list would be Ok, but all of them, I would stay away from it, just me.
Robert