Car's an 83 300SD 250K miles. What should I look for problem-wise, mostly engine and tranny wise. Should the engine have had a new timing chain by now? Will it need one soon if not? Will the transmission still be ok after this long on a well maintained car? Most maint records are available for the vehicle and they do indicate a cared for car. How much life is left here? Will I need an engine re-build say before 350K or will it keep running if it's in good shape now. Is 3,000 too much for one of these with this kind of mileage regardless of the condition? I already own a 300D same year w/172K on it and it seems to be hardly broken in engine-wise. 1/2 Qt at the 4K oil change mark but it is butt-ugly inside and has a lot of other problems like water leaks, no rear-defrost, no A/C etc etc. What I'm doing here is building a herd of older MB diesels to replace my herd of 3 Mazda 929's which are being sold off (1 down, 2 to go). My goal is three diesels 2 in fair to good shape, one in excellent shape but all no newer than 1985 since I heard the later ones have piss-poor engines. I'm also going to replace my Jeep Pickup truck with another Jeep. Wish MB had seen fit to make a pickup truck bodied 300D, boy that would be a great vehicle. Maybe I'll make one :-)
Any advise on the 300 SD is appreciated. Thanks.