240D in my "backyard" - Whaddya think?!

[BassGuyDave]

Hi everyone,

A couple of nights ago I was cruisin' the lot of my local MB dealer after hours, when lo and behold, I came upon a '79 240D (auto) for sale. Being only lit by some of the lot lamps, I couldn't tell everything about the condition of the car, except that the body seemed to be in near-perfect condition.

I returned to the dealer this afternoon, to give it a better look, and I found out that the car only has 53,553 miles on it! The body actually is in near-perfect condition. The paint seems a bit pitted to the feel, but I didn't really notice anything to that effect, visually.

The interior, accordingly, looks brand new - as though it had hardly been used. I briefly checked under the hood - saw that it had the release to let the hood go vertical - and saw a clean engine compartment with no leaks. It idled ok.

Other good things: The A/C worked fine, although with the engine just idling it took a few mins to get really cold; there are the usual manual windows, antenna, etc. The radio was a Pioneer replacement.

Since I was there within 30 mins of closing, I did not take it for a test drive. I am going back there tomorrow to do just that. The saleslady told me I could take home all the car's manuals, service records, etc., to peruse. I looked through them, and although they don't show an oil/filter change since 43k miles, the 14 oil changes that were done average 3340 miles between changes, and they were all done at the dealership, using Pennzoil 15w-40 at the beginning, and then switching to Kendall 15w-40. They also did the usual lube jobs and brake inspections, plus the brake hydraulic system and the cooling system was flushed at 43k miles. I noticed the date, and saw that there has only been 10k miles put on the clock since 11/88. The saleslady also told me that this car was traded in by an elderly couple who just "didn't drive that much".

The only bad thing I noticed was that the headlight switch knob came off in my hand when I pulled on it. I'm not sure, but don't you have to pull on the knob to get the fog lamps to work? Guess I'll have to go over the manual.

Now for the price: She told my wife and I that they are asking $4995. for this car.

If anyone has any suggestions on what else I should look for when driving this car, or comments on the price, I'm all ears! I am also wondering if there are any negative effects on the car by averaging only 700 miles in the last 14 years. Thanks.

DAVE