New SD buyer- price question - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Jim D · #1 03-01-2003, 03:22 PM

Hi,

First, let me congratulate everyone here for making this such a great board. I've been using it to research mid eighties 300 SD's.

I have looked at seven cars as of today, all of them 82-84 300SD's. They have had as few as 150,000 miles to as many as 300,000 miles. They have ranged in price from 3000 to 5500 dollars. I have passed on all of them but one, for a number of reasons- loose steering, interiors rough, bodies dinged up, valve cover breather smoking like a steam locmotive, plugging valve cover breather hole with my thumb and having it dies within 2 seconds ( nice tip, I don't know who posted that up, but I found it while searching ) slipping trannies etc, except one.

Here's a question I'm sure you here a lot, but I would like opinions, as I try to be as wise with my money as I can. The best car I found had 300,000 miles on it, a 1983 model. I has a new transmission. It has a new ACC unit. Everything works. It appears to have spent most of it's life garaged. NO dents. It has 90,000 on a Factory Mercedes motor. It has all the receipts, right down to the detailing. It drives awesome. 3,500 dollars seems to be the purchase price number bantied around, with an additional 2,000 dollars +/- to bring it up to speed. Anyway, would a car as I described be worth 5000-6000 dollars? It's located in eastern Oregon and is dry and rust free.

Sorry for the long post- I'm old to diesel, new to Mercedes, but love how these twenty year old cars go down the road.

Thanks,

Jim

mpnye · #2 03-01-2003, 04:30 PM

KELLEY BLUE BOOK

Jim D · #3 03-01-2003, 06:03 PM

Thanks mpnye. I understand KBB and NADA guides. I guess I should have stated 'do a new new transmission and a sound, significantly lower mile engine installed by an MB service center add any value over stated book value?'.

Thanks,

Jim

rickg · #4 03-01-2003, 07:17 PM

Everyone else is tired of me chiming in on this I'm sure. "Ya, ya Rick. Whatever!"

:p
I paid too much for mine, I know now. ($6000) But I really don't care. New engine is worth $5000 of that. And I also have the ACC upgrade. The PO did a mess-o-work on this thing, and I'm happy with the car.
Only thing I'd be afraid of is rust. Check it over carefully. All the mechanical work in the world isn't going to raise the value of a rust bucket. Mechanicals can be fixed. I suppose so can rust, but I don't want it

Ok guys, I'll shut up now

PC Dave · #5 03-01-2003, 07:35 PM

...but I have a similar question. I've been looking for over a year at an '82 300D in Southern California. It was purchased by a small private dealer in an estate sale, I believe he said he picked it up for $3000 in 4Q01. His wife's been driving it since then, and though it's officially for sale, he hasn't actively marketed it. I drove the car about a year ago, and I've never seen a more perfect car that age. Leather, sunroof, alloys, everything works, perfect body and interior: no dents, no tears, no fading, nothing. Looked new. It had about 101,000 miles when I saw it, I believe it's up around 105,000 miles now; I believe the mileage. The paint was perfect, it was garaged since new and owned by an older couple who drove it, but not much (hence the miles). He had the car inspected and serviced at an independent, who noted the glow plug relay needed replacement, and the transmission slips somewhat.

He was originally asking $4500, the last time he mentioned it the ask had gone up to $4750. I've looked at a number of W123's since driving that one, but I've never pulled the trigger. A big reason has been my comparison of the others to this benchmark - my view was always, "sure, this one's $2k (or $2.5 or whatever), but it shows its age. The other one's perfect, and what's another $2k for that?". I'm thinking about finally trying to cut a deal with him. Assuming nothing major comes up in the PPI, am I getting hosed at $4750, getting a deal, or paying what it's worth?

RSH · #6 03-02-2003, 12:16 AM

The price is going to be whatever the seller and buyer agree upon, there are guides to help determine the ballpark price ( KBB, NADA, Hemmings, etc ) more times than not emotion will effect price. The buyer has to do as much research as possible to determine if a deal is good or not and be ready to buy or walk. Are you looking for a daily driver or a weekend cruiser, are you willing to do some mechanical work or do you want a prime turn key example. You just have to decide which end of the pool you want to jump into. I bought a 83 300SD last June, it had 223k miles on it, all the major mechanical items worked properly, the body and under carraige are straight and rust free, the interior is clean and plush, and from 10 feet away it looks like a million bucks. Looking up close you can see the paint is faded in some spots the dash has some minor cracks. I did some minor mechanical work, replaced all the rubber sections of the vacuum lines, replaced interior light bulbs, rebuilt the power antenna, replaced all filters and fluids, replaced the brake pads. Everything works on this car, It runs and drives like a Mercedes should. There are a couple of things left to do, I want to replace the hood pad and possibly get it painted. The car has 235k on it now and I have not had any problems, It is worth much more to me than the $2250 I paid for it. I hope you find one that works for you, good luck.

Jim D · #7 03-02-2003, 12:26 AM

Thanks for the responses. Looking at my post from earlier, I see now that I wasn't so clear

( I work graveyard so my posts in the morning are often rambling and incomplete!).

My interest in this car is the fact that I don't need to do anything to it to get it up to snuff. Everything is documented- tie rod ends, ball joints, new ACC unit this fall. 5500 dollars is about my max, spending 3500 +/- for the car, plus 2000 dollars for incidentals. This car is clean , but maybe I'm just too easily impressed after looking at what I believe were "rough" cars??

Thanks once again for all the input.

Jim

rickg · #8 03-02-2003, 01:19 AM

Jim, if it's all that, BUY IT! I've hardly had to do a thing to mine, and get to mostly just enjoy it. You find a "bargain", and, well, just start cruising thru all the threads here on this forum and you can see what all you'll end up with. Like someone here once(or twice) said, nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes. I believe in taking advantage of someone elses effort and money. It saves you time in the shop later on. Like RSH said:
"The price is going to be whatever the seller and buyer agree upon"
I'm used to this level of pricing things in the hobby I've been involved with. There is no price guide for antique tractors and old one lunger gas engines. We just look around at what similar things have sold for, evaluate what the current item is, and go from there. I think NADA ect is good for a '95 Buick, but for these cars that far outlast their depreciation scale, IMHO it takes a more personal approach to "what's she worth".
And thanks Bill for the encouraging word!

I feel better now. I've been almost afraid to speak up on this too much. (Seems the last couple times I have, I killed the thread

) I've really watched auto trader ect for what else I could have waited to buy, and so far haven't found anything I could say "wish I'd waited" for. But everytime someone comes here and brings up this question, most all the answers are not to pay anything more than $1500, or something like that. The one drawback to paying what I paid, is if I ever get in an accident and the car is (choke!) totaled, they won't give me squat for the car. But I think it's worth that gamble, especially with my driving record

Jim D · #9 03-02-2003, 02:51 AM

I guess the final decision will be up to me, but the opinions and ideas here certainly will help me make a good decision. Just a little about me- I'm an aircraft mechanic by so I'm pretty picky about little details- I know I've irritated more than one owner with my nit picking note book and flashlight

Rickg- do you ever come down to the Steam Up at Antique Powerland? (in Brooks, OR) Look me up if you come down this way, I'm about an hour north of there.

Jim

artpb · #10 03-02-2003, 08:57 AM

There are times when your judgement of the seller and his habits become the gating factor. I bought a one owner 1983 300sd last year for $6000. The owner had just spent $3000 on new AC hoses, 134 conversion and new front end bushings. And he was definitly looking to do more than recover this investment.

On my third visit I went over the service records again and then went about checking out his shop and other equipment he owned. This guy was meticulous. Everything in it's place, tools and other power equipment sparkled. This guys shop floor looked like you could eat off it. The guy also seemed sincere as did his wife. This pushed me into the buy mode. I figured the car was treated the same way and it looked it.

When I was finally able to get it to a garage I was told the original exhaust was still in place at 112000 miles.

It's time to use your gut instincts.

rickg · #11 03-02-2003, 12:41 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Jim D
Rickg- do you ever come down to the Steam Up at Antique Powerland? (in Brooks, OR) Look me up if you come down this way, I'm about an hour north of there.

Jim

No way! Another rusty Iron Fan?

I've only made it down there once so far. That's the best show of the nortwest area!

How involved are you? I'm not as "into it" as I was a few years ago. I had a couple friends that I was real close to and we were always working on each others projects and going to shows together. Then one moved to Montana, the other suddenly came down with cancer and passed away. So right now I'm kind of dormant in the hobby. My "projects" are sitting, gathering more rust

Then along came the Benz, and, well, you know.

rickg · #12 03-02-2003, 12:44 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by artpb
There are times when your judgement of the seller and his habits become the gating factor. I bought a one owner 1983 300sd last year for $6000. The owner had just spent $3000 on new AC hoses, 134 conversion and new front end bushings. And he was definitly looking to do more than recover this investment.

On my third visit I went over the service records again and then went about checking out his shop and other equipment he owned. This guy was meticulous. Everything in it's place, tools and other power equipment sparkled. This guys shop floor looked like you could eat off it. The guy also seemed sincere as did his wife. This pushed me into the buy mode. I figured the car was treated the same way and it looked it.

When I was finally able to get it to a garage I was told the original exhaust was still in place at 112000 miles.

It's time to use your gut instincts.

That's the kind of PO to find!

I'd heard my cars' PO was very particular too, tho he didn't do his own work. I talked to the mechanic he used, and he told me the guy had the car in for any little thing that wasn't right. They were amazed at the subtle little squeeks he would hear over the noise of the diesel engine

vwbuge · #13 03-02-2003, 01:19 PM

In the smae breath you say the car is ready to go as is for $3500, then you say it needs another $2000 in incidentals???? What is the $2000 for? IF the car is as nice as you play it to be, with the rebuilds and all....I'll say it is worth $3500. 300,000 miles on the chassis is nothing.

Jim D · #14 03-02-2003, 01:43 PM

rickg- I'm not into the antique scene as heavy as I'd like to be- mostly conflicting work schedule. Some day I would like to help restore a vertical donkey/ yarder setup like the ones that were so common here around the end of the nineteenth century.

vwbuge- thanks for the input. Here again is were my typing and communication skills get muddled after working all night. At this point, the car needs nothing The price is 5000. The figure of 3500 dollars is about the price of other cars that I have looked at that would need incidental work done-suspension, exhaust, etc. I really just wondered if 5000 was just too much to pay for a 300,000 mile turnkey rig with somewhat fresh engine and new tranny. Sorry for the confusing post. I'll try to be more clear and concise in the future. Once again, thanks everyone for the input.

Jim

tjohn · #15 03-02-2003, 02:36 PM

Yeah, I recently bought an 82 300SD. I looked at several, drove several, made offers on a couple but when it came down to it I paid $4300 for the one I got. The car had comfortable miles (166K), had been meticulously maintained, no rust, all accessories working, and a hardy buy recommendation from my mechanic. I certainly could have bought cheaper, but I figure I'm not willing to sell the car for what I paid for it, so it's worth it. BTW, I've been extremely pleased. Good luck w/ your decision.