What is the better years for 240D-4 speed? Is there any years I need to stay any from? I am looking at a 82 with 165454 miles for $4,500. I read a lot on this board about how long and reliable this car is. I just feel like owning one. Thanks in advance...

I bought one 8 1/2 years ago with 175k on the odometer and paid $3700 for it. Since the purchase in December of 1994 I have put on 60k. The only serious issue I have had with the car was a timing chain failure. This forum helped me get this fixed with minimal damage, although I did have to pull the engine to repair it. Had I known then what I know now about these cars, I never would have had the problem (chain tensioner guide failure). I would agree with the members on the forum who say this model car may be the most robust car ever built. They have a few weaknesses, but these can almost be anticipated and pre-empted before they get you in trouble. Timing chains every 200k, odometer failure at 175-200k, Motor mounts every 4 or 5 years, axle shafts every 200k, interior cabin leaks from plugged drains or faulty windshield and backlight weatherstrip, vacuum leaks from time to tiime, etc.

Bottom line....I'd drive it anywhere with the same confidence I have in our new Chevy Van. The most reliable car I have owned.

Good luck.

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1976 240D
1987 560SL
2007 E320 Bluetec
1998 C280 (now son’s car)
1982 240D Manual - Sold

300cd



I have the early W123 (77 - 80) 240D and the later ones.(to 85) There are things about both I like. One of the "biggies" would be that the seats in the later cars have better padding than the "horse hair" of the early cars. The later cars have hardened cam and rockers, which is good but not that big of a deal. I like the heating controls in the earlier cars better, but they can be a bugger to purge the air from the cooling system. Really not much diff tho, they are both great cars.

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1985 Euro 240D 5 spd 140K
1979 240D 5 spd, 40K on engine rebuild
1994 Dodge/Cummins, 5 spd, 121K
1964 Allice Chalmers D15 tractor
2014 Kubota L3800 tractor
1964 VW bug

"Lifes too short to drive a boring car"

Isn't that a bit expensive unless it is in great shape? You know with any used 240D, you'll probably will have to put in some time and money. Look around and don't buy the first one you see, I did and I overpaid in retrospect. I paid $2900 for a 84 300D. It was so out of tune that it was a pig! So far, I had to deal with water intrusions, new brake pads, ac compressor and conversion to R134, aux fan, alternator, added new CD radio and speakers. Fortunately the engine and transmission are inherently very strong. It runs perfectly now however, I shouldn't have paid more than $2000 for the car to begin with. I made a mistake because I bought thhe first 300D I saw and couldn't hold back my enthusiasm after reading this board. Take you time and find a good one to begin with at a fair price.

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85 300CD Signal Red/Tan sold
83 300D Manganese Brown 109K
97 E420 Midnight Blue 197K sold
98 BMW 328i Vert White 100K, sold
95 BMW 525i White 125K, sold
93 BMW 525iT Red 193K, sold
95 E320 Green Wagon 125K, sold
94 E320 White 127K, sold
85 300SD 156K Grey (Annie), sold
84 300D Lapis Blue 170K (Judy), sold
99 ML 320 Black (lease), 1998 C230 White (lease)
00 Honda S2000 Red (lease)
86 Mercedes 300E (sold)
84 Porsche 911 Red (sold), 1965 Porsche 911 White (sold)

I agree with your looking for a 240D; they are, indeed, quite reliable and robust.
Edge offers you some good advice--don't buy the first one you see. The price of $4500 for one with 16X,XXX miles also seems high to me. but condition is everything. Just for reference, about 5 months ago, a 240D with only 35,XXX miles sold near me for a little over $5000. It was "like new" inside and out. I bought mine in April with 239,00 miles for $1000. It was in decent shape, but I am finding more rust as I have time to more thoroughly examine it. Rust not only affects the body, but all the pieces attatched to it. I had to replace all the metal brake lines, and all the brake cables.
A few items to check very closely--the fit of all body panels, operation of the vacuum door lock system, does the A/C blow cold? ( if A/C is important to you check this carefully as these cars can be expensive to repair). Using the information on this forum, check all the likely places for rust, ( floors, jack points, trunk floor, cowl). I believe one member has posted a fairly comprehensive pre-purchase inspection checklist--use the "search" function.

In spite of these caveats--I still reccommend these cars. I've put 6,000 miles on mine since April. About half of those miles are for business and I get reimbursed at 34.5 cents per mile--the car is paying for itself!
Still, I wish it had just a little more power....( I say the same thing about every car I drive!--but its really true about the 240d)

Michael

My first 240D was a '77, my second was an '84 (Euro.) My wife had an '80 along the way and I have an '80 parts car. My wife also had an '83 300TD wagon and my daughter had an '81 300D.

There are pluses and minuses for early and late. I consider the biggest change around the '80 model year marked by parallel glow plugs. I think the differences are a "wash."

If I were looking for one, my NUMBER ONE criteria would be CONDITION. I would try to find the one in the very best shape, whether it was a serial glow plug, York a/c compressor '77, or a Euro '85. Condition is everything.

BTW, I would NEVER settle for an automatic transmission in a 240D.

Good luck,

I received my 240D 4 speed last August for free from a lady at my dad's work. It was very rusty, very abused. But my father and I have brought it up to snuff. It has 327,000 miles, engine replaced after she ran it low on oil at 300,000. We got it with 312,000 miles, now I have 327,000. Thats 15K miles since August, and the bugger never stops of leaves me stranded. A really great car, and very fun to drive.

I agree with the others on being patient. $4500 seems quite high. My 84 Eurospec 240D was only $2200. As with old cars, expect to put money into them to take care of neglected maintenance and repairs.

One selling for $4500 better be in perfect condition, need nothing, and have every maintenance and repair record since new.

So far I'm only out some $71 in parts for baseline maintenance and repairs. I'm also lucky to have a dead 240D to rob for parts.

So far I've done the following:

-Oil change including filter
-Fuel filters
-replaced clock (from donor car)
-temporarily replaced speedometer with unit from donor (I still need to get the original shipped out to fix)
-Replaced oil/fuel/temp guage pack due to faulty rheostat for cluster lights (from donor car)
-found water leak due to loose hose clamp
-found nut missing on positive battery cable. Swiped one off of donor car.
-Valve lash adjustment
-replaced connector end to instrument cluster due to total failure of interior dash lighting. (from donor car)
-installed component am/fm/cassette/CD changer unit from donor car.

I still need to do an injector rebuild and timing chain stretch checks to address smoky, raw fuel smelling idle.

The car still hasn't used a measurable amount of oil.

Thanks for all your help. I check it out today. The overall car is in good condition everything is working on the car, such as air condition, power windows and so on. He claims the engine is brand name from Germany, so the car only have 700 miles. He had new clutch put in at the same time. The only thing I think I need to do is as follow..need new hood cable ( as it take 2 people to open it, 1push down on the hood and the other have to pull hard ), different kind of battery ( as that one had acid coming out on the side ), driver seat had a tear and maybe a master cylinder. The car also have new tires and new alloy wheels. So what do you think, take it or leave it.

You should look at the battery tray for rust damage.


Overall, IMHO, I wouldn't pay more'n $1000 for it!

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Frank
84 500SEL EURO 101K ( JUST LIKE MY 1ST WIFE. GLAD TO GET RID OF HER! )
85 300D 310K (sold)
90 350SDL 184K sold
83 300D 118K (sold)
88 300E 153k (sold)
93 400E 105K (sold)

300CD,

First off, if the engine was new from Germany, have the guy produce the receipts!!!!!

Secondly, I found a 240D blue on blue on Ebay a couple of ago and as it was in my neighborhood, I ran right over. It had 170,000 miles on the clock, one owner and had a bad auto tranny. Body pefect except for one very small dimple behind right headlight, interior perfect except for cigarette smell, gone now.

Got it for $1000.00, put a manual 240D transmission in it for about $500.00 and gave it to my daughter. Of the five 123s that we have, it's the best buy by far. I drove it again yesterday with the wife and we're both crazy about it even though our 240D has a 300D Galandewagen engine.

The long and the short of the tale is that there are some great deals out there and maybe you should be patient, especially if the guy can't produce the engine receipts.

Ben

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www.reproduce100s.com

I have often considered selling my 4-speed 240D and buying a new car, but each time come up with resounding NO! I have 176,000 miles on it and it rides beautifully. I love the large trunk because it holds my bicycle and boogie board. It is a relatively simple car, and therefore, it is relatively inexpensive to fix. It's a great conversation piece. The downside is the vacuum system which needs tending to from time to time. Does anyone know how to fix a trunk lock which I believe is stuck due to the vacuum system?

Blossom,

Go to www.**************.com and order the booklet on sorting out your vaccum system. Since all the vaccum lines are color coded, you'll find this booklet leads you through solving the vac problems easily and your great 240D will make you even happier.

Good luck,

Ben c

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www.reproduce100s.com