Fellow MB fans, I didn't know where to post this, so here it is........

I'm looking at a 1986 300SDL silver(ext)/navy blue(int). It's got around 118K. Condition (exterior): paint is good and zero rust; (interior) a few small cosmetic dings, such as hole in the driver's upper door armrest by the window... slight wear on the driver and passenger seats, but overall in good shape. All options work, even the cruise control. The engine compartment looks clean even after test driving. Runs and drives fine, shifts smoothly, no leaks.

What's a fair asking price for this car? Thanks in advance.

Being the interior is less than perfect, I would suspect that low mileage. If it is indeed acurate, $5000-$6000 is a fair asking price.

I have also been looking for a 300sdl 86-87 for 3 months now. I live in Va and the prices are high for these cars. I have seen a low of 5k and a high of 12k for these cars. If the car only has 118k that is a hard find, and you may want to pay a premium to get such a low mileage car, maybe pay up to 7-8.5k?


If you don't buy it please drop me a line and let me know where it is and what they were asking

Thanks, guys, for replying. They want $8k. No lower will they go. The only blemishes in the interior were the slightly faded rub marks on the corner edges of the front seats on the door sides. Not too big, and probably fixable. Also, the driver's side door had a hole in it right on the top where you would rest your arm. They had black tape across it. Again, possibly fixable with a vinyl patch kit(?). Other than that, everything else worked.

True, the high NADA value for this car is $6,950, but as you can see on Ebay, they -are- selling for $8k, obviously condition dependent. Judging from the way it drove and shifts smoothly, I -guess- it's worth around the $8k mark. I searched for info on the 86 300SDL before and didn't find anything other than the heads going from overheating. Are there any other things to look for?

Never buy based on mileage unless you have documented records. After you've taken a couple of MB odometers out and played with them (to fix the trip odometer), you'll know what I mean. Great car, but questionable longevity in the odo mechanisms.

On the other hand, I think mileage is the least of your concerns. I would order concerns as follows:

1. Engine compression and oil consumption
2. Tranny shifting
3. Rust

All else is workable.

Don

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DAILY DRIVERS:
'84 300DT 298k (Aubrey's)
'99.5 Jetta TDI IV 251k (Julie's)
'97 Jetta TDI 127k (Amber's)
'97 Jetta TDI 186k (Matt's)
'96 Passat TDI 237k (Don's
'84 300D 211k Mint (Arne- Undergoing Greasecar Conversion)

SOLD:
'82 240D 229k (Matt's - Converted-300DT w/ 4 speed

I wanted to do a compression test but due to time constraints it wasn't possible. If I go back I'll definitely make sure there's time to get it tested. As for the tranny, it shifted very smoothly. Lastly, I checked under the doors, underside of body, under spare tire in trunk, under the carpeting as best I could, engine compartment, and lastly the sunroof and there was no visible rust. The car was a one-owner, and I forgot to mention the guy had the service records. The mileage appears legit. We're still mulling it over........

I would be somewhat skeptical about the mileage if the seats are worn as you say.

My car has 323,000 miles and the only seat that is worn is the drivers side seat. The rest of the interior shows very little wear.

That said, if the compression checks out, I wouldn't worry about the mileage to much. They are great cars. Just don't let her overheat.

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Enough about me, how are you doing?

I don't think $8K is bad at all if the compression checks out. You might verify that the trap oxidizer was replaced. Your service records would tell you when it was replaced. If you have the service records than I would think that the milage is probably accurate. I boght my '87 last year with 107K documented miles. I paid $8k for mine with known AC vac pod issues and a non-functional door locks. PO was asking $11.5. He bought a camry, meanwhile I've put 30K miles on the car.

Plantman, you posted recently about some vibration problems. Did you find the problem? I'm having similar problems and can't find the source.

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'87 300SDL
'96 F250 Crewcab PowerStroke
'00 Kubota L2600
'66 Malibu ragtop (SOLD, sob)
'01 BMW M3 ragtop

I have not found, nor looked for the source as of yet. I plan to rake it to get the qheels balanced tommorow. Hopefully, that will be the cure. I'll let you know.

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Enough about me, how are you doing?

Hi I have an 86 300 sdl for sale for parts. It is mostly in good shape and I drive it every day. Just bought a new radiator that was really hard to find. You could make offer.

You do realize this thread is 18 years old don't you?