I just looked at and drove an 84 300D turbo SW. It had 350K km, 218 mi. I was surprised how quiet and smooth it was. A bit doggy on acceleration in drive from the start but better and adequate when using 1st. a quick look underneath showed normal oil leakage in the front but the rear driveshaft body area was totally black and wet with ? Other indication of blowby was apparent on the valve cover and expect this would be normal. and a little black smoke at startup when the owner revved it up. Does this look like worth pursuing ?
I was only able to drive it in a large 4 level underground. and he wants $4500 CDN but was willing to go down as it needed rear shocks which I'm presuming are standard type as opposed to leveling type that are connected to the fronts ? as the fronts look like regular items. it also has rust starting all over though real small areas.

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robvan

If you're talking about the 300TD wagon, unless it is a Euro, or different importing standards apply to Canada, it has the self-levelling system on the rear. The self-levelling in the rear has no connection to the standard front shocks. You can tell by looking for the hydraulic fluid reservoir under the hood. Big opaque white plastic container somewhat like a windshield washer fluid containter on the front of the wheelwell. Also it has the pump on the left front of the head. There are no traditional shocks with that system. If something is wrong with it, it could be about the same price as shocks to fix it, or it could be very expensive.
An 84 should start in first gear, not second.
Canadian car market prices are different so I really don't know about the price. Sounds high to me for a car in that condition.

Find out where that leak is. Typical leaks are oil cooler hoses, valve cover, or filter housing to block gasket. Those three are fairly easy to fix. Rear main can also leak. Have to pull the engine to fix that one properly. Don't buy without figuring out the source of that leak.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

It shouldn't be "doggy" off the line, but that's something you can probably fix cheap (or free) with an ALDA adjustment and Italian tune-ups. All wagons have SLS (self levelinging) in the rear, often just needs new spheres. Factory spec for 0-100kmh is in the 14-15 second range, although it's pretty common for neglected cars to be slower and then you can bring them back to life with a little TLC.

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Dave
Boise, ID
Check out my website photos, documents, and movies!

The leak is a concern, and I'm not sure if I want to go through the extra expense of a real inspection for the price he's asking which is $3400 US. He did say he'd come down an undetermined amount for the shocks. I bounced on the corners and one side was noticably looser than the other and the car stayed level. On one part web site I saw them for close enough to $300 each so that possibly could reduce the price $600 US but not far enough for the rust that is starting in the sheet metal. Over all the car still looks real good except the drivers seat and most might miss those small rust spots. My other concern was lots of seized bolts underneath as I have a Suburu Justy with the same kind of rust under. He doesn't have it insured so that makes it a hassle and extra inspection cost also. I'll keep looking and maybe throw a feeler out to him for a bottom line price if someone else doesn't buy it.

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robvan

Yes, you should be VERY concerned about the leak. With that many miles and with an owner that wouldn't even bother to keep it clean underneath, the odds are HIGH that this engine is worn out.

Even if you do all the work yourself and be as economical as you can on the engine rebuild it will cost a minimum of about $2000 US. To have it done by an independent shop would certainly top $4,000 US.

Good luck,

id stay away from it if it has any rust on it!!!! very expesive to fix correctly!!!

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matt

I not interested in paying a lot of money for something thats going to cost me more than what I paid to keep going. Unless I'm getting it cheap enough to get my moneys worth out of it before it calves. But I also don't want to get something I'll have to pour gallons of motor, transmision oil or antifreeze into. I was under the impression that this milage though being high was still good for another 100K before expecting a rebuild. It's supposed to be the VW's that are on their way out about this milage. I'm not sure how the rust develops on these but this one was just starting a few small bubbles here and there and expect it could be a few years before they developed into major holes, for this money I would want better. Plus the suspension didn't look clean enough for me and my experience. Thanks for the inputs.

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robvan

No offence, but a twenty year old car with over 200K on it may not be for you then. No matter how good it is, there going to need things at that age/mileage, it will vary depending on how they have been maintained as usual.

Compared to a car payment, an old car is a bargin, even with expenses for maintanance or to bring it up to par, but your not going to drive it for free after the purchase price, not for any length of time really. My experience has been that you'll spend about what you did on the car in the first few years of fixing stuff.
It's not a hard and set rule, but generally not too far off if you want your vehicle to be *right*. I still think it's a bargin personaly.

And VW's last just fine, least mine do, see sig..

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One more Radar Lover gone...
1982 VW Caddy diesel 406K 1.9L AAZ
1994 E320 195K

I wouldn't be too concerned with the engine oil leak if it's minor because it's quite typical for these old turbodiesels to seep a little. The rear leak around the driveshaft is more alarming to me but that alone shouldn't put you off either if you're willing to put some money into it. I'd be most concerned about the rust which can be very expensive if not impossible to fix depending on how advanced it is. Check underneath the floor mats to see how the sheetmetal is doing.

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2004 VW Jetta TDI (manual)

Past MB's: '96 E300D, '83 240D, '82 300D, '87 300D, '87 420SEL

Most of the cars I've bought so far haven't cost me much to keep on the road and I do 99% of my own work and as far as the body work on this one goes , I'd probably never fix it when it got bad unless there's a big hole under my feet. The rust on the suspension is a concern when doing work myself because of the problems that come up dealing with it. And my other real concern about this one is something major coming up with that oil leak and the rear shocks. But if the price is right I'll endure the pain of it.

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robvan