Check out this car on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2461571086

Supersize the picture of the engine.

Can someone tell me what all those weird little holes are in the lower right corner of the picture? They appear to be on the inside of the left wheel well..

Any thoughts?

Thanks!
Aaron (thinking of buying this car)

To me those holes look factory for perhaps some options not offered in the states. I wouldn't wory about it. I'll check my 85 in the morning and post back.
I like the car you're looking at, though. I say go for it!!
Good luck, Adam

Aaron, Often, when repairing body damage that is seriously bent, you drill a hole and bolt a slide hammer to the metal to reshape it before using hammers etc. This is normally filled in with bondo or some other putty. Only a guess. Email and ask.

I agree with Adam, those are stock holes for various options. My 80 300D has them as well.

__________________
Democracy dies in darkness, you have to kick at the darkness till it bleeds daylight

...speed holes.

On the EBAY vehicle description:
"The Kelley Blue Book for early model and collector cars for January 2004-June 2004, says in good shape the value of this car $3400.00, in excellent condition $6350.00, and this car falls between good and excellent."

Really worth in that price range?

Nope. And I couldn't find the "collector" area on kbb.com. Their Buy it Now price is $2900 and reserve on the previous time they tried to sell it was $2,800. I think that's reasonable. I'm going to look at it tomorrow.

Thanks for confirming that those holes weren't slide hammer holes (which I suspected them to be)!!!

You guys truly rock.

-Aaron

Hello dc88168

This 1983 mercedes 300D turbo diesel, 4 door, W123 has issues.
Current condition is fair, IMPO.
Hood pad gone.
A/C line insulation gone.
Heavy handed power wash and detail of engine compartment.
Discoloration of front floor mats.
Discoloration of front seats.
Damage to trunk liner.
No picture of spare tire well, makes me suspect things.
Never painted = 22 year old weathered paint.
The air conditioning blows cool, probably needs a little charge.
The drivers seat is a little loose on one corner.
There are a couple of small wear spots on the drivers seat.
The front windows work, the back two do not.
There are a few spots of tree pitch.
Small normal rock chips

Adjusted the valves and did an oil change is a plus.
New power steering pump is a plus.

Kelley blue book is a waste of time on this one.
You either want it or not.
If I had the time to go look, I might consider it $1,950.00 USD

__________________
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asemastermechanic@juno.com

Prototype R&D/testing:
Thermal & Aerodynamic System Engineering (TASE) Senior vehicle instrumentation technician.
Noise Vibration and Harshness (NVH).
Dynamometer.
Heat exchanger durability.
HV-A/C Climate Control.
Vehicle build.
Fleet Durability
Technical Quality Auditor.
Automotive Technical Writer

1985 300SD
1983 300D
1984 190D
2003 Volvo V70
2002 Honda Civic

https://www.boldegoist.com/

Thanks for your assessment! Upon looking closely, I do see a lot of the things you mentioned.

It's also missing the driver's side wood trim.

Maybe I'll offer them $2k cash in person.

I found another one around here, about 285k miles, red (not my favorite color), sounds good, but owner says sometimes ("5% of the time." yeah right) the car doesn't shut down, and then the locks don't work. From what I've read here that sounds like a vacuum issue. What part might that be and how expensive to replace? He's asking $2800. I'm looking at that one tomorrow too.

Thanks so much!

-Aaron

This is all pretty easy stuff. Hood pad is a piece of cake, and AC insulation is solved with $2 pipe wrap from Home Depot. Discolored seats and floor mats are to be expected (especially Palomino seats) but give you a good excuse to redye the seats and get new mats, thus making the interior look 100x better. Trunk liners are almost free at junkyards, and power windows are always an easy fix. It's tough to find a 20 year old car, much less one with over 300K miles, that doesn't have minor "issues"

Speedt,
Agreed that these are easy fixes. But that is not the point; the seller is over-valuing the car. Due to all those issues, it is not "Excellent", or even close. It falls closer to "average" I participate in the antique car hobby, and it is common for people to over-value their cars. That hobby uses a numerical scale from #6 ( parts car) to #1 ( perfect). Many people think their car is a #1 but they are closer toa #3. Most cars seen at car shows are #3 condition.
Its one thing for a proud owner to over-value his car, but it is another thing for a seller to inflate its value for purposes of getting more for it.

...And he probably will.

Like whunter said, "You either want it or not."

These holes are in the area Mercedes Benz installs ABS for these years.

Art

__________________
Art Bourget

1983 300SD
1st In Class - Starfest Concours 2004
1st In Class - StarTrack Concours 2003
1983 300TDT
1985 300D

MBCA - Niagara Section

Can ABS be retrofitted on these models?

BTW, I checked out that car from eBay today. It's OK, but it's missing an A/C belt, which means the A/C system might not be charged or worse.

The guy had another one that was just PERFECT, same color, '84 300D. I checked it out, drove it, put down a deposit. If I recall it has about 250,000 miles on it, paint is perfect, NO blowby at all, every little electric and vacuum thing works, the interior is immaculate. Only annoying thing is that there's about 5% of play in the steering. I figured that would be worth the deal I felt I got on it.
I think $3100 was reasonable for it.

I pick it up this friday! I'm so excited!

Also, what is Tex? It isn't leather, right?

-Aaron

Congratulations on the car! I hope it works out well for you. MB-Tex is not leather, but a very good quality vinyl that seems to stand the test of time very well. Use the search function for the play in the steering. Heres one to get you started:

Two probs: heat and steering play


What part of Portland are you in?

__________________
RT


1984 300D---Sold
1995 E420 - 106K - Brilliant Silver Metallic/Orion Gray --- Sold
1984 300SD - 151K Manganese Brown Metallic/Mostly Black --- Sold
1982 240D - 79K - Manila Beige/Palomino---Sold