I'll be looking at the red one tomorrow. Any last minute words of advice? Unless something looks really scary, I'll probably buy it. It will be my first Mercedes and my first diesel. My brother inlaw has a 91 560 sel. It's a great car but it drinks gas. I started out looking for an early nineties 2.5 or a 95 300d but this car appears to be the best one for the money. I wanted a 98 or 99 but they're too much money. I know there are less expensive ones out there but I don't mind paying a little more for a really good car. The original price for it was $54k. WOW- hard to imagine paying that for a car today let alone 18 years ago. I combed this website looking for information and was rewarded with alot of good advice. Wish me luck! I'll be back with the verdict tomorrow. If I buy it, get ready for lots of questions.
Dave

Done. Picked it up today and drove it 100 miles home. The dealer met us halfway. We're taking it to Rehobeth Beach, DE later today. That's about 350 miles for the day. What a nice car. The only mechanical gripe is that the steering is a little vague. I drive a SAAB 9-5 and a Porsche 944 S2 cabriolet so it may just be me. This car will replace the SAAB.

It has absolutely no rust. Under the hood is one of the electronic "rust evader" devices. Remember those things? It is still hooked up. Did it help or was this car a garage queen? Who knows but I guess I'll keep it. My only dissappointment is that the paint on the passenger side isn't great. Otherwise the warts are small and very minor even for a one year old car. I hope to keep it for long time. Oh yeah, the only electrical gremlin I found is the LCD temperature gauge, DOA.
Again, many thanks for the advice, I think it helped me pick a keeper.
Dave
1986 300SDL

I have a new 126 car outside temp read out unit. If you are interested, let me know and Ill post a pic.

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'90 300SE 298k
-300K and it gets put into retirement.
'80 300D 255k Purchased new by family in 1980.

Had a:
1973 220 (gas)
1980 300SD
1992 400E

congratulations - you got a brand new toy. Nice looking car.

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Jim

Congrats Dave. She is a beauty isn't she?

Hope the dealer flexed a little for you on the numbers.

The dealer was great. We were all happy with the final number.

Between driving the car back home and our weekend trip in it, I drove it about 370miles. The dealer filled it up before he met us, so thats 470 miles on about 3/4 of a tank. I'm anxious to fill it up tomorrow and calculate my mileage. It should be around 26-28mpg. I wasn't bashful about running it at 70-80 most of the time. What a nice car!!!! I just can't get over how fantastic the interior is. It's like new. The dealer said the trick is to use Muphy's oil soap on the leather and the dash.

Dave
86 300sdl

Dave, congrats on the SDL.
It sounds like a sweet machine.
I love my SD, a one owner '84 that the PO had traded at a Ford dealership.
I doubt that I have more than $10-11K invested in the car in the past 5 years.
Murphy's Oil Soap?
I use that on my kitchen cabinets and wood furniture at home, but I've never heard of using it on leather.
Even MB wood is lacquered to the point that it should probably be treated more like a plastic or paint than wood...
I've used Lexol Vinylex on my dash, with amazing results.
Neither of my MB's have leather, but I'm told that Leatherique is the best stuff to use on leather.

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Bob Roe
Lehigh Valley PA USA
1973 Olds 88, 1972 MB 280SE, 1978 Datsun 280Z, 1971 Ford T-Bird, 1972 Olds 88, 1983 Nissan Sentra, 1985 Sentra, 1973 230.6, 1990 Acura Integra, 1991 Volvo 940GLE wagon, 1983 300SD, 1984 300SD, 1995 Subaru Legacy L wagon, 2002 Mountaineer, 1991 300TE wagon, 2008 Murano, 2007 R320CDI 4Matic 52K, some Hyundai, 2008 BMW 535xi wagon, all gone... currently
2007 Honda Odyssey Touring, 2014 E350 4matic

Dave, Nice car. Well the red one is probably the better choice. A little pricey. I think probably about $7500-8000. would have been a good asking price.The black one looks like you would have spent alot on interior repairs. Anyway, your going to have to do preventative maintence. Might as well get one thats in alot better condition. Do you know if the head was replaced on the '87? I hear that the head cracks on the '87 model. This could get expensive if it hasn't been replaced. I own a '86 model that is in excellent condition that I really enjoy. Its 18 year old car so repairs are a given. I need new shocks, brakes and rotars. I also need the suspension changed, in time. Make sure that when you get the tires changed that the tire specialist only torque the lug bolts. Good Luck!