FS: 83 300D tan ~244,000 North Florida

[Panzer_Man]

***DEPOSIT ON CAR PENDING VACUUM SHIFT REPAIR***

1983 300D ~244,000 mi
Tallahassee, Florida
Tan / tan
$1950
Email me for all photos, .jpg format. Zip file or not, just tell me.

mateus2000-REMOVETHIS-@comcast.net

Make sure you take out the dashes and text between dashes.

This has been my only car and daily driver for about 6 years now. I had no intention of selling this car but an opportunity just came up to purchase a Lexus for very little money from a family member. “The Panzer” must go.

I had trouble coming up with a fair price as the car is worth more to me than the probable market value and prices are all over the map. I think this number is close given that the car is not perfect. If I’m off, make a fair offer. I feel I’ve given the good and all the bad as well so someone should be able to make a fair assessment. Obviously, arrangements can be made for inspecting and driving it.

Most of the service work has been done by the same master Mercedes (and German ex-pat) mechanic. He even worked on it before I owned it. Some of the work he did at his own shop and then later from his garage after he sold his shop. I may be able to provide his home number to a serious buyer (may! I have to ask him first).

I have service receipts going back to 1995 or so with far more information than what is here.

Recent work:
2006
New alternator

2005
Transmission fluid and filter, gaskets, seals
Glow plugs
Air cleaner fastners
Diesel injectors / heat shields
Turbo lower seal ring
Battery
Glow plug relay (this turned out not to be the problem, bad alternator was the issue, spare glow plug relay will come with car)
Fuel filters
Diesel primer pump
Front brake pads
Valves adjusted (it likes to have the valves adjusted about every 2 years. A higher-mileage driver would probably want to do it every 16 months or so)
Alignment (a bit of drift now, but not terrible)
Bleeder screw

Prior to 05 I’ve had a few major items replaced that should be noted:
Radiator (and water pump etc.,)
Fan clutch
Auxiliary fan (used part)
Air condition compressor (new, not rebuilt), dryer etc.
Lower control arms
Steering rods etc.
New ignition tumbler
Bielstein (sp?) shocks front only (not major part but made a major difference in ride)

Body:
It was given a new paint job before I got it and it looks great. It’s not perfect, but when waxed, looks very good. The body is very good with no major dents or dings and very few minor ones. The ONLY rust I could find on the body is on those seemly troublesome spots on the inside of the door. There is a chip on the hood that needs to be painted that is starting to rust superficially but it needs to be addressed. I had the rear window seal replaced a few years ago to fix water in the tire wells in the trunk on heavy rains but it did not fix the problem. I think it may need replacing again along with the metal ring that holds it in place as it looks bowed to me. Note there was no rust at the window frame.

Engine:
The car starts right up and the engine is very strong. The turbo was replaced before I got it. I drove my mechanic’s TD wagon that had about 100K more miles and it felt like a dog compared to The Panzer. I’m a fairly light driver mileage wise (travel for work via plane and commute only about 8 miles when in town) but I have taken it on road trips and it has performed reliably. Mileage last year driving to work every day was damn near 24 MPG without AC. With AC it drops way off to 18 or so. There is a minor oil leak. I have a catch-pan in my garge (this car has been garaged for last 3 years, last 3 years before that it was in a shaded driveway) and it gets drops but nothing major.

Interior:
Is decent. I had the driver seat vinyl replaced and the match is not perfect, but of good quality. I do not like the seat cushions they used however as it is very soft and doesn’t fill out the seat wings properly. The dash has three small cracks. The wood is all present but the control panel wood is chipped. There are scratches and marks here and there. It’s nothing special but cleans up well after it’s detailed and has no major problems.

Vacuum:
I’m noting vacuum because this is the current problem on the car- The vacuum to the doors is disconnected as there is a leak somewhere which I haven’t had my mechanic diagnose. And the vacuum system going to the transmission has an issue.

Transmission:
This tranmission will shift smoothly; it wants to shift smoothly!. But it’s got the CLUNK on downshift at the moment. It was fixed last year by replacing the vacuum hose connector on top of the valve cover and hooking up the hoses snugly. The clunk went away, but a few months later the tranny started hesistating to shift. I had the fluid and filter replaced and now it shifts eagerly but hard and clunks on the downshift. Last week I tried blocking the lines to the emissions controls with no success but I’m not a DIY type. If the car doesn’t sell because of this I will take it to my mechanic and have him fix it.

AC:
It blows cool but needed a charge this year. The system is was checked for leaks (none) in when the compressor was replaced in 2003. The AC, when running for a long while, starts to sound like a washing machine. It’s been that way since a few months after it was replaced but continues to cool.

Tires:
Front are 80%, Rear need replacing.


****Summary / Important Notes****
Overall the car runs well, starts right up consistently, the engine runs cool, has had many critical components replaced recently and I would not hesisitate to drive it from here in Florida straight to Canada given you put new tires on the rear. When the transmission filter/fluid was replaced in 2005 on the way home I cleared the trip odometer while the vehicle was moving. Ever since then the odometer fails to turn consistently. Service records early 05 show the actual mileage and put the failure at about 227,000, mid 2005. The 244,000 is a very conservative estimate as I don’t drive 10,000 miles a year. The odo reads ~234,100. The one other important item to note is that when it’s extremely hot outside and the car is fully warmed up and the AC on, the car will shake. Putting the car in neutral solves the issue (and prevents the clunk on downshift which is what I’ve done before coming to a stop the past couple of months). But obviously the vacuum system needs to be diagnosed. There is a nice Sony CD player with remote (and it blends right into the interior well) and high end speakers installs. I will likely take the amplifier out of it so it may need to be re-wired but the system sound quality will not dissapoint. I have the original window sticker(!), title, receipt and manual etc… EDIT 6/6/06 : The tach has never worked. Occasionally when the engine gets really hot it will come on and work but for all intensive purpose it's kaput. End EDIT

I’m big on full disclosure and honesty and I hope this short novel shows it. If you made it this far I guess your serious or bored. Ask any question using the email above and I’ll be happy to answer your questions. Specific photos on request.

Thanks,
Matt


Again, email for all the photos and I can take specifics on request. By the way, I park in the garage, not on this hill that I call my driveway. Parked here to wash it and photograph.

[Panzer_Man]

Some more photos. I have a few others not shown available via email:



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