1987 300SDL- Smoke Silver exterior / Tobacco Brown leather interior

VIN:WDBCB25D3HA297820
Mileage: 287,800
#14 Head

This is an original Texas car. No accidents while I owned it, carfax didnt reveal any for previous owners.

I'm not currently using it as a daily driver; its been parked in my garage for the last two years but driven once a month for fluid maintenance

Battery replaced last year
Oil changed every 3-4k miles using Mobile Delvac 15w-40

Initial repairs/upgrades included the following:

All four shocks changed to Bilstein Heavy duty version
Ball joints and ties rods.
Behr radiator replaced with another Behr.
Water pump, fan , fan clutch.
Cross drilled and slotted front brake discs
Akebono pads on all four brakes
All brake lines replaced

I have most of the receipts showing the maintenance history and log book.

Last major repairs were summer 2019 ( receipts available)
New A/C ompressor/ accumulator/drier with conversion to 134A. However the refrigerant has leaked out so there is a leak, which has not been repaired.

Driver side seat is worn through and needs bolster repair and recovering, but is covered with an MB sheepskin cover. Passenger side seat is covered as well but not nearly as worn.

There is a small dent on the right rear panel between the license plate and right tailight.

On a cold startup the engine runs rough for about 30 seconds before leveling off. Transmission shift takes 4 seconds from park to drive to engage.

Original paint on roof and rear pillars is faded and has clear coat deterioration on the roof. Sunroof disabled due to broken lift arm.

After warmup it runs very smooth and accelerates well.

I also have several extra parts for engine repair including but not limited to the following:

Timing chain
Head bolts
Rear subframe bushings
.... and many others I cant recall, but do have a receipts.

Asking $3,500 with extra parts, $2,500 without.


I'm available by appointment for local inquiries, contact me via email and I can provide pictures. Having trouble uploading here so email is best.

Do you have any pictures?

Edit:
so... non-stock shocks, been sitting for 2 years and needs all fluids, needs upholstery, needs transmission, needs injection work, needs new paint, needs new sunroof.

For $2500.

But, if you fix everything properly it will run for a million miles.

Me, looking at my $1400...ehm, now $6000 W124 that still needs work

Id like to test drive. rarely on this site these days. please reach out to my cell: local area code, 463.6469

__________________
-“Never trust a mechanic who drives new cars. They're either charging too much money for their work, or they can't keep an old car running - maybe both.”

I try to present all the faults up front so there won't be any frivolous claims of misrepresentation- there is enough of that going around these days with lawsuit happy idiots. However, the car isn't as bad as you're making it out to be. Last time I checked, most forums still frown on ad stomping in an effort to dampen interest and kill a deal. You're misrepresenting my cars' condition. Its obviously not new, but its not the wreck you're implying, or did you actually come to that conclusion by looking at photos or test driving it ? I didn't think so.

And re-read the ad's next to last sentence. Notice I said asking, not firm. Everything is negotiable within reason. But since I don't get on here very much, and you never bothered to IM or email me so I would get a notice of your request for pictures, you clearly aren't serious. However you opened the door so I'll bite:

So upgrading the shocks to Bilstein Heavy Duty that are rated for the car is a fault ? How so?

And to be clear, it has been driven and maintained monthly, oil changed, fluids checked and maintained as needed. It hasn't been sitting totally undriven. How is this a fault again?

Upholstery: Yep, the seats wear out. So $800 per seat from my local sources for the work. I'm open to suggestions on finding a more reasonable source, then I'll add it right back to the sales price, but you'll complain about that also. So why the fuss?

Injectors: nozzles have been changed in the past. They wear out eventually, but as I'm sure your aware, they aren't hard to repair/upgrade. I have a maintenance log and possibly receipts as well if I can find them. Changed more than twice during my ownership, from Bosch to Monarch. Simple fix for a DIY'er.

Paint- Yes, its needs some. But its not a rust bucket. But if I had repainted it, you'd find fault with that as well -" why was it repainted, was it in a wreck?" "Oh, that's too much"

Transmission- The transmission hasn't fallen out and is driveable. Seals/bands probably need changing, but that's another $3k for overhaul, and if I did that you'd still complain the price was too high.

Sunroof: One lift arm needs replacement as far as I can tell. Not the whole sunroof.

Fixes cost money, either I do them and add to the sales price, or you do them at your expense, possibly cheaper if you're resourceful and/or talented.

I never made that claim, but if you can make the MBCA club mileage limits after rebuilding the upper and lower end more power to you.

I never said you made made that claim.

FWIW

- From my experience it is unlikely that the injectors are the culprit of it missing on startup. It is much more likely to be low compression from valve or ring wear. Which will be a bigger job than new nozzles.

- The sunroof lift arm being broken is a major problem in my mind because they don't make new ones and it is a common failure part so finding another will be tough.

- The freon is likely to be leaking out of the soft lines if they weren't replaced when you "converted" it. Based on your description I'm guessing you didn't do a full conversion because you didn't mention a new parallel flow condenser or updated 134A expansion valve. If you didn't do those items the buyer may be interested to know how well the AC performed.

Keep this in mind when doing your negotiating. Good job trying to be up front, honest, and thorough.

__________________

Just my two cents: I personally don't understand why anyone posts cars for sale here. The only time I'd post a car in this forum is if I was literally giving it away. Even then, at least one person would probably claim I should be paying them to haul the car off. What's so hard about following the posting guidelines? They clearly state, "replies to ads trashing a car or negative opinion posts about a car will be deleted." Which of course they aren't because no one moderates this forum anymore, but that's another story.

To the OP: good luck with the sale, hope you find a buyer who will keep it on the road. Having recently inherited my aunt's W126, I can attest to them being very nice driving cars.

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Christopher
'06 Mercedes E350 station wagon (silver/black)
'85 Mercedes 300D (black pearl/palomino)
'85 Mercedes 300SD (smoke silver/burgundy)
'79 Cadillac Sedan DeVille

'05 Toyota Camry (because always running is nice)

'85 Mercedes 300D sold back to orig. owner 8-1-06
'84 Volvo 264GL Diesel, owned 2000-2013

Well, take a look, it seems that members are getting tired of "poor quality" for sale posts. It's 2020, adding a picture is easy, as well as spending 5 mins writing the description and price.

OP actually wrote what are the issues (which is great!) and I'm not sure why he is upset about my concise summary of his post.
I'm in the market for 300SDL and a car that needs body work, powertrain work and interior work is simply a project car. In my dictionary. Even if it drives.

A wreck? That's your description. It needs a lot of work and has a lot of miles and in my private opinion, it's not worth the money. You are free to ask whatever, it's free market here fortunately.
Similar story with the 300SDL with 500k miles and guy asking $5k for it. Car was beautiful. I even asked a few MB mechanics about their opinion, only to receive an awkward stare and one of them asked "Is he gonna pay you that for taking the car?". $1500-2000 was fair for it.

Didn't I ask for pictures? You've proven that it is a waste of time. I sold three cars this year and countless MB parts. Only the rear axle from 4.5 was sold without pictures, although I did send one when it was loaded onto a pallet.
Again, it's 2020, almost 2021. I'm not chasing anyone begging to sell me something. I can sell a house using my phone and with a few clicks.

Fixes adding up to the sale price? Come on. My car has a nice straight body and mostly good paint. Nice interior. Runs good. I have about $10k of work in it. Can I sell it for that much? No, not even $7k. Maybe $4k on a good day. Do I like this fact? No. I would love to recover my cost.
I can buy a better condition 300SDL with less miles for what you are asking. Perceived value is often different from market value, and I personally got to know this when selling my Ponton a few months ago. It sold for $4k less than expected at an auction, but that was the market at the time. The market decides.

Oh and the seat covers are not $800 each, definitely, I also did not complain about the price in my original post.
Hopefully you'll find a buyer who can fix it and drive. Have a nice day

Why, exactly, does your opinion of whether a for sale post is of "poor quality" matter? The OP's post meets the forum guidelines; it has a detailed description and a price. It doesn't include pictures (which are not required, but are encouraged, by the guidelines) but clearly says to email for photos.

I won't speak for the OP but if it were my post, I'd be upset because the point of your post was clearly to indicate that, in your opinion, the price of the car wasn't justified given its condition. Your opinion on that matter, as well as your opinion as to whether the car is "project car," is irrelevant under the posting guidelines.

The rest of your response is, I guess, directed at the OP since it responds to statements that I didn't make. If "the market decides," as you point out, how about letting it? If you can buy a better car for less money than what the OP is asking for the car for sale in this post, do it. If they are really so readily available at such a low cost, I imagine you wouldn't be "in the market" for one, you'd own one.

I am not intending this as an attack against you personally, flip. I appreciate the contributions members make to this forum. But I do think that your initial post violated the guidelines and, as stated in those guidelines, is likely to have the effect of making the OP and others less likely to post things for sale here. That isn't good for anyone, as we all miss out if something that we are interested in buying (like a SDL that meets your criteria) doesn't get posted.

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Christopher
'06 Mercedes E350 station wagon (silver/black)
'85 Mercedes 300D (black pearl/palomino)
'85 Mercedes 300SD (smoke silver/burgundy)
'79 Cadillac Sedan DeVille

'05 Toyota Camry (because always running is nice)

'85 Mercedes 300D sold back to orig. owner 8-1-06
'84 Volvo 264GL Diesel, owned 2000-2013

I didn't say that you did. But you did make a snarky remark that wasn't called for.

Thank you for the insight. I'm aware the car needs work, didn't have the time, knowledge or expertise to assess all those issues myself. Locating a competent mechanic to do so on a car this old has been a problem. I don't do everything myself.

In June 2019, I had an new 134A expansion valve installed, a new receiver /drier, compressor and hoses installed, as well as complete evacuation of the system, and a new fan relay. Only the condenser wasn't changed. The mechanic tested the system for a week and it worked. Unfortunately, over time the system leaked and wasn't discovered until after the warranty on the work had expired. During the current COVID19 lockdown and the interruption it caused, its been difficult for me to get it fixed.

Obviously the other issues are negotiating points for the price, and I'm more than willing to concede those.

I did some research and checked prices on other cars as well as repairs before listing my car. I also qualified my ad with the word "asking" which means negotiable. And I'd be fool to pay for repairs with provable receipts, then not include those in the price, just so someone else can get something for nothing.

You never sent an email asking for pictures, which I clearly stated in my ad to do so, since I was having difficulty posting them. You ignored that. Instead you asked for pictures in the forum, then added an ETA to your request and commenced to criticizing the car sight unseen with a snarky "only $2500" comment. You know what you meant so stop being passive aggressive by deflecting and blaming me.

You can't stand constructive criticism when you're called out, and your opinions on my car are not based on fact because you haven't seen and inspected the car in person , or via photographs. And clearly you can't read and follow forum rules. Since you were never serious to begin with, I can't understand why you are wasting your time and mine by complaining about my car and asking price. I'm not begging you to buy my car, much less contact me about it. So move on and find another. Obviously I and other members here touched a nerve. You have your ego wrapped up in trying to be right.

Oh, and I have been contacted by other members who are serious about looking at the car and potentially buying it despite your unqualified opinions. Goodbye.