FS: 87 300SDL Astral Silver/Blue 243k Recs
 

I have been searching for just the right 98 or 99 E300 (turbodiesel) and think I've found a winner.

HOWEVER, since there are already 4 other vechicles in my driveway, I must part with something. I would like to sell either the Cadillac DeVille or the 300SDL. I figured I'd put a feeler out here to see if there are any interested parties in the 300SDL. Details are as follows:

87 300SDL
243k miles (will increase, as it is my daily driver right now)
Astral Silver
Blue leather
2 previous owners
Major service records
All books, window sticker, original owner's plaque, etc
Brand New Michelins on recently refinished factory alloys
Brand New (not rebuilt) top end (head, valves, etc) (5k ago)
Recent factory rebuilt transmission and torque converter (40k ago)
Recent brakes all around
Recent front and rear suspension work
New Bilstein struts at all 4 corners
Timing chain replaced about 70k ago
Recent AC work
Climate control now works great
All power options work (seats, headrests, windows, locks, etc)
Cruise works
Has remanned Becker 752 w/ FM modulated 12 cd changer

Paint is wearing slightly thin on the hood, there are some visible fine scratches on it, maybe from a brush-type carwash. The rest of the car is rust-free and looks pretty good. The passenger rear door was scraped by a loading cart at a lumberyard superstore and repainted. There is a scrape on the lower part of the passenger rear door, as the body shop didn't want to paint the plastic part, they wanted to replace the whole panel.

Interior-wise, the leather is in good shape. There are slightly visible lines in the seats where the hydes are attached, but all in all they look fine. There aren't any tears or gouges. Door panels are like new. The dash has no cracks, as it was completely replaced by the previous owner when it did develop cracks. According to the MB service ticket, the dash replacement was just over $800...!

Both previous owners were doctors. This car was bought new by one physician and bought by another at around 160k miles. This is evident by the names and titles on the service records. BTW: All service by the first owner was done at the same MB dealership it was purchased at. The second owner had some work done at the dealership and all other work done at an import repair center.

As a diesel fanatic, I jumped into this 300SDL hook line and sinker and it has been an enjoyable car. I've put approx 15k miles on it since May 2001. Being a single buy, it is much larger than I really need. And as great a car as the W126 is, I was SOOOOOO impressed with the 98 E300, I've just gotta have one!

So, bottom line is this...if someone is interested, please e-mail me and I will be happy to send pix of anything related to the car. Considering all the recent work that has been done and just putting over $5000 (documented) into the top end rebuild, I dont' want to sell myself short, but would also like to provide a potential buyer a fair price. This being said, I'm open to offers.

Even if you aren't interested, maybe give me an idea of what I should be asking ($$ wise) or what I should expect for a trade.
The 98 E300's bottom-line price tax/title/etc was $36,407.18.

Lance:

First of all, are you looking at the 98 E300D at Laurel Mercedes Benz?

Secondly, I am leaving for Chicago for a mini vacation tomorrow )11/23) and I am interested in taking a look of your car if possible. I will be staying in the Westmont area.

I understand that you put in $5k into the car, but chances are you may not be able to get most of the $ back and I think that is just the way it is.

Thanks.

loubapache --

Wow, thanks for the quick reply.

I realize recouping that repair $$$ wouldn't be realistic. I just don't want to see the car go for $3k or $4k on eBay or have some dealer take it on a trade only to be auctioned off. I'd like to sell it to someone who appreciates these old cars for what they are. The average joe-car-guy would take a look at a 15 year old car with almost 250k miles on it and just assume it's ready for the scrapyard. That couldn't be further from the truth.


How long are you going to be in the Chicago west suburbs? Reason I'm asking is today and tomorrow I'm stuck here at the office and Saturday on-call. Plus, this morning, the MB left for a trip to the north-western most corner of Nebraska. Shortly after my original post, I got the call. My ex's grandmother passed away and needed a car big enough to haul 4 adults and an infant seat. They should be back sometime early next week, but couldn't swear to which day. My mobile phone number is (847) 612-7095. Feel free to give me a call or e-mail if you will be in the area for a few more days.

Lance:

Thanks for the reply.

I will staying in Chicago till Sunday so it does not seem possible for me to see the car on this trip.

I would not mind driving to Chicago again to see the car but we would need to discuss the price offline first. My e-mail address is loub@net-port.com. I wrote sown your cell number.

Thanks.

Actually, I forgot to mention the car...
It is on the MotorWorks MB lot in Barrington.
Is there one at Laurel?

Lance:

Forgot to say. Could you email me some pics?

Thanks.

loub@net-port.com.

Lance:

Ys, there is one at Laurel. You should look at it. I will find the info for it on the Internet. It has been there for a while. I think it has 67kmi and the askin gis around $33k.

Lance:

I remembered right on the one in Laurel.

Here is the ad:

http://cars.com/carsapp/chitrib/?srv=adlocator&act=print&zc=49307&flt=zr%2Cn_ms%2Cused&adid=24664984&ct=used&quote=on

Nice car. Looks good in smoke silver or champagne. Thanks for the link. I think I'll leave my address and phone on their site and see what happens.

The one I was looking at had 30k miles on it and was silver, but was more $$$. I have no problem with the higher mileage.

I will certainly send you pics when I get the car back. I may have a few more from when I purchased it, but I'll have to wait until I get home to check my hard drive.

Also, I just sent you an e-mail.

Hey,

Is the SDL still available or did you get it sold?

Also, did you get that E300D? How many horsepower is that beast? I drove a 97, I believe it was, and it just jammed.

Thanks.

-m

300sdl
 

are you still selling the sdl? if so, how much is it?

300 SDL
 

What kind of fuel mileage does the 300SDL get under what speed and city/highway conditions?

Thanks,

Tom

Deer Hunter
 

Lance,

Looks like a great car to go deer hunting in.

How did the little VW turn out? The way it looked, it seemed like the deer won.;)

Regards,

Tom

Want a '98 Turbodiesel cheap?
 

Lance's not a big talker. That's alright. Maybe other more important matters to attend to.

Check this ebay unit out.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=598863777

Regards,

Tom