My 1983 300D was rear ended last week and totaled. I kept the salvage rights with the idea of giving it away and taking a tax deduction. However, is there a smarter way to do this? I could remove easy parts like seats, inside panels, wood, cruise control etc. but am not equipped to deal with body panels, suspension, engine, etc. Also I have two good snow tires. The front seats (and back seats) are both in excellent shape, no tears or flattened springs at least as far as I can tell except for part of the netting on the back of the driver's side.

The engine has 270,000 miles on it but has always had excellent get up and go, better than our other (now also deceased) 300D by far. It's a shame to junk it, hopefully somebody will find it useful after I give it away.

What is this worth in parts, roughly? Would it pay for me to hire somebody to take it apart and ship the parts to people? This would be a lot of trouble, but the situation is kind of like an organ transplant. I mean it seems a more suitable end for this excellent machine than does the junkyard. I also admit to needing to recover as much value as possible.

(White/blue Tex interior)

hell yea its worth it to part it out, I just parted out my 83 240D, I made a lot more than what I would of got if I sold it complete

I'd be interested in both rear window motors and maybe the a/c compressor.

Kjohnson,
I would be interested in the transmission if it was working good, Will even remove it myself, also some front end parts.
E-mail me with a price if you are interested.

I'd take both front seats if, indeed, they are MB Tex blue. Let me know.

Thanks for the input, I guess after further consideration giving it to charity would be best.