240D, stick, very low miles

[epssax]

120,000 miles, manual tranny, windows, and climate controls. Car is extremely nice inside, has rust through on fenders and doors. NO RUST UNDERNEATH! New tires, brake pads, front shocks, vacuum shut-off. Have service records. Clutch replaced at 83K. Car runs great, handles well, and runs fantastic on the interstate! I wished I could keep it because I feel it will make it to 500K without any trouble. I have a VERY nice 1992 300D that I don't want to part with. I bought the 1980 because I had to do some work on my 1992. Car needs rear outboard CV boot. Cruise control will need soldering of the amp. Have pictures. Some rust-through but very fixable. ABSOLUTELY no structural rust. EPSSAX@earthlink.net $2000.00 firm. Thanks

[epssax]

I got NO messages or replies to the ad I put in for my very nice 240D, 1980 stick. 120K It has surface rust-through and NO structural rust whatsoever. Runs like a dream, air works great, new tires, front shocks. Has a $400 Alpine tape deck and beautiful interior. I'd fix the rust holes but I have 3 corvairs to get running and two farm tractors. Were is the Bio-diesel crowd or the WVO crowd? Oh well, I am still enjoying driving it but I have too many vehicles. Thanks, Ernie in Louisville.

[Chris Blanchard]

Ernie,

Is this the "china blue" 240D you got a while back?
What color is the interior?

Chris

Cincinnati, OH

what makes you think it will go another 380,000 miles with NO trouble?

i am just interested in knowing.

[EC93SE]

Originally Posted by dieseldogg

what makes you think it will go another 380,000 miles with NO trouble?

i am just interested in knowing.

Pics would be good. Dieseldogg are you a buyer or are you just hassling the seller? I'm sure the seller didn't mean the car would not give the next owner any trouble in the ensuing 380k miles!!! Everybody wants a guarantee no matter if they spend $100 or $100,000 these days it seems.

[epssax]

If you want pics email me and I can send them to you(fairly large files)

Thanks for jumping in and helping with DieselDog. As good as it drives, I feel it would go 500K with good maintenance. However it may throw a rod tomorrow! I just have a '92 300D that I really like. It has twice the miles but the 124's have a different feel and ride. Ernie in Louisville

Wasn't meant to be nagging. The question still stands for basically any car on the planet: what makes you think the car can go 380,000 miles without problems??? Cars need major stuff maintenanced all the time.

Of course, there *are* a lot of eBay cars that are *practically* guaranteed to go 500,000 miles, but come on.

Pics would be great. I have always wanted a 240D, it's the *real* classic MB diesel.

Don't you think it pretty naive (or at the best very faithful) to belive a car can put 380,000 more miles on this planet to total 500,000 without major maintenance?

Am I a pessimist, or do I just believe in fixing things?

[epssax]

Dieseldogg--you seem to be a smart-assed know it all. The car is not for sale to you. You can go find another one. You'd never be satisfied anyway because that's the impression I get. You just have been on the site this year. I've been driving and owning about every kind of diesel there is for twenty five years. I must had twenty-five diesel cars or trucks. I've never had a diesel car disappoint me. I like the way they sound, smell, smoke, pull, and last and last with proper maintenance. I change oil and filter every 3000 miles. I've had about 12 Vw's. The best was an '84 Quantum turbo diesel. Had the coupes, sedans , and 3 pickup trucks.. I had a Dasher that was somewhat rare and would run like a scared rabbit. I switched to Mercedes 'cause I like the heavier, more comfortable ride. I can drive a Mercedes 500 miles and get out of the car and not feel like I am beat up. Had 4 190 diesels, 1 5spd, three autos, one with the turbo(1987). I've had three 123's. 1 300D NA, and two 123 240D's 4 spds. I've had 4 Dodge Cummins and find they are one tough engine--don't care much for the chassis. I've had mechanics say they have seen the B engine go 1 million miles without pulling the head. Now that's service. I'll bet the oil was changed like clockwork on those engines. I like my current '92 that I've had for 3 years. It drives and feels good, gets 32 mpg, has iceberg air (R134A) and is not too expensive to self-maintain. So I'm selling the 240D because I don't need it anymore. I just finished having some body work done on my '92 and it took 3 months for the guy to get to it.(he's that good) I didn't want to drive 600 miles a week in my 4x4 Dodge Diesel truck so I bought the 123 for a driver until my '92 was ready to drive. Now I'd like to see it go to an owner who would appreciate it and keep it in proper condition. They aren't making any more of these tough 240's and they are all mechanical fuel injection and don't depend on computers. I'd keep it but I have 3 corvairs to get into shape, and currently have two diesel tractors that I have to work on. Thanks for the forum

[PagodaLover]

you are absolutely right.

[PagodaLover]

I personally think the diesel i drive will last 500,000 miles without much for it. Of course I wish the gas engined car would do the same.
Send me a pic if you have time.

Rock on!

[PagodaLover]

Am i right that the 240D is 4 cylinder?
Does it get better gas mileage than the 300D? I think I'm only getting about 20mpg diesel.

Is it even more economical as a daily driver?

[epssax]

this 240D gets 28 mpg with my foot in it and the air blowing. If you babied it you could probably get more. It is a four cylinder engine that looks very small in the engine bay. You can reach in and change all 4 glow plugs without disturbing a thing. I just put new tires, front shocks, vacuum pulloff, and brake pads all around. Had to buy a rebuilt frt. rt. caliper. Has a 400.00 alpine cassette deck i n it.If you want pics email me at epssax@earthlink.net and I'll send them. they are large files, however. Thanks, Ernie in Louisville

[PagodaLover]

hi ernie,
my email server site has a limit on the size of emails i can get. i will check with them and get back to you this week. how big are those pics. those mpg sound really good. i wish they made the cars like that now!!!
i am looking for a dependable car for around town that needs minimal work on it to just keep running.
looking at photographs of 240D on internet, they look just like the 300D.

[epssax]

Yes the 123 chassis is the same for a 4 cylinder or a 5 cylinder. Remember the stick 4 cylinder is pretty peppy(especially for 67 h.p.) but I am told the automatic 240D is VERY slow. The advantage to the 4 cylinder is fuel economy and the durability of the engine. It holds 7 qts. of oil, and has a large oil cooler right next to the radiator. It keeps the temps down even when you are really driving it hard! I typically drive it at 70 mph with the air blowing. One nice thing is that it has the A-4 "pancake" compressor on it. This compressor does not labor the engine like the old A-6 "torpedo" does. I have a thermometer in the center vent and it blows about 50 degrees F.
The pics are around 60-70k each. I need to install photoshop on my computer and try to reduce their size. I just got a new 'puter and haven't gotten around to getting photoshop on it. Photoshop seems to reduce a photo size with out degrading the picture. I don't know how they do it but it works better than two or three of the other photo programs I have. Thanks, Ernie in Louisville