1987 Mercedes 300TD 225k miles $3500 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

bsmuwk · #1 11-03-2013, 07:49 PM

Selling my daily driven 87 Merc 300TD with 225k miles. She's driven every single day and has been driven daily by the two owners before me. Has been a Midwestern car since purchase. First owner was a dentist in Madison, Wi and the second owner was purchased by a bar owner in Janesville, Wi - as of maybe 6 months ago it was purchased by me and anally kept up with preventative and regular maintenance.

I do not have the maintenance records from the dentist, 2nd owner misplaced them, but gave me the complete list of records kept by himself. Among them are: AC replacement (AC currently works great and I use it about 10 minutes every so often in the cold weather to keep it lubed), hatch strut replacement, ball joints, rear hub lower bushing replacement (PITA for those who know), and much more. All of the records are from the same shop the 2nd owner used around Janesville. Anytime the car needed something, or potentially needed, the car got it.

AC Works and doesn't leak. Has been converted to R134 and I have no complaints.
SLS Works and doesn't leak. Not bouncy and is firm.
Interior is just about damn spotless. The dash does have 3 cracks in it, but nearly every blue dash has cracks. The rear seats are missing the headrests. 2nd owner said he had them somewhere, but still hasn't gotten to me about them. Oh well. Seats are tear and stain free BLUE MBtex. I install the later model ashtray (push style, rather than pull out style) because I've always liked it better. There is a Kenwood Stereo with Aux cord. Works great, but it needs a subwoofer in the car, it's pretty weak on that front. The front seats have tight and NON sagging nets behind them. I replaced them because I hate the look of saggy nets.
Runs great. No odd noises, no weak running. I replaced all the vacuum lines and fuel filters less than 1000 miles ago. Oil has been changed every 3500 miles with Bosch or Merc oil filters only. I'm running synthetic or synthetic blend oil only (whichever I can find cheaper at the time).
Transmission has absolutely NO delays. You put it in reverse and it goes right in. No hesitation. You can't feel the transmission even shift when driving normally. Easily one of the smoothest transmissions I've had in any of my W124's. Fluid is bright red and clean. Does not smell burnt and has no browning.

Tires are in great shape and definitely have less than 15k miles on them. I'm not sure exactly. They're more than adequate for winter and maybe next.
Cruise control works
New exhaust a week ago

I take this car on 600mile round trips to my parent's cabin in Northern Wi every few weeks. This thing hauls down the road at whatever speed you want (within reason of course). Just set the cruise control and you'll get a consistent 28-30mpg. I get 25mpg driving in the city. Seats are supportive and not sagging, so long trips aren't a disaster.

The car does have a couple small rust spots. Notably, the passenger front fender has a spot that rusted through, but a replacement white fender would easily remedy that. The passenger rear quarter lip has a small but starting, and the passenger front rocker has a hole that I poked through checking for rust. The supports for the jack are in perfect shape and the rust hasn't spread any further. I was going to repair this particular spot before salt hit the roads here, but I just haven't found the time. If you can weld, or know a welder, it'll take less than a few hours to prep/patch/seal the repair.

Body is straight, car has never had any accidents, no dents. Paint does have some wear from those automatic car washes, but I buffed/polished a small bit by hand and a perfect finish showed itself. Car is otherwise clean.

It starts kind of weird in this cold weather we're having here in Chicago lately, which I'm attributing to the glow plugs. I've got a brand new set in the glove box waiting to be put in.

I'm not sure if I'm missing any details, but if you have questions, please ask. You can text me at 773-706-9210 or call me anytime before 4pm. I'm asking $3500 Or best offer

On to pics:

bsmuwk · #2 11-03-2013, 07:57 PM

Oh and before I forget, while I had the car on the lift getting a new exhaust put on, I was playing around with control arms, etc to see if anything needed attention.

I noticed the center support rubber seemed kind of weak, so I ordered a replacement. That will be replaced as soon as I get the part.

I also ordered a new set of glow plugs that I'll install before the next owner gets the car. I don't believe the car needs them, but I might as well do them while I'm doing the plugs on my 300SD.

Oh - and reason for selling. I'm bored of it. That's it. I'm not in any financial hardship, I don't care if I sell the car or not. It's driven every single day. If there's an opportunity to get something cooler, than I might as well have a car on the market to take advantage of it.

DieselClan · #3 11-03-2013, 11:32 PM

Wow that sure is a nice wagon. Sure would love to have it but I'm always without additional funds. Wouldn't by any chance be interested in a '85 300D as part trade would ya? Darn, it'd sure be nice to have an '87 wagon. I'm sure others will ask but is the car located in Wisconsin or in Chicago as your location implies?

GLWTS!

bsmuwk · #4 11-04-2013, 01:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DieselClan

Wow that sure is a nice wagon. Sure would love to have it but I'm always without additional funds. Wouldn't by any chance be interested in a '85 300D as part trade would ya? Darn, it'd sure be nice to have an '87 wagon. I'm sure others will ask but is the car located in Wisconsin or in Chicago as your location implies?

GLWTS!

I've never been a major fan of the W123. I'm not sure why. Coupe, maybe. Sedan, eh, not so much sorry. Besides, I'm sure it would be that near 500k mile one? My SD has 498k miles - I'm not sure I'd be able to handle a pair of cars whose mileage sums a million haha

Chicago is where the car is usually. It's in Wisconsin only when I'm there.

bsmuwk · #5 11-05-2013, 05:00 PM

Lot's of interest, let's get this ole girl to a new home

bsmuwk · #6 11-09-2013, 04:45 PM

Make an offer folks.

Brand new glow plugs need to be put in and she's good to go for winter. I'll be replacing the motor mounts here soon.

bsmuwk · #7 11-14-2013, 01:05 AM

bump

bsmuwk · #8 11-23-2013, 01:04 AM

I'll be taking some new pictures and a video of the car sometime tomorrow. I'll update this

Just put in a new antenna mast as the other one was stuck in the halfway position. Goes up and down perfectly now. Lots of calls, but my own scheduling lately has been a bugger with time for some folks.

I'll have just about all of December off though, so hopefully we can get her to a good home.

Smoker · #9 11-23-2013, 12:37 PM

Off all of December....why, that's a perfect time to driver her to NC and swap for a nice 300CD

bsmuwk · #10 11-24-2013, 04:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smoker

Off all of December....why, that's a perfect time to driver her to NC and swap for a nice 300CD

Sometimes I wish I liked W123's - I've been offered so many lately, but I can't stand seeing myself driving one! haha

Anyway,

I took a bunch of new pics today - close ups of everything. I'm working on uploading a video walk around on youtube right now. I'm just hoping the video comes out okay. Shows engine running, interior, etc.

I uploaded pictures to my flickr account so here's the link to the album: 1987 Mercedes 300TD - a set on Flickr

Waiting on the youtube upload so I can post a vid.

bsmuwk · #11 11-24-2013, 04:57 PM

1987 Mercedes Benz 300TD Walkaround - YouTube

and the video. Sorry i recorded it with a potato.

bsmuwk · #12 12-02-2013, 07:37 PM

Spent a lot of time working on getting the car ready for winter this week, everything it needed I've been replacing. At this point, the car needs NOTHING. Maybe a new antenna mast seal, but that I'm sure I'll be ordering in the next couple days anyhow.

Here's the replacement list as of the past 300 or so miles.

Glow plugs - have 5 new autolites sitting in the glovebox as extras.
Glow plug relay
Removed and lubricated blower motor shaft bushings
Cleaned evaporator core
Wiper motor linkages lubed
replaced weatherstripping and airbox seal
Brand new Klima relay
Passenger side window motor replaced

All the window regulators and plastic nylon window sliders have been lubed as they seemed a bit dry.

I'm also currently replacing the motor mounts.

As of 12/2/13 - the car needs nothing but a new owner and to patch the small spots of Midwest rust that it has. Heck, if I keep this car any longer, I just may be absolutely firm on the price as I'll be tackling the rust issue. Driver side has already been wire wheeled down to bare metal, acid treated the jack tubes, cleaned everything out, POR-15'd and rubberized undercoated. Passenger side will be done soon.