1985 380se, clean interior clean exterior.. high mileage 225k. been sitting for a year, but started up.. needs tune up, maintenance and tires.. overall very clean though.. paint looks very good.. the guy wants 2000. what do you guys think?

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Rust? AC? Maintanace records? 225k is pretty high milage for a gasser...

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1989 300E 144K

no rust, ac "needs recharge" and no records... isnt this a euro model though?

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I have an 85 380SE as my daily driver, but mine is in really good shape with only 143K on the clock. I'll be watching to see where this thread goes, as I have been toying with the idea of selling mine...

Do you have any pics of the one for sale?

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08 W251 R350
97 W210 E320
91 W124 300E
86 W126 560SEL
85 W126 380SE Silver
85 W126 380SE Cranberry
79 W123 250
78 W123 280E
75 W114 280

For what its worth, A/C never JUST needs a charge. Especially if it's been sitting without. But that's up to you. I don't really care about A/C, but if you do, that will be a high-ticket item... Also, don't these have troublesome engines (single row timing chain)? I would guess, though, if it's still running at 225k, most of the typical bugs will have been worked out.

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1989 300E 144K

I just saw where you said he wants 2000. That's a bit high, especially with 225K, unless you can verify that the chain and guides have been redone recently. If so, and if everything else is in great shape, then 2000 would probably be fair.

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08 W251 R350
97 W210 E320
91 W124 300E
86 W126 560SEL
85 W126 380SE Silver
85 W126 380SE Cranberry
79 W123 250
78 W123 280E
75 W114 280

Ditto. If it just needed a recharge, why didn't they go out and spend $35 on a can of R12 and recharge it? More likely that the compressor is shot and/or there's a leak somewhere.

84 and 85 380SE have the double-row timing chain. It's the earlier ones you want to avoid.

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08 W251 R350
97 W210 E320
91 W124 300E
86 W126 560SEL
85 W126 380SE Silver
85 W126 380SE Cranberry
79 W123 250
78 W123 280E
75 W114 280

Too much money for the amount of unknowns, and the mileage. (in other words, the "can of worms" potential is way to great to sleep well at night)
Spend your hard earned money someplace better.

I have found that more often than not, the fantasy is much better than the reality.

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It is a truism that almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so. Robert A. Heinlein


09 Jetta TDI
1985 300D

great advice guys.. thanks for your input.. i dont know why i am such a sucker for old MB's.. and I have my MBA Finance.. youd think I would know better.. What would be a reasonable price considering all the unknowns.. Id say $1000 or is that too high.. The reason I want this car is because I want to swap out the strong diesel motor from my 84 300sd and put it in this car.. my current 300sd's body is on its last leg..

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No need to feel embarrassed about being a sucker for MB's - it's much like women and shoes - they don't need them either, yet they're always looking at them.

I suppose, if the body has no rust, and the interior is very very nice, you could use the shell....Naw....still too much buck & time for the amount of bang.


Why not try to find a nice SD shell instead?

I found this on ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1984-Mercedes-Benz-300SD-PARTS-ONLY_W0QQitemZ160225938431QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item160225938431

Here is a working SD, for less than 2k http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/MERCEDES-300-SD-TURBO-DIESEL_W0QQitemZ130211287509QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item130211287509

This one here, needs an engine http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1984-Mercedes-300SD-Turbo-Diesel-NEEDS-ENGINE-NO-RESERV_W0QQitemZ140221648328QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item140221648328 That one, is the nicest one, out of the 3.

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It is a truism that almost any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so. Robert A. Heinlein


09 Jetta TDI
1985 300D

You would have to be willing to jump in and get your hands dirty and learn just about everything there is to know about the car, because there are very few people around who know how to fix them. Those that do will charge more than the car is worth. If you don't like working on cars, don't bother.

If the timing chain was replaced once, it is probably due for another. That alone should knock $700 off the price. The A/C could be as simple as a disconnected wire (my case) or major component repair/replacement. It could be a fun challenge, or a big headache, depending on your level of tolerance.

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1985 380SE Blue/Blue - 230,000 miles
2012 Subaru Forester 5-speed
2005 Toyota Sienna
2004 Chrysler Sebring convertible
1999 Toyota Tacoma

Heeeeeey my 300SE has an angry look on her face (out in the parking lot, 1988 model and 230k on the clock) right now.


I know *zero* (maybe even less than that) about that particular motor, but if it were a 300 you were looking at I'd say that its expected lifespan depends entirely on its maintenance history. Mine sure feels quite strong, like she's got years left in the motor; same with the w126 body.

Watch the A/C, though; any chance you can drop it by a shop that deals with such things and get their opinion?

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'88 300SE | Midnight Blue | 237k
'09 Subaru Impreza | red | 0k

Thinking the 84 380se had a single row timing chain... they fixed that with the 85...
217k miles on mine.. and still running strong. I will have to take a peek at the guides for the timing chain next time I get into maintenance mode..

Once my parking place is less soupy... Doesn't mind the wrenchwork, but too old for playing in the mud...