The body cladding showed up for '91. It's probably a '91 or '92 model. The power antenna switch had disappeared by 1993.

My car has sat for over 3 years, a new distributor, spark plugs, battery, and octane boost with fresh gas and the car started right up! It sure blew some black smoke for a few minutes but was fine. If you don't think there is anything mechanically wrong with the car try starting it. (Just my two cents)

turning the engine over by hand is no problem. just get under the car with a big bar and socket and rotate clockwise to see if nothing is locked up. should be fairly easy to turn.

if it rotates, see if it'll fire up. if it'll run for 5 seconds without a problem, shut it down and replace EVERYTHING. all fluids, give it a tune up. and see how things go from there.

if it doesn't run, you can sell it again for what you paid for it or part it out. it's a $1000 car with relatively low mileage, nothing too crazy going on there. i don't see how people are paying thousands to bring their car up to spec. if you DIY i don't see how that's a possibility. i bought my car for relatively cheap and did A LOT of work on it. including brand new tires, i've only spent around $1600 to bring perfect. 5 years isn't all that long for things to go to hell and back.

i'd buy that car for $800 in a heartbeat. for me, if general condition is good, it's no problem.

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Allen Kroliczek
Oak Grove Autosport | Oak Grove Autosport
01 G500, 82 300TD, quite a few more.....

Its all stuff you could likely DIY, but some of it can be complicated, like taking the fuel distributor off and such. It will/would be a lot of work to change all that stuff, but worth it for such a nice car.

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-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

My car is a '90 and it has body cladding. Build date was November '89

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-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

My bad,

I thought the cladding was 93+

ignore my previous comment

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1993 300E, 2.8 M104 .....

Thanks a bunch guys for all the responses! I'm quite surprised with all the posts. You guys make this forum rule!!!! =D

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That's a Series II - started in late '88 - depending where you are in the world.
Series III started in '92/93 again depending where you are in the world.
There were quite a few changes externally to Series III body style. You need to park a series II and series III next to each other to appreciate the differences.

Forgive me if this has been posted before as I have only skimmed the other responses, but it looks like the odometer is off its axis and is broken. Any ideas how long its been that way? You may be dealing with a 217k car otherwise.

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1985 500SL Euro w/ AMG bits 130k
1984 300SD Turbodiesel 192k
1980 240D Stick China 188k
2001 CLK55 AMG 101k
2007 S600 Biturbo 149k Overheated Project, IT'S ALIVE!!!

Wow, great eyes Tyler, I didn't even notice that! Could it just be the camera?

I went and saw it today, it's a pretty clean car just as described just needs a good cleaning and some love.

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2007 BMW 328XI

Thanks for that. I ran a CarFax just in case. Last odometer reading was in 2003 for 117391. So either they didn't drive it much from '03-'05 or it's probably got another 20k in mileage. It's a one owner so says the carfax. If all is good I'll be buying it tomorrow! Also, what socket wrench size do I need to manually turn the engine by hand, and which pulley do I turn? =)

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I think it should be a 27mm. Use 1/2" drive, and the socket should be a deepwell otherwise you'll probably need a short (3"?) extension. You'll be turning the crankshaft bolt (clockwise).
Best to remove the fan shrouds to access it. You should see a small vent hose leaving the radiator for the coolant tank. The hose is tethered through a plastic clip that also locks the fan shroud extension in place. Pop out the clip and pull the hose to the side, rotate the entire fan shroud extension clockwise until it stops and then pull it away from the main fan shroud and hang it on the fan. There will be two metal clips that hold the main fan shroud against the radiator, the left one is right up top and the right one is kind of under the upper radiator hose. Pop them out with a screwdriver and lift the shroud upwards. It has two push-in anchor points at the bottom. You'll have the watch that it doesn't get caught on the bottom of the fan blades, gouge the cooling fins on the radiator, and you'll have to jimmy the that right side boss past the upper hose at the same time. Sounds involved but it's pretty easy. Remove the extension you hung on the fan.
(sorry if you already know all this)
If you don't want to take the shrouds off you'll have to turn the motor from underneath.

Dude don't be sorry for writing a very detailed post! Lol. Thanks a bunch, can't wait for it to be 5:30 already and start working on mah new babeh!!! =D

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http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y27...Untitled-1.jpg

It looks like it's in really good shape. Forgive me if I missed it, but why did they park it? One reason these cars get parked, and right around that milage, is because the head gasket is blown, an expensive fix at the dealership (MUCH cheaper to do yourself). That would be one of the first things I'd look for.

A blown gasket on these cars (M103/104 motors) almost inevitably shows itself as oil in the coolant. To check for it, simply look in the coolant tank. it should be clean in there (and hopefully the owners didn't use the green antifreeze). If it has brown-gray gook floating or as a film sticking on the walls and under the cap, then the head gasket is likely blown. If the amount of goo isn't severe, you can probably still drive the car for a while till it gets worse.
Though it's not a given, and certainly not to scare you, it's such a common problem with these models it's almost considered regular maintenance at 90-120K (a little exaggeration). Fortunately its not that bad of a job and a great way to really familiarize yourself with your car. LOTS of info here about it.

Also, I wouldn't expect the A/C to work. It uses R12 refrigerant and it might be hard to find some one to recharge/repair it. Lots of threads about that here too. If it works, that's a real nice bonus.

I notice the odo looks off, as if its been manipulated. No worries, since you have the car in your hands now

I'd replace fuel filter, and LOF, plugs, and check the OVP/fuel pump relay.