Used 240d Part II

[GregS]

I was just reading the post below and had a few other questions on the 240d (there is a nice one in town I'm considering).

1) Lets face it, most people don't care much about their car and consequently don't keep old car bills lying around. That said, what things about a 240d that are "neglected" do I have to worry about? My main concern are the valves. I know some cars are guarunteed to burn a valve if they aren't adjusted on schedule - what about the 240d? The one I'm looking at idles and drives smooth, but the person is selling it for a freind who moved away (and they speak little english), so little is know about the maintainance history.

2) The car unfortunately is an automatic. The good part is that it shifts perfectly. Again, most people don't regularly change the tranny fluid, but the fluid in this car is clean and pink, and the tranny shifts perfectly. So, should I worry about it? Are MB trannys likely to crap out without warning? This car reads 106k miles, and the owner said it stopped working "about 3 months ago." Some records indicate the car had 85k on it in 1995, so in a worse case scenario, I'm guessing it might have 150k. Do MB transmissions last well beyond 150k?

3) Other than a slight pull to the left (and a corresponding slightly worn left tire, which makes me think tire-rod or ball-joint), the car is in really nice shape both inside and out, so is there anything else I should worry about? They are only asking $2,200, but I plan on offering quite a bit less based on what I have told you.

Thanks

Greg

Typically, diesel engines don't burn valves. I am ashamed to say, but I have run my high mileage 240D Jillions of miles without valve adjustment, although I would not advise that approach. I now have the wrench set which makes it much easier and I am more dilligent about this.

Predicting the mileage at which your auto trans will break is somewhere between difficult and impossible. The worst thing about an auto 240D is lack of performance. If the preventive maintenance has been performed on schedule, this is a low mileage 240D for this day and time. It will probably last many miles to come, but, of course, there are never guarantees.

If the trans currently looks properly maintained and operates well, proper maintenance will most likely keep it that way for many miles, it's not as if there's 300 horsepower to tear it up with.

Good luck,

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Larry Bible
'84 Euro 240D, 523K miles
'88 300E 5 Speed
'81 300D Daughter's Car
Over 800,000 miles in
Mercedes automobiles

I have to agree with Larry, I have driven my 240D MANY miles past the reccommended mileage for a valve adjustment. After 550K miles, she still has the original valves, but soon I am going to start considering a complete valve job with new seals etc... just because she is burning about a half-quart of oil more than usual between oil changes and that is where I figure it is going

As for the transmission, my car had to get a donor trans sometime after 300K. The previous owner hit a boulder in the road and damaged the pan. The trans leaked out all the fluid and burned up while he was driving. Oh well, at least I did not have to buy it

If the car looks good and runs good, buy it! You'll not regret the durability of these cars. Have a good mechanic check out the pull on the front end, may just be a bad tire or need alignment. The price sounds okay, but what year is it? '80 or newer? If so, $2K is about normal for 78-82 models where I live.

Good Luck,

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William
76 240D (W115) - 550K miles
78 300D (W123) - 200K+ miles

Greg-
Look under the car at the rear axles - grab them and shake them and see if they feel solid. Look at the boots. Are they cracked or leaking? Shake the exhaust system and see if it feels solid and make sure it isn't really rusty.
Also, when test driving, how much play is in the steering? If it pulls to the left when driving, what does it do when you stomp on the brakes?
Be sure to look under the motor and transmission after you drive it and check for fresh oil.
Of course work all the lights and the wipers and make sure the electrical system is ok. It it has an ac aux. fan make sure that comes on.
One last point - I know this sounds negative and I don't mean it to be - but usually, and I do mean usually and not always, when you buy a car from somebody, and they don't know anything about the car they're selling you, for whatever reason, usually, you soon wish they had been able to tell you more about that car. You wish that after you already own it, and it's your responsibility to keep it going. If you like working on cars that's OK but just keep it in mind.
You can put an add in the paper and say "wanted clean well maintained 240d" or something to that effect if you are having trouble finding what you want.
If you pay 3500 for an a-plus car, that's a bargain compared to 2200 for a car with problems - because mercedes parts are expensive, and that thousand or fifteen hundred you save up front will evaporate.
At a minimum have somebody check this one out for you. The seller should have no problem with that and the money spent checking is good insurance.
Best of luck,
Harvey