The missus and I drove down to Mountain View today and looked at a 1987 300D Turbo. It has only 132,000 miles and is in pretty good shape. By coincidence, the seller is the same guy who sold me my 1985 300D. The white exterior color is a repaint but seems to have been well done, not like that orange-peel black monstrosity I saw in San Francisco last week. Because of the rain I wasn't able to do quite as much inspecting as I would have liked to do. The "things to look for" references I found last week on this forum were very helpful.

The car is originally from the East Coast but has no rust (surprise!). The current owner is the third owner and has had the car since the beginning of this year.

Probably the potentially most expensive problem is that the sunroof does not work. You can hear the motor running and something rattling in the roof as if the cable had come loose. The seller will have his mechanic look at it but we may just decide to leave it broke and negotiate the price.

It is definitely quieter, smoother, and more powerful than the W123. We will have to see what the mileage is but it may be good enough to use for long trips instead of the '85, which gets only about 24 MPG at best due to its smog crap. Interestingly, this car has not yet had its trap ox replaced. I shall contact Mercedes and get it done when we bring the car home.

Pictures soon!

Jeremy

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"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970