Quote:
Originally Posted by bratwurst
So my question is, what is life like with a 300D as a daily driver? Is it a good experience, or is there so much wrenching involved that its a PITA?
Cheers,
Michael
|
Michael,
It will all boil down to two things.
1: What shape the car is in when you buy it. The nicer the car, the more it will cost. One thing, though, is an absolute certainty: No matter how much you pay for a very nice, top 5%, car, you will never, ever, ever, be able to buy a cheaper version and bring it up to the same level.
2: How handy are you? You're asking about 25-30 year old cars. To infer the reliablity of a modern car is an invite to frustration. If you enjoy tinkering, then you'll likely enjoy owning a very nice example. The older diesel can be very reliable, but they still reqire an attentive owner to forestall any problems before they shut down the car.
Here's an example:
I bought our 83 300D (see my pictures) from a good friend who needed to reduce his collection. He had searched for over 6 months for a nice 300D.
He found a very nice car, paid a premium price for it, then proceeded to invest 3 times the purchase price replacing and rebuilding all the mechanical systems. A big chunk of this was because his mechanic failed to peen over the master link of the engine timing chain, which cost him $6k (w/installation and every seal replaced) for low mileage replacement from PGA. I discovered receipts totaling over $20k for the car and all the parts after I had bought it (and had to promise never to reveal this total to his wife).
The point is, what I had bought was a rust free, very nice cosmetics car, that had had virtually every rubber part and seal replaced.
I had bought the car for my father, and he drove it for 3 years, putting about 12k on the car. In this timeframe, he only was left stranded once, and that was because of a starter failure. Other than routine oil changes, the only significant repair was to replace the steering box with a NOS unit after a seal started to leak. Bear in mind, Dad is a new car kind of guy and no longer worked on his cars. Dad loved his little diesel, though.
Unfortunately, Dad started to get dementia, so I took the car back almost three years ago. I drove it from Tucson, AZ to Virginia, around 2400 miles without a single issue. Car ran perfectly, 27 mpg overall at around 70-75 mph.
Since I've had it back, I've added around 13k to it, and have had to do a couple of minor repairs, things like a check strap, air cleaner bracket, etc., but the car has proven to be completely reliable, and has been taken out of state several times.
Overall, it's a lovely car, nice enough for local show and shines, and I get compliments on it often, no one believes it's 25 years old. But even better, my wife loves the car.
I'm on the fence about keeping it, only because I have also have a 560SEL from the same previous owner. I had planned to sell the car after I brought it back from Arizona, but every time I drive it, damn, I fall in love with it again... But that black 560, she's a beauty, too.....
Jim