I drove up the coast about 200 miles to look at a promising 1981 300 TDT wagon. The owner lives there and in Wisconsin and wanted a car at each place. But after driving this car for about 40 miles last Spring, garaged it and went back to his island in the lake. He is a boat dude, not a car dude. So while in Wisconsin, he found a 1987 300 D wagon, and bought it. Of course, this is a 6 cylinder rare model and is qualitatively better but harder to work on.

Edmunds lists a 1981 300 TDT at $3125 if in excellent condition and purchased from a dealer. This was also the price he originally asked for this car.
Here is what I found.

There are no records, just the dealer's manual, which lists maintainence up through 80K miles. Current mileage is 171K. It has been repainted, an original color, a pale yellow, a color I like, because it is cooler. No one needs a black car in Florida, where a Barbie left on the dash will melt in the Summer heat. The car looks really nice. There are a few places where there has been rust around the sunroof. and minor places at the bottom of two doors, nothing visible at two feet. The floorboards are solid.

It has a trailer hitch. a useful plus, and a sunroof. It has two luggage bars onthe top.

On the minus side, the right hydraulic shock is broken near where it connects at the bottom. The self leveling pump at the front of the car is not connected. The oil container is missing entirely. The nitrogen spheres (accumulators) are there. The left shock is working. The original radio is gone, and it comes with a mama-san brands radio which is not connected. The antenna is entirely gone.

The driver's seat moves up and back, but the backrest does not want to lean back or forward. The MB-Tex is in good shape, but the seat has the unstable feel that comes from being driven by a hefty Bratwurst eater for 100K miles or so.

The cruise control works after the car has warmed up for five minutes. The front wipers work. The real wiper doesn't, and the washer squirter has been removed and replaced with a painted piece of metal and looks as though it had never existed. There is a filler bottle in the back, complete with tubes. The switch in the dash does not cause anything to happen. The oil pressure gauge hangs between the top two positions. My 300D 2.5 Turbo jumps up to the top and stays there all the time. The engine makes the usual Diesel noises.

A road test proved that the acceleration was good (for a Diesel) and the car will do at least 85 MPH. The car handles very stable, and does not pull to one side or the other. It stops just fine, and will turn around in two lanes.

The battery is new (Interstate). The clock works.

The dash is slightly cracked, but they do make covers. The AC does not seem to cool, but it will blow air through all the vents.

All the electric windows work except the left rear. The left front switch has been replaced, because it was put in backwards. I assume that the motor in the left rear will need to be replaced, but it could be the switch. The sunroop is manual, and requires some manly force to open, but it opens just fine.

The owner bought it from a dealer who was selling it for the guy who started a restoration and had it painted. He also made stalks to hold the hood and tailgate open. The right side of the hood is missing the spring and some of the hinge assembly. It opens and closes fine. The little handle that pokes thru the grille has been relpaced by a piece of rubber-coated wire that looks as though it will outlast us all, but is moderately ugly, but then it pokes through only when the hoodlatch is pulled .

It will need the shocks fixed. I wuld prefer to restore the MBZ self-leveling design, which will involve a new $340 right shock and a hydraulic fluid reservoir, perhaps a new pump, the left shock, pump ( I can get a new one for $170), and maybe one or both of the accumulator (nitrogen spheres, and a couple of litres of fluid.

I don't really expect a new car for this car, which is after all 21 years old. I do want a comfortable, casic transportation vehicle that I can mostly fix by myself and drive for long distances comfortably. I am 62 years old and am not planning to pick up chicks in a Diesel wagon

The owner's current offer is $2725. I didn't make a counter-offer.

I located a much rougher 1980 Diesel wagon with no AC that was brought over from Germany in 89 with 130K and a four-cylinder Diesel for $1500. This looks like more work than I want to do, and it's gray. I am not considering this either.

The question is should I buy this or keep looking?
I am moderately capable (somewhat slow) at fixing things. I have an ample collection of tools, jackstands and such. I put new shocks on my 1989 300D, and have done numerous brake and fuel pump jobs on other gas engine cars. I know a good indy MB shop where they can pretty much fix anything I can't, but for $80 an hour. I will ne bhappy if I can get it all up to snuff for maybe $2000 more.

Any comments will be gratefully and graciously accepted.

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Semibodacious Transmogrifications a Specialty

1990 300D 2.5 Turbo sedan 171K (Rudolf)
1985 300D Turbo TD Wagon 219K (Remuda)

"Time flies like and arrow, yet fruit flies like a banana"
---Marx (Groucho)