Euro 240D ? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

settle10 · #1 11-04-2004, 03:05 PM

I've been searching for my first MB (240D or 300D) and have used this forum to educate myself and search for the right one. Thought I had one but the situation turned ugly, thats another story. I just looked at a '82 Euro 240D with 70K miles & std trans, no rust, great interior and some minor dings and a chipped windsheild. I've noticed that it has cloth seats, different headlights and bumpers. I haven't seen a Euro model and need to know what other concerns there are with purchasing this model. Thanks for the info.

jseries · #2 11-04-2004, 03:15 PM

Go for it. The cloth seats are warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer. Yeah the silly plastic MB Tex lasts longer but the 82 seats you're looking at have made it 20+ years already. The Euro bumpers IMHO look better than the US bumpers. Still undecided on the headlight thing....
Bottom line don't let the "euro" thing put you off. If it's a clean rust free 82 and manual trans with really only 70k miles on the clock go for it.

rs899 · #3 11-04-2004, 03:25 PM

As far as the major show-stopping mechanical bits- I would believe they are identical especially on a 240D. If its a good deal go for it.

Even a US spec 240D is pretty much a "euro" car. The only differences would be the bumpers, headlights , cloth interior and smog control.

#4 11-04-2004, 03:45 PM

If the thing is currently tagged and on the road, you don't have much worry that there's some smog or safety troll underneath the bridge. Cars of this age are often exempt from state inspections, and diesels from smog tests.

Where do you live?

All the "foreign" trim makes it more interesting, IMHO. BTW, the July/August 2004 issue of the Mercedes-Benz club magazine, The Star, did a really nice profile of such a car (two of mine are similar).

If you want, you can swap out the interior for an MB Tex one, and I believe the headlamp assemblies will also exchange with U.S.-style ones.

Follow the suggestions for a pre-purchase checkout which appear repeatedly on this forum (do a search). Would love more info and some pix, if possible.

Good luck!

#5 11-04-2004, 03:50 PM

No, you need to tell us where this car is, and then run like hell from it, letting one of us snatch it up!!!!!

Don't worry about the car being Eurospec. IMO, they look better, have at least one less expensive item that can cause catastrophic failure if it fails (engine oil cooler), and any needed parts are easily obtained. The coolest MB I've had was a Eurospec 240D 5 speed. I wish that I hadn't gotten rid of that car.

settle10 · #6 11-04-2004, 04:10 PM

The car is here in Louisiana and is currently licensed. It's a white exterior with a blue cloth interior. I could find no faults with the cloth interior and the back seats didn't look like that had been sat in. The dash had a couple of very small cracks and did not have the wood trim. The A/C had been converted and works great. First aid kit didn't look like it had been opened. Manuel windows with a power sunroof that has good rubber and no rust. the rest of the exterior rubber showed cracking but was not falling apart. Couldn't find any major rust on the doors or under the hood. The hood was missing the padding, how important is it? On the back rear 1/4 panels there are two small holes that appear to be attachment holes for a US bumper, noticed a little bit of rust around these holes. There a couple of small what I call "whiskey dents". Paint is slighly oxidized and has nicks and cracks. Front grill needs to be replaced. Drove and shifted great with nice pickup. All in all one of the best ones I have looked at so far. Asking price $3200

rs899 · #7 11-04-2004, 04:40 PM

If the mileage is legit it sounds like it's worth in that neighborhood (but offer less-he's probably looking for $3K but will take a couple hundred less). If you take good care of it you can get a lot of mileage outof that with few headaches.

#8 11-04-2004, 04:46 PM

everything seems like it should be for a car with that mileage.

The hood pad is mostly for sound insulation...you can live without it (I do).

White's an easy color to work with...I'd go to a body shop and get those "accessory holes" professionally filled up and painted over before rust gets a toehold.

Keep us posted!

Angel · #9 11-04-2004, 05:53 PM

Do see if it has a 5-speed, and then cruise over to the recent thread "5spd trans avail on ebay..." and see the drooling going on...

-John

apache · #10 11-04-2004, 05:59 PM

One other thing that is different on my Euro is the injection pump. It is a totally different Bosch model thus making the throttle linkage slightly different. Also, no EGR.

will66 · #11 11-04-2004, 06:53 PM

I have an '83 euro 240D and have no complaints. Mine had non-functioning a/c, that looked like an aftermarket install, but since I use it in the winter only, it is not missed. Personally I like the euro headlights (mine came with the US lights) and will gladly swap with you

.

I say go for it.

Will

Palangi · #12 11-04-2004, 10:01 PM

Run the VIN number by your insurance company to see if they are dazed and confused by it.

settle10 · #13 11-04-2004, 10:18 PM

This one is only a 4 speed but seems to run pretty well. I hadn't thought about running the VIN by the insurance company. The A/C seems to be original and has already been converted to R134A, should this be a concern. I'm going to make the guy and an offer and see where it goes.