A family member needs a car. I saw a 1975 Mercedes Benz 240D advertised for $1800.

I know the car is 30 years old but there seems a lot of happy customers. What is this likely gonna need to keep it going down the road?

Here's the details


1975 Benz 240d:

clean for its age, very very little rust/dings
great interior
good gas mileage
currently lowered, but i have brand NEW springs/shocks i may include depending on price
it smokes a bit, but i was told by a shop its just the fuel pump diaphragm
starts everytime
been a very reliable daily driver for me

$1800, price negotiable/best offer

Comments????

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...Tracy

'00 ML320 "Casper"
'92 400E "Stella"

Seems reasonable for a good car. That's about as cheap as they ever get unless they are heaps.

Being a diesel fan, maybe it would be ok. But for the average person I wouldn't consider it for a second. I would go out and buy the best Toyota or Nissan I could find for the money and have a much newer car and one easier and cheaper to keep on the road and pleasanter to drive.

Did you ask if this family person wants to drive a diesel? I would think that would be the first thing to do

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01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
99 E300 Turbodiesel
91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow
04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler
11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow

I see a red flag. I don't think there is a diaphragm in the fuel pump that could cause that car to smoke. There's a diaphragm in the vacuum pump, which if it fails, could cause the car to smoke. There's a diaphragm on the shut off valve on the injection pump, which if it fails, could cause oil to get sucked into the vacuum system (I think--but I'm not sure on the 115 240d), but to my knowledge there's not diaphragm in the fuel pump that has anything to do with smoking.
I'd want to do a fair amount of investigating of why it's smoking before choosing that car.
Part of the problem might be, that according to the ad, he's putting gas in it.

Who lowers a 240d???

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

Aklim is right! Diesels are an acquired taste. I took my wife to test drive a 99 e300 and she hated it. Mostly because of her own fears and unfamiliarity with european and diesel autos. The newer diesels are great but still require a learning curve. The older diesels from this era are even more of an acquired taste. My wife rode a quarter mile in my old 85 300SD the other day with me and that was enough for a while for her. C'est la vie!

Check out the HVAC system well. I understand that there is a separate fan for the defrost? And that you don't want to have to replace it.

if it has 250 or 300k on it I might keep looking. Stick or auto? any maint records will help you big time in the future.

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Cheers,
Robert

Thanks very much for the feedback! The intended driver is in need of basic transportation. I actually want to discourage use other than getting to and from work. The person is 25 years old, has a life time of being, shall I say, not terribly productive, and uses every excuse under the sun to never get his lazy arse out the door to even look for work. Plus since he won’t be paying for anything, it needs to economical in the extreme.

It appears that this particular example has some oddities going on, but is this vintage and model pretty good for easy to fix, low maintenance and good fuel economy?

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...Tracy

'00 ML320 "Casper"
'92 400E "Stella"

Yes it is.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

How is buying him a car going to make him responsible? Do you really think he's actually going to use it to go to work?
When I told my Dad I wanted to drop out of school he told me I had 3 choices,"Go to school, go to work or get out!" And he meant it.
I went back to school and eventually got a job after school. I was never bought a vehicle. I walked most of the time, used public transportation or rode my bike.
25 years old? If he was my son and not handicapped or mentally retarded I would throw his ass out!

Just my opinion, I don't want to tell you how to raise your children.

Danny

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1984 300SD Turbo Diesel 150,000 miles

OBK member #23

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I can attest to the vacuum pump diaphragm failure since I have the same car. Mine had a finger diameter hole in it and it caused engine oil to be sucked through the vacuum line and caused gigantic clouds of smoke from the exhaust. It did keep tailgaters at bay A pump resealing fixed it right up.

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1974 240D 3.0L 4(M) - 250K -OM617.910 + 300D FW + Rajay turbo power!
1977 6.9 3(A) - 84k

Price sounds good to me as long as it has good compression, and if the person is lazy, an automatic tranny would fit the drivers personality perfectly

Whoa, sounds like your needs go well beyond an automobile...

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Bill Reimels
Now down to one:
1972 300SE 3.5 W109 (Euro delivery)

[QUOTE=dannym]How is buying him a car going to make him responsible?/QUOTE]


Thanks for the query. By itself, it wont. It is a mere tool. Also he’s not my son and while I agree with you, his mom would rather destroy herself rather than see her son even risk failure. He’s the product of long and unique story but that aside, he has emotional issues, and is probably at least mildly LD in addition to being lazy. As a consequence, he’s been effectively warehoused most of his life and has learned that if he does nothing, someone will take care of him. IMO it is better pursuit to try to get him to move foreword rather than see his mom’s continued deterioration. I don't have high hopes but it is outside of my being to let this go on as it has.

BTW, anyone know of a source for remedial education? Once I get him off of his lazy arse the next task is to get him to pursue a GED. But before I even try that I need to check his reading, writing and math skill level....

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...Tracy

'00 ML320 "Casper"
'92 400E "Stella"

This is a 115 chassis, not a 123 chassis.

Injection pump has a pnumatic governor on this model. That is probably the diaphram being referenced. I am told it is not a big job to replace, however there aren't many mechanics around who know this type of pump.

Glow plug system is a manual system with series plugs. Simple if you understand it, but people tend to troubleshoot it as if it had parallel plugs, and thus can't figure out how to fix the simplest of problems.

This is an old fashioned mechanical car. Engine stop-start is by gorilla knob, not by key. Good solid car, but, again, not many mechanics who know their way around one any more.

If the heater blower motor is bad, the cost of repairing will just about exceed the value of the car.

Bottom line, this is a car for a hard core diesel enthusiast. Probably not a good choice for the individual being described.

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Palangi

2004 C240 Wagon 203.261 Baby Benz
2008 ML320 CDI Highway Cruiser
2006 Toyota Prius, Saving the Planet @ 48 mpg
2000 F-150, Destroying the Planet @ 20 mpg



TRUMP .......... WHITEHOUSE
HILLARY .........JAILHOUSE
BERNIE .......... NUTHOUSE
0BAMA .......... OUTHOUSE