Q's Re:Potential 300SDL Purchase

[1badav]

Greetings future fellow "MB"ers!

I have joined this forum because I hope to be joining the ranks of Mercedes-Benz owners soon. My intent as a member of this forum is to be both a contributor and consumer of information. Unfortunately, until I have obtained my first Benz and gather some experience as an owner, obviously I will fall into the latter of the two categories more often. I ask for your patience during this transition time. I look forward to some positive exchanges of information as well as some laughs and scratches along the way.

That having been said, I was wondering if a few folks might be willing to take a look at the responses I received to some questions I posed in a couple of communications that I have had with a potential seller of a 300 SDL, and give me their thoughts.

The gentleman I've been dealing with has been forthright in his responses to my questions, I just don't know whether I have the experience/background to know if I should be reading between the lines on some potential existing or future issues.

I recognize I'm not buying a new car and for around $3500 I ‘m not expecting one, I just need to have a better feel for what I'm getting myself involved in as far as future repairs. Any opinions/analysis would be greatly appreciated. The text of some of the questions and answers follows.

Thanks in advance,

1badav
Future MB 300 SDL owner


>Are there ANY fluid leaks?
There are no fluid leaks. From time to time you will find a drop or two, and that's all, a drop or two of oil on the driveway under the engine. I can show you where I park the car and you can see what I mean. I was using a brand name oil when I first got the car but quickly witched to Wal-Mart's Tech 15 -40 for diesel and the drops all but stopped. I don't know why, but it seemed to seal things up. I change the oil every 3,000 to 5,000 miles and used Wal-Mart's brand for the last 80,000 miles or so without a problem.
I would suggest continuing to us it.
Also, because the radiator top is made from a different material than the radiator itself, during periods of significant temperature changes, the two material contract and expand at different rates that causes some leakage around the top of the radiator seam, where the radiator is crimped to the radiator top.
>
>The amount of rust on the undercarriage
Last fall, that's 13-14 months ago I had the muffler replaced. Naturally, I looked around under the car. I did not see any sign of rust. I change oil myself so I get a good look at the front-end every month or so and I do not see any sign of rust.
There are three spots where the paint is blistering, but they have been there since I bought the car. Just last month I had one area of rust on the right front roof pillar repaired.
When you look under the carpet in the trunk, you will not see any rust or when you look under the front floor mats. Two years ago the AC drain plugged up and before I knew it, the carpets on the passenger side were soaked. When I pulled up the rear carpet to dry it out, there was no rust in or around the foot well that was visible.
>
>Whether you have replaced the glow plugs since you've owned the vehicle
Shortly after I bought the car, a glow plug went bad, so I had then all replaced. That was about 90,000 miles ago.

>Window operation
>All power windows work fine. Rear windows even go all the way down,
>flush with the bottom of the window opening. There is a section in the
>rear window, maybe and inch, inch and a half, where the rear window
>defroster does not work. Outside rear view mirrors defrost just fine.

>Is there anything you were planning on doing as far as repairs or
>maintenance in the near future, or anything that needed to be
>immediately addressed with this vehicle?
There are no repairs that I am planning on doing or think the car needs. I have had to clean the ground wire to the alternator twice this summer. If it doesn't make good contact, the tach and anti-lock brakes shut down and the idle speed goes to default. The car continues to run fine, the brakes continue to work just as you would expect except for the anti-lock feature, only the car idles a little slower. Everything often comes back on line while driving the car.

[Ra_]

I recently got an SDL and am in love.

The engines prior to this model were the indestructable all cast iron models.
The SDL has an aluminum head, which can warp or crack if overheated.
You will want to ask questions about that.
I'm not sure what the indications might be? Perhaps oil in the cooling system,
or vice versa?

Another thing to ask about is the A/C, as I believe it can be expensive to replace.

How is the leather? Is the dash cracked? Got any photos? How many miles?

I paid $5000 for mine.
If you can find one that is clean, with low miles (under 150K),
it might be cheaper in the long run, to pay 7 or 8 thousand,
than to get something that might have been neglected mechanically,
requiring you to spend 3 or 4 thousand in repairs and still leaving you with a car that's a bit ratty.

Good luck.

[Dervman]

The SDL is a great car but like any 18+ year old vehicle they do require ongoing maintenance.

The only items I would be prepared for from reading the sellers responses are that you are going to need to replace the Radiator fairly soon as I'm guessing there is a leak at the plastic header/aluminum core seam. Very common. A coolant sealer may plug it for a while but budget for a new rad. While replacing the Rad you probably also want to change the hoses and water pump, Thermostat, and the Sepantine drive belt and Tensioner (also a common maintenace item).

The other item mentioned by the seller is the alternator ground. This shouldn't be an ongoing problem so I would suspect that either the grounding strap between engine & chassis needs changing (no big deal) or the Brush/diode assembly in the alternator may need replacing, assuming the Alternator bearings are still good, otherwise a new alternator may be needed. It is fairly simple to work on the alternator at the same time as overhauling the cooling system as with the bottom hose and Thermostat housing out of the way access is a piece of cake, otherwise

Look for telltale signs of oil in the water or visa-versa that might indicate a bad head gasket or cracked head. Another check is if the car has been run the day before and left overnight, try to squeeze the Top Rad hose before starting the car. If it is soft and pliable OK if hard then you may have a head or head gasket leaking compression into the cooling system.

Do a search here for other common SDL maladies but as always its worth having the car checked out by a specialist before purchase if you can.

Good Luck

[1badav]

RA and DERVMAN:

Thank you both for the responses, I appreciate them.

RA: regarding the A/C the seller stated : “ The AC pump and condenser have both been replaced about three years ago, it has the new non-freon type coolant in the AC.”

As far as the leather seats go, on the passenger side there's a small rip that appears to be, from the pictures I've seen, about 2 inches long on the seat cushion. Otherwise, everything looks real clean. A friend of mine’s nephew does repair work of this type for car dealerships and I'm going to try and get in touch with him for quote. I would think it would be $100-$200 repair at most. If it were more than that I'd consider replacing the entire leather portion of the seat through a place I saw on the Internet called World Upholstery and Trim.

The dashboard does not have any cracks in it though I did neglect to ask whether it is a cover or whether it is the original dashboard.

As far as pictures go I have some but unfortunately I'm not familiar enough with this computer yet to know how to upload them to make them available for viewing here. As soon as I figure it out I'll try and post some. Might be a few hours.

The mileage on the vehicle is 203,000 miles.

The original ad read:
Starts easy, runs strong, A/C is cold, BRAND NEW tires, shocks, brakes, alternator. This car is clean for its age and mileage. 29-31 MPG highway. Mechanically: This car was serviced less than 3,000 miles ago. Installed were four new tires, rear shocks (front work perfectly) rear rotors and pads (front are in good shape). All gages and idiot lights work. Appearance: Inside; No cracks on the dash, steering wheel or trim, seats are firm and comfortable with a crack on the passenger seat. Outside; Sheet metal is smooth, no dents. Little rust on RR quarter and trunk.

DERVMAN: I, like you, suspected that replacement of the radiator was probably in my future with this vehicle. That's simply something you cannot continue to ignore whether it's a Mercedes Benz or a Chevrolet. Nothing but bad things happen if you do. Good point about changing the hoses and water pump, Thermostat, and the Sepantine drive belt and Tensioner he -- -- -- as long as you're already there.

As far as the alternator goes, as you can see from the listing, it was replaced recently so I'm not really sure why there would be a problem. What would cause a grounding strap to have to be replaced? I'm pleading ignorance here.

As far as the head being cracked or the head gasket leaking is this something that a mechanic can perform a test on to definitively determine before I make a purchase? And if so what what test should I asked mechanic to perform? What do you think the price range of both of these repairs would be, if you know. Or should I simply be considering another vehicle if it comes to this point?

Thanks for advice,

1badav