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.