Me and my dad went out today and test drove a 1977 (or 78, Registration, says 78, owner says 77, eitehr way, doesnt matter). It was light blue with blue MB tex. Manual everything. Around 184,000 miles (not sure if actual). The condition was pretty good, needs a little work of course. New tires, vacuum pump, clarion CD player etc. so yeah, we managed to get him down to 1300$, put down a deposit on it so we could get the rest and that was it. So i was just wondering if this was a good deal? and if there is anything to be aware of with these cars (i know there tractors and will go pretty much forever).
thanx
-Zach

Fair price all depends on condition.

Mine was $480, but was rough, has been hit, driver seat worn out, clutch slave cylinder was leaking, etc. Nice ones have gone for ten times what I paid. It's hard to say without actually seeing the car, but I think you did ok.

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Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 401,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 26,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.
99 Mazda Miata 183,xxx miles.

seems like a fair price

i paid 800$ for mine, its a 240D EURO model. it was in ok condition, 1000$ worth of work and it runs like a top all depends on how much u feel its worth, i would have paid 5 times that much, but then agian i did get it from my b est friends dad

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1983 Euro 240D 277K
2016 Mazda 6
Coming Soon, 2013 Mercedes E350 Bluetec
Formers:
2012- Mazda 3
2007 Outlander- complete pile
1995 E300 Diesel 208K
2007 VW Passat 2.0T 63K SOLD
2003 Jaguar X-type 3.0 Sport Sold 04/11 w/88K
2009 Lexus RX350 9061 miles. Sold 04/09
2008 Mitsubishi Lancer GTS:Totaled Sept.,09 @ 24,000
2003 Infiniti I35 58K Sold
1984 300 turbo diesel 222K

congratulations, you just bought one of the best cars ever built. sweet handling, riding, safe and easy to work on.

hope you got a good example. it doesn't have to be very good to be worth what you paid.

tom w

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

If you sell it, ever, you will feel like it was a waste of money. If you keep it forever, you will feel like it was very inexpensive. Or, at least, that is my experience.

Yeah, I certainly know I will be the only senior at my school with a 240D next year (3 other students have MB's). and i have the bragging rights as possible the slowest at school. but I love that car so much, I love all the manual controls, and just the overall simplicity yet still ingeniousness at the same time, and its not even officially mine yet. First plans are going to be chrome fender trim (cover rust spot on RF fender lip) and to put in a four channel amp and rear speakers. Down the road i will probably replace the front MB tex seat covers and put new chrome strips in the grille, no gaudy mods, mainly restoration. I was just wondering if there were any common upgrades that could easily be done to just improve on what is (to me) already the perfect car. But cash flows kinda low when your 17.

I would skip the chrome trim and spend the money fixing the rust.

It just seems like surface rust to be, but i kinda like the trim on the older body styles. my dad had a 300D Turbo for almost 13 years (1991-2003) and it had them. i thought it looked classy. any opinions?

i am with craig.

but screwing on the trim is a lot easier. if you do, i would suggest cleaning and rust proofing the surface rust before applying the chrome, then dipping the screws in rustoleum paint before applying them.

tom w

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

If you search this forum you will find that most folks here assume that they are covering rust when they see them. Personally, I think these cars look better without them, but you should do what you like.

the problem is. is there a way to wire brush the rust off (pretty sure its just surface) and prime/paint it without going to a paint shop or ahving it look like total dog$hit? because i do really like the lines of the wheel arches the way they are and id like to keep the look as original as possible on the outside.

Im also gonna have to fill a couple of small gouges in the pass. side doors and do some touch up work. I just dont have the $ for a spray gun or something like that. is there anywhere that would sell a quality paint that would match and be available in a rattle can? i know how to prep the surface well but i dont want to cover a well prepped surface with cheap paint. sorry for all the questions im kind of a newbie.

For very small scratches, you can get a little container of touch up paint from the dealer, matched to your paint code. These are only useful for very small touch ups.

I heard of a place called like tower paints that sold factory matched paint? but yeah, my dealer is about 70 miles from here.

I believe blue is one of the easiest colors to match. Just take off say the gas tank filler lid for a sample and take it to a place with a color spectrum matcher. Like your local hardware/paint store. That blue is going to be faded with age anyways. When I questioned a friend at a local paint store I think I remember him saying that blue was one of the best colors for accurate matching. Just buying that color code premixed from some source would probably stick out like a sore thumb. The spectrum device even copies the faded with age component of the color.