Going early tomorrow morning to look at possibly getting my first MB diesel. '87 300D, 132K miles, carfax checks out, burgundy w/ tan interior, asking $7900, interior/exterior pics look very good.

What would be some show stoppers that I could easily spot, that if I see I should just turn around and walk away from the deal?

I've got the diesel bug now. spent 20 years in the Navy on subs, running the big Fairbanks Morse gensets on occasion. Last year picked up an '05 Jeep Liberty CRD, and after a year of driving diesel have pretty much decided I'm not going back to gas if I have a choice.

Was looking at a used VW TDI to replace the old beater '87 Subaru wagon for commuting, but they're priced now as if they were made of gold and disappear within a couple of days of the ad going up on autotrader. So I've decided to go the MB route. If you're going to commute to work, might as well do it in style!

I think buying any car you have to navigate around the seller. Service history means alot. And beauty of buying a vintage MB instead of something newer is often the fact that you are buying from somebody who spares no expense to have the best. As a rule 3rd, 4th and 5th owner cars will give you the most trouble. And caution should be advized regarding if/when the car was ever taken off the road - for how long and why.

Otherwise major maintenance on these vehicles occurs generally at/near 250k miles..... timing chains, suspension work, etc. So must get a handle on what sort of maintenance/repair work has already been done.

As a nuke mechanic you shouldn't have any problems doing maintenance on an old benz. I've learned more on this webpage and the troubleshooting guides that my 83 is prob in better shape than when new. I also bought a Haynes manual, and have links on my laptop to alot of the website links. Good luck with it. Chuck

What boats were you on when? And, where you at now?

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2000 C230 Kompressor "Frosty"

2007 PT Cruiser
2001 VW TDI Beetle
1999 Landrover Discovery II
1971 Corvette

Gone: 97 Cabrio, 83 240D, 93 VW Eurovan, 95 Volvo 850, 93 Chevy Astro Van, 77 VW Bus, 99 VW Jetta, 74 VW Bus

Perhaps should be more clear - this is a '87 300TD. Had a gent on another list call the W124 series (which I assume this is) a "problem child", and said it would be worth the price if it was an S series ($7900).

Carfax shows only one owner prior to this dealer getting it, and that he did indeed have it serviced by MB this past month as he claims.

In the local paper edition of autotrader, there's an '84 and '85 300TD listed. No info on the '85 to speak of other than what's been replaced (no mileage listed), asking $5750. '84 lists 165K miles, all service records, everything works, asking $4800.

Would a '84 300TD/W123 series be preferable to an '87 300TD/W124 series, or am I just worrying about nothing?

SSBN 645, AS 31, SSBN 727, USS Sunfish, SSBN 728, in Mooresville NC now, retired back in '97.

The W123 with a OM617 is much simpler, if a bit crude by modern standards, while the W124/OM603 is more polished, but perhaps too complicated for many. . .

Depends on your goal. . . I drive a 91 300D 2.5 Turbodiesel (W124) and love it. Search the forum for body style and engine info for 1,000,000 opinions, most of which are more qualified than mine

The very first pitfall to avoid is paying too much.



Ken300D

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1982 300D at 351K miles
1984 300SD at 217K miles
1987 300D at 370K miles

Sounds like the best advice, try driving both types. I'm actually going to try 3 different ones.

The '87 300D with 132K miles for $7900.

An '82 300D, 200K plus miles, blue w/ navy interior, $3900.

An '85 300D, 115K miles, maroon w/ tan interior, $5700 (this one may already be sold as of tonight).

The '85 is one I mentioned earlier, a very sparse ad with a poor photo and no mileage listed, about 20 miles away, that's been in the trader for over a month. Just for the heck of it, I called to check. Guy that owns it is a tech at a diesel engine service center, and this is his hobby car. When he told me 115K miles, I said "Did you say ONE fifteen, not TWO fifteen?". When he confirmed 115K, I told him "Man, if you'd listed the mileage in your ad, you'd have sold that beast within hours!". He had a meeting scheduled with someone else interested in the car for tonight, if this gent doesn't bite I'm going to meet with him this weekend to check it out.

I've been told by others over on a Jeep CRD list, with experience with MB diesels, that the '85 would be the one to jump on, from the standpoint of reliability and maintenance, that the engines in '85 and earlier were rock solid, and to shy away from '87 and newer as they tended to be plagued with problems.

I see from the signatures that many of you have experience with several different models of MB diesel. Is the above argument, '85 and older versus '87 and newer, a legitimate concern, or more a matter of personal opinion and preference, as far as reliability and maintenance? To make things a little clearer, I'm looking for a vehicle that, with proper care and normal maintenance for an MB diesel, will be a reliable daily driver, not a "project" or "hobby" car that is going to require considerable time and cash to refurbish and/or heroic efforts to keep running. That's the context in which I'm asking the above question.

MPG does enter the equation to some extent. If the '85 is everything it's advertised, it would look to be the odds-on favorite. But looking at the EPA ratings, the '85 does take a hit (22/25) compared to '84 and earlier (27/33) and the '87 (25/30). At 200 miles per week on the daily commute, 80% highway, 5 to 8 mpg would make a big difference. Any real world info on fuel mileage for the 3 different versions would be appreciated.

The Achille's heel of the Jeep CRD has been the EGR valve (some requiring multiple replacements within the past 1 1/2 years) and the closed CCV system (NO OIL SEPARATOR, just a hose from the valve cover to the air intake!) coating the intake system with oil, no doubt contributing somewhat to the EGR failures. How would the 3 different MB's listed above stack up in this category?

go with the '82 300D in my opinion then again i'm bias because i have one(my daily driver) except she is silver with blue interior my first car and i couldn't have picked a better one at that. its simple at that age in most states(check to make sure i'm not wrong) but a lot of people just eliminate the egr and put a blocking plate in its place. its on my agenda for when i have time. but the 82 is nice and solid and pretty easy to work on. as i pretty much just have regular maintenence on mine until i become the complete perfectionist and get her painted.
jsut make sure you check the jack points and underneath the car for rust! very important oh and as for mpg i average about 26-28 mpg regularly. typically driving 35 to 55. not too much highway nor strictly city driving. i drive about 200-250 miles a week and fill up on average of every 2 weeks.
-Steven

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1982 300D Turbo 203K silver
Need to fix these leaks badly