What should I buy? 91 D or 87 SDL? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

muleears · #1 09-06-2006, 06:07 PM

I have been lucky enough to sell my house and now between that and the sale of my 87 300D turbo I should have about $5-6,000 to spend on my new Benz.

I figure from looking at autotrader and ebay that I should be able to find a nice, reasonable mileage (@175K mi.) 87 SDL or an early nineties 300D. I currently have a 87 300D turbo which runs beautifully but needs paint. I like the SD(L) for the ride as I commute about 90 miles/day and take the car on trips for work. I also burn WVO in the car.

So which one would I be better off with, the late 80's SD(L) or the early 90's 300D? Please also point me in the direction of these cars for sale (I am not opposed to having them shipped if they are very nice, and worth the price.)

Hatterasguy · #2 09-06-2006, 08:45 PM

They are totaly different cars, drive a couple than decide. Those 300D's have the 602, which is a 603 with one cylinder chopped off.

muleears · #3 09-06-2006, 08:52 PM

Will the lower mileage 602 have the same power as my current 603.96? What about the SDL, is the longer car a lot slower?

pawoSD · #4 09-06-2006, 09:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by muleears

Will the lower mileage 602 have the same power as my current 603.96? What about the SDL, is the longer car a lot slower?

SDL's are very powerful and fast in my opinion, I took on that opinion after riding in one.

Your '87 300D turbo is like a SDL minus 600lbs, it was the fastest production diesel car until the later 1995 E300 606diesel models came out. The 602 would have less power.

Hatterasguy · #5 09-06-2006, 09:15 PM

No they really are a 603 down a cylinder, so power is down a bit. They are not as smooth either because they are a 5 cylinder. MPG is much better though.

Not sure about 0-60 times, but a properly tuned SDL should be in the 10 second range.

If you want fast the 1987 300D's are about as quick as they get until the E300D's of 1998-99 vintage. Those with Supertuning's chip are down right fun to drive.

It all depends on what you want, you know what a W124 is like. The LWB W126 is better on the highway, but they hate around town work. Espeicaly the 300SDL's they do not like running around town one bit.

captainmonk · #6 09-06-2006, 09:21 PM

to my 6' 5" 340 lb frame nothing beats the size and feel of the SDL my kids will each get one to drive so they stand a chance of surviving But if you want pep nothing beats Mom's 190 turbo

Rudolphrocks · #7 09-07-2006, 10:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by muleears

I have been lucky enough to sell my house and now between that and the sale of my 87 300D turbo I should have about $5-6,000 to spend on my new Benz.

I figure from looking at autotrader and ebay that I should be able to find a nice, reasonable mileage (@175K mi.) 87 SDL or an early nineties 300D. I currently have a 87 300D turbo which runs beautifully but needs paint. I like the SD(L) for the ride as I commute about 90 miles/day and take the car on trips for work. I also burn WVO in the car.

So which one would I be better off with, the late 80's SD(L) or the early 90's 300D? Please also point me in the direction of these cars for sale (I am not opposed to having them shipped if they are very nice, and worth the price.)

BOTH!!!!

muleears · #8 09-07-2006, 12:45 PM

I have been looking, which I shouldn't do because it will cost me $$$

. I have found some 96-98 300D's with 175-250K miles for $10K or less. If I were to spend that much would I be better off with the lower mileage (NA 3.0 litre, 4spd auto) or the high mileage 98 with turbo and 5spd auto? Are the newer ones as bulletproof as my current car? What about WVO, can I still run a blend? Are they common rail or still IDI? My final decision will also include condition and maint/repair history.