Hi guys,
I traded this SDL for my Honda. I have too many cars/projects, so I need to sell it. my mechanic-friend says "just get rid of it, don't fix nothing" but I think I could bump up the price quite a bit fixing some little things.
The story:
It sat for a while, was bought by someone of this old dude. he put lots of money in it. the engine is very good and clean, starts right up after one glowcycle when it freezes! very powerful ride. all filters are clean. trans shifts fine and oil is clean. the leather is all whole and nice. the car has no rust at all. 189000 miles.
the bad: one passenger door is somewhat dented, the electric seats don't work. somebody messed with the cables.paint is original and good, yet all the plastic under the doors and on the bumper needs a respray cause it's peeling. dash cracked. the rear springs are weak, or altered with. the air is cold, but the blowermotor blows the fuse after using it for a while. some windows don't work. radio is original and works. sunroof clicks and tries, but doesn't work. the car has never been hit. 4 new michelins on it too.
I can fix all that, but will it be worth the trouble? what do these cars fetch when in 'top' shape?
In other words, will my work be worth the extra money?

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Is it a 300SDL or 350SDL?

Are you going to fix those things yourself or are you going to farm out the repairs?

If you have too many cars/projects, where will you find time to get this car back in shape?

MB switches come apart. Clean all the window and seat switches and see if that gets the electricals working. Even quicker is to spray contact cleaner into the switches and move them back and forth for a few seconds each. Lather, rinse, repeat. See if that gets the electricals working.

See if you can get the dented door to look less dented with one of those suction cup pullers. Heck, use a toilet plunger How can it have a dent if it's never been hit?

Is the blower motor fuse in the main fuse box or in its own little fuse case? If it's in the main fuse box, there's a TSB on fitting a separate 30 amp strip fuse for the blower motor. Could be that the blower motor bearings are just plain tired and not long for the world. A replacement motor is about $70.

Sunroof can be something easy or something time consuming. Good time of year to sell a car with a bum sunroof

I'd say it should sell fairly quickly for $5000 with a few simple fixes. Maybe $7500 if the only problems are the dent and sunroof and you have a full set of service records. Otherwise it looks like the kind of car that gets bid up to $12000 on eBay then gets posted again in a couple of weeks.

Sixto
93 300SD

Sell some of the other project cars, keep the MB, ride in style

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'85 300 D Diamond in the rust

If you listen to someone that speaks in that manner, you may want to reconsider what he knows about vehicles.

These are not difficult to fix, just takes some patience.

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I'm not a doctor, but I'll have a look.

'85 300SD 245k
'87 300SDL 251k
'90 300SEL 326k

Six others from BMW, GM, and Ford.

Liberty will not descend to a people; a people must raise themselves to liberty.[/IMG]

well... it's a 300 sdl.
I will do all the repairs myself. indeed, they are easy cars...
it hasn't been hit, I guess it was driven by the man's wife at some point. it's a big car you know
as for the seats, it's not the switches. it is more like a deeper problem including computers and relays or so. the kind of problem you need a multimeter and patience for. which I don't have.
$5000 would be great actually. would ebay be the best place to sell it? I have some history but not much. it runs so good though, that engine is really good. practicaly no blowby..
I'm not keeping it because I have a pristine sd and a '87 wagon- project. also I want a BMW, old model 6 series coupe (sorry)
thanks for the input!

If the seats move with the front doors open then it might be a bad diode in the fuse box.

Sixto
93 300SD

Ebay.

If it runs well, fix it. SDL isn't a common car and doesn't go down the road the same. My running 745i turbo is about the only thing "on par" with it going down an open road.

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I'm not a doctor, but I'll have a look.

'85 300SD 245k
'87 300SDL 251k
'90 300SEL 326k

Six others from BMW, GM, and Ford.

Liberty will not descend to a people; a people must raise themselves to liberty.[/IMG]

Where is the car located?

Those are all common old W126 problems, they all have those issues.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

music city

Cleveland?

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1989 300E 144K

doesnt sound like 5000 to me mine had no more issues then that and no dents for 2500

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commercial fisherman diesel in my blood in my boats trucks and Dear old Dad has had me drivin them since i got my first license in 1968
1986 300 SDL 427654
1999 Chevy Crew Cab Dually 225423
1986 300 SDL 287000 Dad's
1987 190 Turbo 158000 Mom's (my inheritance)

No, he must mean Des Moines.

hahaha Memphis of course, dudes! Elvis!
I don't know with prices for these old crappy diesels anymore. they all have so many issues and little 'fixes' that only freaks like us like them. and 'we' don't pay much. but there's another matketlevel: the not technically inclined naive hippie-chique WVO worldimprover kind. and they tend to pay at least 3 times the actual value of the car, when everything works that is. and we all know it takes forever to make everything work. but then again, I saw a black on black 123 with 227k miles go for $4000. lots of blowby. to me it looked like a $1500 car at the very most. Ebay is full of examples.
mine is good, that I know. the fact that there's no rust and the engine is soo good, and the leather is all whole really makes this car worth it. (maybe to keep) it's got a KKK turbo by the way.
for instance, about value, check www.car-parts.com and look for a 6 cylinder diesel engine. and then compare that to how many 5 cylinders you find...
Maybe I should just do it, these fixes and a new door, and cash in. I'll wait till midwinter so people can be amazed at the easy starting

Elvis Costello is from Memphis?

he knows how much work it is to get them remotely sellable. it was a comment from a professional and economical point of view