I'm looking at a 87 300d, 250k all around in good shape.
is there anything I should be on the lookout for..........
Thanks Norman

From a cold start, press the upper radiator hose every minute or so as the engine warms up. There shouldn't be much resistance until the thermostat opens (hose will suddenly get very hot). I'm not suggesting you wait until the thermostat opens; that could take ages. After 5 minutes the upper hose should be no stiffer than when cold.

There shouldn't be residual pressure in the cooling system. In severe cases of cylinder head cracks, the upper radiator hose will be difficult to press after the car has sat overnight.

As a point of reference, press the upper hose of whatever your driving now.

Pay due attention to this but don't ignore the rest of the car.

Sixto
93 300SD

I would sugggest checking the archives as well as trying to have someone who knows them really well have a look at it with you. This is one car a pre purchase inspection by a good independant mercedes mechanic is well worth the expenditure as well. These are just my opinions though. A lot is going to also depend if car was well taken care of or just driven. Another consideration is do you do your own mechanical work? Or at least some of it? It might be a pretty expensive proposition to depend exclusivly on paid mechanics. With this site and some ability the car is managable in my opinion. That is if the car checks out pretty good now. Certainly not a car to buy in marginal condition. I personally like them but would not buy one requiring a lot of work determined by a good mechanic. A roadside look and test drive is not enough for this model unless perhaps you have owned several of them before. Even then...Idealy you want one dealer maintained from day one to present with a good dealer or independent with everything done as required including all the records...even total milage accumulated. Hard to find. If you got a good one you would probably really like it. This model can become a real money pit if rules are bent. Others will be more easy going. I would quote the above to a son of mine if I had one or any of my son in laws for example.

Read this article for a checklist.

http://www.w124performance.com/docs/mb/articles/124.1x3_buying_tips.txt

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Dave
Boise, ID
Check out my website photos, documents, and movies!

Thanks to all for the great imformation.

Thanks to all for the great imformation.
Norman

Good thread.

I bought a 87 300D turbo with 240k miles last October knowing about nothing concerning the car.

Luckily this car has been very reliable so far. Its currenly undergoing a frybrid veg oil conversion in my garage so Ive had the opportunity to get to know it quite well.

1. If you work on it, buy a telescoping MAGNET. There are more black soot coated nooks and crannies in this engine than you can believe. And it seems like every screw is out of reach, so you'll surely drop it into the abyss! I dropped the screw, the socket, the socket extender, and the socket wrench all into the same dark hole behind the IP. Just dont drop the telescoping magnet!

2. The ENGINE of the car is actually pretty easy to work on (aside from anything requireing the intake mani to come off). Even that is not too bad. Its tight in there, but basic mtc like brakes, serp belt repl, coolant flush, coolant hoses, water pump repl are straight fwd. Its also built to be worked on, mercedes really thought about this and you will appreciate that.

3. The interior is NOT easy to work on. For every minute Mercedes spent making the engine easier to work on, they neglected the interior. Pwr seats, pwr mirrors, pwr sunroof, pwr locks, pwr telescoping steering column, cruise control, climate control...ect... are ALL expensive and very difficult to work on. In fact, I would say the real downside of this car is all the interior crap.

So..would I buy one again ? Hell yes. It looks much better than the 123 or 126, is much quicker, more nimble, and generally more updated. If you throw on the late model headlights (cant remember which model though) it could pass for a late 90's benz. All for $2.2 grand (and some grease under your nails).

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Paul
Benz-less
I need an SDL !