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  #1  
Old 06-07-2001, 04:39 PM
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First and Foremost, I want to thank EVERYONE that has posted in response to my numerous inquiries during the last few weeks. A debt of gratitude to you all!

I am absolutely thrilled to report that I have finally found what I was not even expecting to ever find. In the last three weeks, I have been looking for a fairly clean & decent running mid-80s 300D or SD in the relatively lower end of the price spectrum. As I recover from recent back surgery, I need a four door car that’s easier to get in & out of than my beloved 107.

Frustration does not even begin to describe the garbage that I ran across, both vehicular and human. After hearing numerous times over the phone how people were the “first owner”, how they took “meticulous care” of the car, the paint is “all original”, the car is “perfect”, etc., etc. – and then finding rolling garbage heaps that had been abused, neglected, revived from wrecks, paint that looked like a graffiti attack with cheap spray paint; dribbling smoking hulks with half the accessories not functioning & bondo applied with a trowel…Well, you get the idea – I was starting to lose faith in humanity when people lie to your face and expect you to be so stupid as to believe them. But I digress…. back to the car:

I called on an 84 SD, was told it was a one owner car that this guy (seller) had picked up in some sort of trade, perfect original paint, everything works properly, immaculate condition, blah, blah, blah, blah. Yeah, uh-huh, right, sure. (Geez, am I becoming a little skeptical by now?)

We walk over to where the car is parked and at a distance, I see that it’s actually a D, not an SD. I immediately start to think the worst things possible about this guy – I mean, come on now, at least tell me what model it is before you drag me out here to lie like a dog. We walk up to the car: a 1984 300D with 197,000 miles. WHOA – TIME WARP! This car looks as though it was stored in a hermetically sealed vault, and was just now seeing the light of day after 17 years. I mean this car is unbelievable. The license rim says something about ‘worlds greatest grandma’, and this really IS grandma’s immaculately spotless car. Original paint. Barely any very light door dings and some minor stone chips in the paint at the leading edge of the hood. Grandma must have never gone more than 55 MPH and parked in the furthest reaches of parking lots, away from the door bashing hordes. And yes, it really has NEVER been resprayed anywhere at all. This car must have been in a garage at all times except when she was driving it. Unbelievable. (Did I already say that?). The front seats are absolutely perfect underneath the immaculate sheepskin covers. The wood, dashboard, floor mats, and rubber seals are all perfect. There is not one single thing that does not work in this car, and I mean NOTHING, all the way down to the light bulbs in the sunvisor. I think that any time this car so much as hiccupped, let alone something broke, she must have immediately brought it in to be fixed. The car drives beautifully, except for the really nasty-hard trans shifts (to be dealt with this weekend), the A/C probably needs a couple ounces of R-12, and, well, that’s it. Gee, do you think I should buy this car? DUH. $3500 dollars later, and now grandmas car is my indoctrination into the land of oil burners. It’s already growing on me in its own sort of peculiar way.

I am not writing this to brag about the car. I am just so incredibly ecstatic to have found a car in this condition! I could not have possibly done it without everyone’s help – I knew what to watch out for, and how determine a simple fix versus a major problem with the knowledge gained here at ‘MercedesShop.com’. I hope that this will be some inspiration to those people looking for a good car. They really are out there if you look hard enough. Kind of like… “Yes Virginia, there IS a Santa Claus”, only this is “Yes, there really ARE cars owned by little old ladies that maintain them in meticulous condition”.

Thanks again everyone!


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Old 06-10-2001, 01:28 AM
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I too was fortunate enough to acquire an ex-granny-mobile. (Read my sig.) She really took great care of it. If you are patient and search long and hard enough, you will find one out there.
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  #3  
Old 06-11-2001, 07:55 AM
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Grandpa not Grandma for me

My recent addition ('85 300 TD Wagon) was grandpa's car. Watched him baby it for the last 10 years. Bugged him once a year to sell it to me. I said I'd never buy a northern car but hey, you ought to see it. Now....if I can fix the "slow" problem I'll be all set. Congratulations on finding your car!
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DAILY DRIVERS:
'84 300DT 298k (Aubrey's)
'99.5 Jetta TDI IV 251k (Julie's)
'97 Jetta TDI 127k (Amber's)
'97 Jetta TDI 186k (Matt's)
'96 Passat TDI 237k (Don's
'84 300D 211k Mint (Arne- Undergoing Greasecar Conversion)

SOLD:
'82 240D 229k (Matt's - Converted-300DT w/ 4 speed
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Old 06-11-2001, 10:17 PM
The Bob
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It is a little different type of car but i have a beloved grandma 1988 toyota pickup truck that i bought in florida. I lived there for 5 years and would only by my cars from senior citizens. $2200 and it got me through four years of college in chicago with zero dollars in repairs since i owned it... it has only 117000. i put about 45K on it. I enjoy the luxury of having two cars, one being a small indestructable truck and now my 1984 4000 Lb german diesel oceanliner. I have owned seven or so diesels from toyota, nissan, volks, and now i have the pinacle of diesel transport. The MB 300d turbo. One point to consider always is to talk nice to people who have cars that you covent. I know the owner of the 300d and told her five years ago that when she was going to sell the car to give me first shot at it. She did and now i have the heaviest and safest $3500 car I can think of.

It a tank and i love driving it nice and slow

bob
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Old 06-12-2001, 02:49 AM
Steve019
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I bought my 76 300d for $100. It needed some work. Belonged to a friend of mine's dad. He passed on and the younger brother drove it for a few years (this explains the baggies with the myterious seeds I found under the back seat). Until he ran it out of diesel and did not have the patience to figuire it out. He was more concerned with his 73 Dodge Charger. It is not a perfect car but extremely salvageble, most of the car was intact less hood star etc.I got it running and drove it for a few months. I expect to put a few bucks and some sweat into it. Needs a face-lift, boob-job, lower back surgery and an occasional dose of Viagra. My love life has improved as well,I just tell the ladies I now own a Mercedes! I don't tell them it is in pieces in my garage until I restore it. (sep 01). Any suggestions on how to handle the onslaught of female attention? Maybe I'll just drive it and wait for the girl who tells me it's old and smells like diesel but she likes it anyway.
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Old 06-12-2001, 06:52 AM
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Any suggestions on how to handle the onslaught of female attention? - get married, have children and you will not have this problem anymore
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  #7  
Old 06-12-2001, 07:06 PM
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I didn't get grandma's car, or grandpa's, I bought my '79 300D off of my Dad for 1$. Alright, he gave it to me for sure, the dollar was just for laughs. It's in very good conditionk, original paint, no rust, etc... He spent a lot of time keeping it up over the years. I actually helped many times on the repairs. Now it's mine and I really like it. If I can just figure out why the AC won't blow through the center vents......

Frank.
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Old 06-13-2001, 01:11 AM
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Frank, I'm not 100% sure but I think the center vents might be an intake (return vent.) It's been a few years since I've owned a W123 though.

Steve, be sure to get the "face-lift, boob-job, lower back surgery and an occasional dose of Viagra" before you get married and have children. Believe me, you will have precious little free time as well as no time for the attention of extraneous females.
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1973 Olds 88, 1972 MB 280SE, 1978 Datsun 280Z, 1971 Ford T-Bird, 1972 Olds 88, 1983 Nissan Sentra, 1985 Sentra, 1973 230.6, 1990 Acura Integra, 1991 Volvo 940GLE wagon, 1983 300SD, 1984 300SD, 1995 Subaru Legacy L wagon, 2002 Mountaineer, 1991 300TE wagon, 2008 Murano, 2007 R320CDI 4Matic 52K, some Hyundai, 2008 BMW 535xi wagon, all gone... currently
2007 Honda Odyssey Touring, 2014 E350 4matic
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Old 06-13-2001, 01:40 AM
Steve019
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Bob,

Been married, raised two kids as a single dad. Only one left at home. Now it's my turn. I is interesting to see how people react to you when you have a Mercedes. I used to think the same. Until I found this site and realized there are a lot of people interested in the older models. Here in Oklahoma there are a lot of 70's & 80' MBZ and BMW models rotting in driveways. You can usually get them for $100-$300. Not a bad gamble considering you can part them out and break even, worst case.

I just pulled the dash on my 76 300D. The middle vent config is controlled by sliding the lever above the vent. it is attached by a ball joint mechanism that screws off. The defrost vents are controlled by the upper left sliding lever. this is cable control on my model

By the way, if you have your instrument cluster removed and you start the car to open some windows and you feel a warm liquid running down your leg.... it's the oil pressure line.
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  #10  
Old 06-13-2001, 10:25 AM
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Quote:
Originally posted by Steve019
Bob,

I just pulled the dash on my 76 300D. The middle vent config is controlled by sliding the lever above the vent. it is attached by a ball joint mechanism that screws off. The defrost vents are controlled by the upper left sliding lever. this is cable control on my model
You're lucky you have the cables. Mine is controlled by a vacuum actuator which, if a response to my other post is correct, I need to test and likely replace.

Frank.
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  #11  
Old 06-13-2001, 11:55 AM
Jeepboy
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Runningtoohot,
Congrats! From one 123 owner to another. These are very special cars, take care of them and they truly take care of you! I bought grandpa's car 1 year ago. His son was selling for hi 81 yr old father. Very nice guy, both of them. When i saw the car from 500 ft away i knew i had to have it. % min later i made up my mind and paid him the $1500 with even a personal check which i post dated!!!
The A/C blew cold. The brakes worked well, the interior was a 9 out of 10, and the car even had a sunroof whick the guy forgot to mention over the phone!
The radio and cruise didnt work but i didn't care. Here i had a $31000 tank that drives like the day it was shipped here!
I looked at over 12 M-B diesels before i found this one. Some people can be very dishonest about what they are selling, and i could pick up on this fast. Im glad you finally found what you were looking for! And im glad you got a D and not an SD. SD has too much heft for that engine!
BTW, what color is it?
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Old 06-15-2001, 03:32 AM
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Thanks everyone! This is a really great ‘community’ here at Mbshop.

And….

As far as the female attention – sorry, but I don’t think that this car is going to exactly be a chick magnet. But at least it isn’t a cop magnet! It would take some serious work to get a speeding ticket in this car, unless you’re on the open road.

Diesel Don,
If you look in the diesel forum, you’ll see some other postings that I have made. I am currently going through the car, and bit by bit, the performance is really improving.

Jeepboy,
It’s sort of a very light cream/yellow color with the palomino tex interior. As far as the D vs. SD, if I’m not mistaken, the SD outweighs the D by only a couple hundred pounds, surprisingly enough.

Thanks Again!
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Old 06-16-2001, 09:48 AM
jmazich
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Passed thru Bedminster NJ on my way to work this morning and saw a mint 240D. Curiously there was a grandmotherly type looking woman driving it. The car was pristine. It was a color that I would call fire engine red. I didn't know they made them in that color. Well, it just goes to prove that these pampered cars are out there!
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Old 06-18-2001, 12:21 AM
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Well, my significant other's favorite car of mine is the '83 300D. Go figure.

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