Karma? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

airbus · #1 10-12-2007, 06:56 PM

A few weeks ago our '84 300D finally gave up, friends of ours helped us out and gave us a Ford Escort for free, which I registered today. Now guess what was parked in front of our house when I came back from the DMV:

A rust free 1982 300D WITH A "FOR SALE" SIGN IN IT!!!

He's asking $1800, a little high IMO, but still...

What should I do?

dbn1066 · #2 10-12-2007, 07:24 PM

Well, how bad is it? I snagged my 82 for $1500, a good deal as it had no rust and a clean interior, minor mechanical issues, well, many minor ones. Anyway, if its decent you have a parts car (if you still have your old one) with many good parts that could help offset the purchase price of the new one as well as provide parts for said new one!

airbus · #3 10-12-2007, 07:45 PM

Yes, I still have the old one sitting in my driveway, this makes it even harder to resist because even the interior color is the same. Everything that's broken on mine is working on this one, everything that's broken on this one (minor, cosmetic stuff only) works on mine.

I'm going nuts, here. I'm sure someone placed that car here on purpose, just to drive me nuts.

I think I'm going to drink a bottle of Evan Williams tonight and call this guy tomorrow. If I can get it for somewhat less than $1500 I'll probably buy it, sell the leftovers of the old one for $500 and give the Ford to scrap metal for $100. Or maybe the other way around???

dbn1066 · #4 10-12-2007, 07:56 PM

Grab it. Call and leave a message if necessary. You'll have a little piece of mind tonight, at least! Good luck.
Dan

crashone · #5 10-12-2007, 09:14 PM

Parts is parts and you didn't have to chase them down very far!!!

300SDog · #6 10-12-2007, 09:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by airbus

A few weeks ago our '84 300D finally gave up.....

Caint ye be more specific?? Typically ther's no reason any MB diesel engine oughta die before 400k miles if maintained and transmissions too. Hell, bulk of 123's gettin sold and resold is due to "new car syndrome" among owners gettin tired of lookin at em. Thats all, weird consumerist_in_americanna syndrome.

Yeah sure - buy the Ford Escort or another POS instead of stickin with MB lifetime vehicle.

JimmyL · #7 10-12-2007, 10:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DieselDog

Yeah sure - buy the Ford Escort or another POS instead of stickin with MB lifetime vehicle.

The Escort was given to him.....

Mark DiSilvestro · #8 10-13-2007, 01:19 AM

Well, if it was me, I'd buy that diesel, but keep the Escort as my winter-beater.

Happy Motoring, Mark

MBeige · #9 10-13-2007, 02:41 AM

Yep, get the '82, use your old car for parts, and garage and fix up your new diesel while you drive the Escort so you won't rack up the miles.

Lucky day for you!

KAdams4458 · #10 10-13-2007, 03:19 AM

You know, it never hurts to have more than one car, anyway. Especially when they're all old. Heck, the wife and I have three cars between us. She doesn't know it yet, but we'll have to add a truck, too. When we buy a house, it'll be a fixer, and I just don't see a Kia Sportage, a Saturn coupe, or the 300D hauling very much drywall and lumbar.

Hang on to the Escort. They're cheap little buggers, and reasonably reliable. Use it while fixing up the new Merc, then keep in as a back-up car.

dwoloz · #11 10-13-2007, 03:32 AM

$1800 is NOT high for a rust free 300 (granted its not sitting at 350k miles or something along those lines)

airbus · #12 10-13-2007, 08:57 AM

Well, I guess I'll go and have a closer look today, it was getting dark yesterday when I saw it. That would be car #5

and we have a room for two cars in our driveway and two in front of the house.
Here some details: The odometer reads 222k miles, however, it's working intermittently. The blue interior is in very good shape (seats are firm, only one crack in the dash), trunk is clean, exterior paint (silver) is faded but absolutely no rust at the typical spots (fenders, jack points, etc.) and it doesn't look welded or spackled. The engine starts right up and stays running, it's slow but the ALDA is still sealed and untouched

and the EGR is still connected

, no leaks visible from top, however, there were some oily spots underneath which I have to look at in daylight. The tranny shifts a little rough, but I'm sure that can be adjusted. The owner said he recently did the brakes all around, put a new starter in, new glow plug relais, and new turbo seals.

DieselDog: The '84 is dead: broken rings on cyl. #1 and broken valve on cyl. #5. It's fixable, I know, but it also has a cracked windshield, the powersteering is leaking, the alternator is broken, it's rusty, the interior is worn, etc., etc. At some point it's just not worth it anymore. To fix all that would cost me more in parts alone than the other car. Trust me, I'm a diesel addict, and I would never pay money for a Ford, but like KAdams4458 mentioned, you need a spare car when your newest one approaches it's 22nd year, so why not take a freebie?

airbus · #13 10-13-2007, 08:00 PM

I went to check out the car in daylight. I guess there is some truth to the saying " If it seems to be too good to be true, it probably is".

Here are the facts, and I believe somebody might want to contact the seller: The body is almost rust free. I have never seen a 25 years old north eastern car with only three minor spots of rust, none of them are holes. One is underneath the bumper, passenger side front, one behind the driver's side rear wheel and one on the driver's side rocker panel, approximately in the middle. Not even the lower parts of the doors are badly rusted!

However, to restore the rest of the car, although I have all the parts, I don't have the time and patience to do that. Here's what I found: waterpump leaking badly, oil filter housing leaking badly, temperatur goes up to 100+ degrees Celsius after only ten minutes of idling (waterpump?), interior in worse shape than I thought after the first look (carpet ripped, seat upholstery has some rips, wood moldings missing or broken, etc.), exhaust needs to be replaced soon (header pipe leaking, there is a catalytic converter installed

, "home made" straight tail pipe). However, the car started up cold and stayed running without playing with the accelerator at approximately 55F outside temp.

Here's what the seller claims he replaced recently: starter, voltage regulator, battery, glow plug relay, speedometer cable, rear axle passenger side, and new stereo.

This car is definately not worth $1800, but it might be interesting for someone who needs a close to perfect body (except the faded paint) with a solid engine/tranny.

PM me if you want the guy's phone#.

airbus · #14 10-14-2007, 10:01 PM

The guy just called me and said I could have the car for $900. I guess never mind my last post about those little PITA things that have to be fixed, because I'm gonna do it...

Still, I need somebody to explain this "Karma" thing to me in detail, because this has been happening to me for quite a while now: Friends gave me a windsurfer a few weeks ago; I gave one away before we moved to the US. I gave away our Volvo to a family with six kids when we bought our first Mercedes; now friends gave me the Ford after the Mercedes died. Yesterday, I went to the auto parts store to get a set of windshield wipers and the sales person asked me what size I'd need. I said 22" and he replied he had a brand new set without the box and could have it for free. Of course I took it, and this morning the local fire department knocked at the door to collect money. I gave them 20 bucks (this is what I would have paid for the wipers) and now this guy calls and offers me that car for half price.

I AM GOING NUTS!!!

CamelotShadow · #15 10-14-2007, 11:30 PM

Hi LI

Karma is a *****
but it seems the car followed you home....

Bless its heart & yours

Sometimes we have to just listen to our hearts...