Lock me up? I think I stole this car... - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

OlBrenner · #1 12-16-2007, 07:51 PM

Hello all, I've been lurking for a while and finally decided to join up and contribute to this great community. I've been around many other car forums and you all really are the most civilized and considerate group of people I've seen in a long while. My recent past has been mostly in watercooled VWs and BMWs, I've always been very DIY oriented and am not afraid to get grease under my nails. This is my first venture into the diesel world, so far I love it!

Anyway, I've been half looking for a well kept local car for several months and the right one finally showed up. I ended up with an 82 300D with (get this) 99k miles! Yes the odometer works and the mileage progression was confirmed with the carfax. All of the original paperwork was included and the service history for the first 10 years of the car show that it was only driven maybe 1500 miles a year. The majority of the miles have been in the last 8 years. When I drove it initially there was very little power and the tranny was flaring heavily. I checked the blow by and there is very little smoke so figured the internals were ok, just a tune issue. I did some research and confirmed that most of the issues with the car are probably just a matter of tune and nothing serious to worry about.

Got it home, among the first things to check were the ALDA banjo fittings...totally clogged. I also noticed the bowden cable wasn't in the right place. Take her for a test drive and this thing hauls ass (relatively) now with firm clean shifts. I have a long list of little things I'd like to replace mostly for piece of mind as this will be my daily driver very soon.

So he was asking $6k on craigslist (not a bad deal I think) but due to the "failing transmission" and obvious "lack of power" I offered $4k, however we agreed on $5k. I think it was an outstanding deal, I've seen cars this clean go on eBay for $10k. I'll be keeping this car for a long time.

Being a 100% Arizona car, there is not a single spot of rust and the white paint has held up well. I'll let the photos show the condition, it's a total cream puff!

TylerH860 · #2 12-16-2007, 08:00 PM

Nice buy. I thought I was going to read another thread where someone really stole one of these from a Grandma for $500 because a dumb mechanic told her the tranny was failing. Paying a bit more for a nice example for one of these cars is smart. Alot of people would not call it a steal, but I think anyone who bought a nice example for under 5k or under is stealing it, because these cars are soooooooo fantastic; they should be worth more!

daw_two · #3 12-16-2007, 08:01 PM

Sounds like you did pretty good.

dieseldiehard · #4 12-16-2007, 08:29 PM

Just hope that transmission flaring doesn't return!
You may want to schedule a service and replace the B1 valve with the latest version. And I like Mobil 1 synthetic, at least until their recent formula change but there are alternatives. Synthetic trans lube is good stuff. Synthetic engine oil is however another story and please don't start another oil thread (some members get offended by lame oil related questions) use the search feature and you will find answers to almost every possible topic you can think of!

Looking close at your photo, it seems to me the windlace cording on the drivers door seems a little more worn than I would suspect for a car with that mileage, unless the miles were accrued from a lot of short trips.
That stuff on my '79 300TD (306K miles on her!) has finally decided to come apart, what I am speaking of goes along the trim inside from the A pillar along the top and down the B pillar to the door sill. It's made of a rubber cord wrapped with a velour. "Date" color (a shade paler than tan) is usually the factory color to match a Palomino interior like yours. You can get it at the dealer fairly cheap or I've been told World Upholstery may supply it.
I have a picture of what it should look like - when I find it I'll post it.
edit - see thumbnail below
Anyhow, welcome to the Shopforum. I am sure we will be seeing you here more often! you may want to use the "Subscribe" thread tool so you see when people comment here.

TylerH860 · #5 12-16-2007, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dieseldiehard;

Looking close at your photo, it seems to me the windlace cording on the drivers door seems a little more worn than I would suspect for a car with that mileage, unless the miles were accrued from a lot of short trips.

Don't scare him like that.

If someone said that to me right after I purchased a new car I wouldn't sleep well for a couple days.

You do have an eagle eye, though. I can't tell what your talking about.

dieseldiehard · #6 12-16-2007, 08:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TylerH860

Don't scare him like that.

If someone said that to me right after I purchased a new car I wouldn't sleep well for a couple days.

You do have an eagle eye, though. I can't tell what your talking about.

Sorry, I didn't mean to alarm the guy
What I am referring to is the cloth covered seal around the frame where the door closes against it. I posted a pic of what it looks like just after installing a new strip.
I can't get a file small enough using Photoshop to add an arrow pointing to it. I'm sure you'll see it if you click on the small photo, a large one will open up and you can see how tidy the edging is along the door pillar, that was my '83 with over 256K miles. Man I miss that car, (oh I hope my wife didn't hear me)

:

dieseldiehard · #7 12-16-2007, 08:58 PM

OK, to offset my previous post, here's a point in favor of the car is truly a low miler!
The steering wheel looks typical of a under 100K mile car, it could have been changed out of course but this is the first thing I look for to verify a mileage claim. After about 175K (or less) they are usually worn smooth where the PO kept their hands to grip the wheel. Finding a steering wheel like what I see in his pics is very difficult these days!

MTUpower · #8 12-16-2007, 09:01 PM

It's a Arizona car and he's talking about something that's life is determined by exposure to the sun. This is why he has a bit of pinkamino going on and the window trim parts are "ageing" faster than other parts. Cars in different parts of the country age differently.

#9 12-16-2007, 09:07 PM

Overall, it looks low mileage to me, note the virgin ALDA.

dieseldiehard · #10 12-16-2007, 09:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Craig

Overall, it looks low mileage to me, note the virgin ALDA.

Um, maybe But my quarter million mile cars have virgin Aldas because I shimmed them!

#11 12-16-2007, 09:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Craig

Overall, it looks low mileage to me, note the virgin ALDA.

Note the bypassed overboost solenoid.

Looks like a decent deal!

#12 12-16-2007, 09:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ForcedInduction

Note the bypassed overboost solenoid.

I didn't see that.

dieseldiehard · #13 12-16-2007, 09:27 PM

I already saw the bypassed overboost thingie but I just noted the oil filler cap seems crooked, as if it was off another vehicle or a gas cap. sheesh better stop looking so closely!

pawoSD · #14 12-16-2007, 09:44 PM

Two immediate repairs to do:

1. Close your oil cap all the way!

2. Re-connect the boost line to the over-boost protection valve as others have mentioned.

Nice car though! Wow!!!

running-snail · #15 12-16-2007, 09:46 PM

I'm impressed by how much insulation is on the ac line in front of the valve cover. My ALDA was unmolested with 380k; couldn't get out of its own way from a stop though...

Nice looking purchase. I think the sun would do the windlace in. The b pillar is the easiest to replace.