Need to Get Rid of 300SDL - Make Me an Offer
 

Hi All,

Over the past few weeks, I've had to make some hard decisions and one of them is to sell my 1986 300SDL, ending my 14 years of Mercedes diesel ownership. The decision is literally between the car and my family - family wins out. I figure there is at least one person here who would get value out of it. It's midnight blue with a palomino interior and has 250,000 miles on the clock.

Of course, there is a catch. It has a #14 head that cracked, and it is currently hydrolocked. Please see my recent post for the specific issues and diagnoses. I realize this is a big liability and I'm under no illusions of being able to sell this for very much money. However, I put a lot of time and parts into this car and I think it would be an excellent vehicle for someone willing to make the necessary repairs. Outside of the engine issue, it's a car I'm very proud of.

If there is interest, I'll post photographs. I'll list some of the improvements I've made or had made.

• New paint from specialty painter (not Earl Scheib), June 2004
• Complete brake job, front and back in last 6 months. New rotors, brake lines, etc.
• New Bosch E-code headlights (Mar 2003) with (used) corresponding wipers and motors.
• Partial front-end rebuild (June 2003) including Upper Control arms, tie rods, ball joint, idler arm
• Door panels and functional reclining rear seat from a 1990 560 SEL
• Leather steering wheel and shifter (from 1990 560 SEL)
• May 2003 - New front seat pads, new driver's side leather and seat spring
• The center console is NOS (Aug 2006). Notably, the plastic crosspiece next to the shiftgate is completely intact.
• I replaced most of the interior wood with new or good used pieces.
• New starter
• Complete records from 1998 (previous owner plus mine)

I hate to use the cliche, but it's appropriate here: "My loss is your gain". In the interest of complete disclosure, I point out the A/C compressor is out, there is a minor leak in the transmission, and I did (doh!) a LoveCraft conversion, but switched to straight biodiesel after six months. FWIW, the head cracked as a result of my not monitoring the coolant and having the engine overheat.

Please let me know if this is of interest to you or if you have any questions. Like I said, make me an offer. The car is drivable once started - it's a question of removing the glowplug from the offending cylinder so the water can be expelled. I'm located in southern Orange County, CA.

Casey

Sounds like a nice car for someone willing to R&R the engine/tranny.

I wish I had the time and money, I'd be all over that car!

I would do it, but I simply do not have the room anymore.

Me too, if it were closer. All of the good deals are on the left coast, on the other hand, about half of the M-Bs sold in the '80s are on the left coast!

$500 is what you'd get over here.
fix it!

Casey, I read through some of your other threads leading up to this one. It`s too bad your wife is so against Mercedes Diesels. But her mind is made up and there will be no changing it. like they say, Happy wife, happy life.
All old cars will take a lot of time and money, and all new cars will become old cars in time and will have their problems too. It will be interesting to see how her Highlander is doing when it is 21 years old.
The problem with the newer cars is , you won`t be able to work on them with all the do dads and gizmos. with the price per hour shop rates, it scares me. the indie I use now and then, he is up to $102.00. he doesn`t see me much as he use to.

With the problem the SDL has now, you won`t get much for it. Take it to your dads and store it for a while, and look around for another engine. There was one at our local Pick N Pull that took a hit and had a #17 head that had just been reworked. A mechanic I know bought it, and it is alive and well today. zoom zoom.

I was at Stahl Motors in Monterey, Ca yesterday, and an old guy came in with a 1991 350 SDL with 110400 miles on it. brown interior, and super clean. the guy was asking $16.500. said he had too many cars, a Jag a Lexus and the MB.

I guess Iam just lucky, my wife :gorgeous: likes junky, smelly, old Mercedes Diesels.

You will be back, once that Diesel is in your blood your hooked for life.

Charlie

i'd tend to agree with that,store it til you run across a head or engine.sdl's rock!

I would keep it. I'm sure a forum member has a #18 to sell or knows of one that can be had. My wifie knows I love my MB. She does complain about repairs, but when I point out the TCO, she backs down. She also knows I do enjoy working on the car, so she is now even supporting me looking for parts cars to strip and sell parts I cannot use.

keep it.....
 

Hey Casey. I have to agree with Charlie. Store the car in a barn someplace if you can find someone that has the room. My wife told me this morning that she actually likes the "new" car (Coda) because it is quieter, nicer looking, and the front passenger seat is comfortable.

Of course, the Driver's seat is WORSE.:mad:

Good Luck and remember a happy wife makes for a happy life.

I appreciate the support and advice you all are providing. In absolute terms, it doesn't make very much sense to get rid of it, and it really feels like I'm losing a hand. The reliability issues I've had with it have been related to the engine, and would probably be ameliorated by getting another engine. I was quoted $2,500 for a used engine w/ 188,000 miles, including all incidentals such as an A/C compressor, injection pump, etc. With labor, I would be $4,000 out the door with my car being operational again.

However, dollars and cents are not the issue. Without going into all the details of my marriage, sacrificing the car, even if I get nothing for it, will make a huge difference. My wife simply does not like old cars, and one of the things she wants to do is to sell the Highlander since it's five years old and has 80,000 miles and purchase a new vehicle. You can get a sense of how she feels about a 21 year old car. All she knows is she hasn't had a single problem with it and she doesn't much care if it will last as well as the SDL after 21 years.

The other issue my wife has is the amount of time and money I've put into the car. She tallied the receipts for labor and parts and came up with $21,516, which doesn't include the countless hours I spent on it. That is money that could have gone into the house, our daughter's college fund, etc. She once called the car my "metal mistress" and suggested that maybe I should marry it since I spent so much time on it. BTW, she is originally from Thailand and is ethnically Chinese. My point in mentioning that is she has a completely different set of values regarding cars than we (and even some of your wives) have, which means she sees them in monetary terms, not emotional terms.

In a previous post I did mention my dad would allow me to store the car indefinitely. However, after talking with my wife, he has rescinded the offer and says I should just get rid of it. He pointed out that as long as I have it, even if I don't repair it immediately, it will continue to be a point of friction in my marriage. He said it's just a thing, and it's people that are really important. He's the one who got me interested in Mercedes and is the one person who truly understands how much I love them and my car, and therefore what he advises carries a lot of weight.

I know one of my options is to sell it on eBay for $5,000+ using some tricks to temporarily plug the leak in the head, allowing it to operate until the poor bastard who buys it drives away and has no recourse. However, there is no integrity in that and not only would I have to live with myself, I would have to live with my family knowing I did something that violated a core belief. No amount of money is worth that. That's why I would much rather one of you in the group who has the resources and inclination take it, with full knowledge, and be able to have it be useful.

If any of your are interested, please either PM me, or email casey@gbcnet.com.

Casey

"If there is interest, I'll post photographs..." Post them photos anyways! I always enjoy seeing other member's rides...running or not.

pix
 

Pictures will help seduce one of us. I am safe from my wifes wrath as I am too far away.Dang, I want an sdl.

My wife WAS like that with old cars. But we tallied up the monthly car payments and maintenance reciepts on her TDI and the purchase and repair/maintenance reciepts on my 300D, and my 300D has come out much cheaper.

Selling and buying a car every few years is not good money value either.

Look at the two Nissans in my stable. I keep them because they are paid off and I just have to worry about repairs. They are like anyother car...spotty maintenance ensures high repair bills.

Trade it in on a new C300.:D That should make the wife happy.