I got a PPI on a 1987 300SDL from MBI Motors in Portland; I've been going to them for years and I trust them.

The body is perfect and rust-free, the engine is really strong (the only cylinder below 400 is at 380), and the transmission is really good.

There are a host of small issues (noisy injector pump, antenna doesn't work). Some need to be fixed and some can wait.

There are three large, scary issues. First, the transmission front oil pump needs to be replaced (I am a little murky about the details on this); that's $1,000, they say. Second, the turbo isn't working; it might be a bad actuator, or might mean a new turbo. Third, the HVAC is messed up (stuck in "defrost" mode); that might be minor or require replacing half the system inside the dash.

I talked the owner into splitting the cost of diagnosing the last two issues. My feeling is that if one of these will be expensive I should walk, but if both are fine it might be worth putting $2,000 into the car to get it running well. The owner's asking $4,000, which with the extra $2k seems about the right price for this car. What do ya'll think?

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2003 E320 wagon, ~80k, "Sputnik"
1987 300 SDL, ~160k, "The Pimp Daddy" (sold April 2010)
1984 300 TD, ~200k, "Das Boot" (Demised March 2008)

Doesn't sound like much, $4k seems pretty fair. How many miles?

These old cars have a ton of issues, and its a constant battle keeping up or ahead of them. Paying a dealer to fix them simply doesn't make economic sense.

You can rebuild the entire transmission for $1,500 or less. If the trans is leaking at the front its most likely the front main seal. Which if you pay a shop to change should run you about $400. Thats all labor, the seal itself is like $4.

The antenna are always broke, cheap to fix.
The climate control could be a number of things, not a big deal. Worst case you need a new push button unit which run around $300-$400 and are easy to change.
I doubt the turbo is bad.
I doubt the IP needs anything, what does noisy IP mean?

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Miles?

Condition of the body.........paint.........seats..........interior??

The odometer says 157k, but the guy said it was broken when he got it and he fixed it. That smells right to me; my 300TD had a broken odometer, too.

Body is straight, no damage. Paint is good except for a couple scratches. Interior and seats are good. The driver's seat could use some padding.

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2003 E320 wagon, ~80k, "Sputnik"
1987 300 SDL, ~160k, "The Pimp Daddy" (sold April 2010)
1984 300 TD, ~200k, "Das Boot" (Demised March 2008)

All of what you reported.......sounds about typical. The main deal killer for me is RUST. The second is excessive blow by. Us, southern boys have it lucky. We rarely see RUST on a car.

Miles?
Maintenance Records?
Interior?
Paint?
These 4 will usually tell the story about the car.

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daw_two
Germantown, TN

Links:
Sold last car --- 05/2012 1984 300D Light Ivory, Red interior
Cluster Needles Paint
New Old Stock (NOS) parts

Past:
3/2008 1986 300SDL "Coda"
04/2010 1965 190D(c) "Ben"
& many more

The issues, other than the transmission, are typical. The transmission would give me pause at $4K...........I'd get the price down to $3K due to that issue. None of the other issues are significant.

Assuming the body and interior are in good shape and that it has cold A/C I think it's a really good deal. There aren't too many of these cars around and even less in really good shape.

Scott

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Scott
1982 Mercedes 240D, 4 speed, 275,000
1988 Porsche 944 Turbo S (70,000)
1987 Porsche 911 Coupe 109,000 (sold)
1998 Mercedes E300 TurboDiesel 147,000 (sold)
1985 Mercedes 300D 227,000 (totaled by inattentive driver with no insurance!)
1997 Mercedes E300 Diesel 236,000 (sold)
1995 Ducati 900SS (sold)
1987 VW Jetta GLI 157,000 (sold)
1986 Camaro 125,000 (sold - P.O.S.)
1977 Corvette L82 125,000 (sold)
1965 Pontiac GTO 15,000 restored (sold)