Ebay 300SD, working out the kinks.....
 

Hi Guys,

Two weeks ago I purchased a 1980 300SD on Ebay for $7,600.00. The car has 91,000 original and thoroughly documented miles.

I was fortunate enough to have the car located only 30 miles from me, so a rust inspection was possible and this car has none. The car came with all of the original manuals, spare keys, tool kit, medical kit and the window sticker with an original sales price of $34k.

All oil changes, since its birth, were documented, but the car had been driven only 1,000 miles in the last six years and that concerned me a bit. Here is a list of what the problems were and what was done.

When I bough it the glowplug indicator light was flashing once per second upon turning the key. I tested the glow plugs and they were getting zero power from the relay. I whacked the relay HARD with a rubber mallet a few times which freed up the relay to send power to the plugs. The relay began sending steady power (no timing) until the car started so I new it was time for something with a working relay timer.

And the sorting process begins:

Used GP relay on Ebay: $80.00
Dragging front caliper(s) replacement: $325.00
Oil/Filter change: $30.00
New Bosch glow plugs: $80.00
Cool A/C restored to ice cold (for now): $305.00
Tail light seal to cure damp trunk: $75.00

Then, yesterday the car almost dies on the highway. The culprit. A heavily, and I mean heavily algae clogged primary filter. I just pulled it off tonight and it had at least 1mm of black algae encrusted on the entire body of the filter. The car was starving for fuel and began pulling air from the tube clamps on the filter. I could see the rush of foam in the clear tube heading for the secondary filter. I changed both filters (filled with Diesel Purge) and plan on doing it again once the StarTron does it's job.

All fuel and vacuum lines are solid and from here on out I will change the air filter and other fluids as required. For now, I believe that I have one of the nicest, most fuel efficient 2 ton sedans available today. To boot, the vacuum locks work perfectly as does the HVAC servos.

Everything is coming together and the car is running, riding and driving like new. I have owned a few 140's, a few 108's and a few of the newer stock. To me, nothing beats the ride, the build quality or panache of a 116 diesel. Yep, I have close to $9k in this car and I know a few on this board wouldn't pay more than $2500.00 for a 116sd.

I spent a few years looking for a nice 116 with no rust, low mileage, a roof and just perfect leather. IMHO , I don't think there is currently or ever was a car as solid as these proven 116 bodies. Yes, a new 2008 Bentley Brooklands might have better build quality but I have better places to put the other $331k. I could not be happier and truly could NOT have done it without this board!

Cheers and thanks,

David

Good luck, the W116 is a great car...planning on driving my '79 to a GTG tomorrow in Hartford area.

Out of curiousity, could you post a scan of the sticker from your '80. My '79 came with its sticker but it was only $27K and I am curious to see the differences between the years. If you can't scan it could you at least list the base price and the option prices?

Heck, I want to see a picture of this cream puff! Sounds like a rare deal. And a super lucky car to find the right home too...

Base Price: $30,632.00
Manganese Brown Metallic Paint: $728.00
Bamboo Leather Seats: $1013.00
Electric Sunroof $745.00
Mexico Cassette: $355.00
Distribution and Delivery: $70.00

Total: $33,543.00

Imported to Nelke Motors in Litchfield, CT

David

Since you care dearly for your car, you should have the tank drained and cleaned and the lines flushed to be absolutely rid of algae. Chemical treatments are like brushing your teeth then swallowing instead of spitting :eek:

Sixto
87 300D

If StarTron does not do its job, I will have the tank removed cleaned and reinstalled. I have had good luck with StarTron encapsulating and burning off algae in my boats fuel, without it clogging filters. We shall see.

David

That's very interesting, thanks. They basically raised the prices about 20% between 1979 and 1980. Mine has the exact same level of equipment (I believe these were the ONLY options available on this model) and mine was $27,712.

That was a period of pretty high inflation which resulted from the early 70's gas crisis as I recall...interesting historical perspective now that we are seeing history repeat itself. Thanks for posting.

A little off topic but i want to point out something in that option list...Wow a Mexico Cassette cost $355.00, i bet that was some kick @$$ sound system back then, i am just saying $355 bucks back then is like what in todays money 1k or even more....

am I the only one to think $325 is a bit pricey for a caliper? or even for all 4?