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  #1  
Old 10-21-2008, 03:08 PM
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Is this normal/due to humidity or a bad sign?

I'm considering buying a 300SD, but it's 100 miles away so I haven't gone to look at it in person yet. Interior and exterior look clean.

But Carfax tells me this car came from Louisiana (no flood damage reported to DMV but what's that worth?) and the picture the seller sent of the engine evinces some corrosion. Coming from a dry climate, I have no idea whether this is normal for an engine from a humid climate or whether it might have been submerged or something.

Any thoughts? I don't want to waste my time driving out to see it in person if it's not going to pass muster...

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Is this normal/due to humidity or a bad sign?-300sd1.jpg   Is this normal/due to humidity or a bad sign?-300sd2.jpg  
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  #2  
Old 10-21-2008, 03:14 PM
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Looks like salt corrosion from living in the salty air near the coast.

I don't see anything eye catching other than green coolant and really dry/worn paint.
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  #3  
Old 10-21-2008, 03:21 PM
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Cars from coastal communities often show corrosion evidence as in your pictures. The question really is, what hidden damage (if any) has been done by the salt air and can you get the car for a low enough price to make it worth the risk?
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  #4  
Old 10-21-2008, 03:36 PM
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Thanks for the responses.

The exterior paint looks relatively good in the pictures. Interior isn't too bad either. If he's not lying about the mileage (<180k and he claims to have records) I'm satisfied with the price.

My biggest concern is the AC doesn't work anymore. How much does that cost to repair, assuming worst-case?

And where should I check for hidden rust? Wheel wells, under the floor mats, where else?

Thanks everyone!
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  #5  
Old 10-21-2008, 03:51 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 81Wagon View Post
Thanks for the responses.

My biggest concern is the AC doesn't work anymore. How much does that cost to repair, assuming worst-case?
New Compressor, Evaporator, Condensor, Hoses, Expansion Valve, Drier, and Freon plus labor will probably be about $2000-3000. I highly doubt you will need new everything. You probably can assume you need a new compressor. The other components don't go out as frequently, but they do over time. But all being shot is unlikely.

When I bought my SD, I bought it with non-working A/C. Turns out 2 owners before me replaced the compressor just 4 years prior. The A/C lost its charge because of a leak in the condenser (which happened apparently with the same owner). I replaced the condensor with a parallel flow and had hoses made up. I put in new oil, a new drier and expansion valve and freon to get it working. Probably cost me $3-400 total but I did it all myself so no labor costs involved.
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  #6  
Old 10-21-2008, 03:53 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ForcedInduction View Post
Looks like salt corrosion from living in the salty air near the coast.

I don't see anything eye catching other than green coolant and really dry/worn paint.
Okay, tell me what you see......because this old, blind man can't see anything out of the ordinary.
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  #7  
Old 10-21-2008, 04:11 PM
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Looks like a northern car. Looks pretty clean though, can't see anything out of place.
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Old 10-21-2008, 04:14 PM
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Okay, tell me what you see......because this old, blind man can't see anything out of the ordinary.
Green coolant in the bottle, white/rough surface of the valve cover instead of smooth aluminum, the injection lines, throttle linkage, power steering cap and cruise actuator lost their gold/brass colored plating and the paint around the spring perch has a crusty/white coating.
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  #9  
Old 10-21-2008, 04:14 PM
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Originally Posted by daw_two View Post
Okay, tell me what you see......because this old, blind man can't see anything out of the ordinary.
exactly. It looks mint under the hood if you ask me.
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  #10  
Old 10-21-2008, 04:22 PM
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This looks almost mint, a little hand polishing and it would be:
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  #11  
Old 10-21-2008, 05:08 PM
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If the vehicle was in a flood zone during any of the hurricanes there will be a notation of such on CARFAX. If the car was not in Louisiana during such an event it will not list that statement.

Even though I am 150 m from coast we were considered in the flood zone - Every car I owned during that time has that statement on CARFAX. Nice of them folks huh.
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  #12  
Old 10-21-2008, 05:09 PM
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Thanks for your input everyone; I'll take the time to drive out there and check it out first-hand.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Graplr View Post
New Compressor, Evaporator, Condensor, Hoses, Expansion Valve, Drier, and Freon plus labor will probably be about $2000-3000. I highly doubt you will need new everything. You probably can assume you need a new compressor. The other components don't go out as frequently, but they do over time. But all being shot is unlikely.
Good to hear. I actually have a spare compressor, and a new, still-sealed receiver-drier on hand, so maybe I'll be lucky and that'll be it. I did the parallel-flow conversion on my wagon (cost me $400 total too) so I'm ready to do that if necessary. But that's the extent of my AC knowledge... it's what's under the dash that worries me, or what might happen if a lot of moisture entered the system. If that's happened can it just be flushed?
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  #13  
Old 10-21-2008, 06:42 PM
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I bought a BlueBird Wanderlodge from the LA coast, a good deal but, ...

There was corrosion everywhere that you couldn't see. Look at places where air can go, but rain cannot. From behind the radiator, to under brackets and mounts, ... suspension mounting points, around lights and trim, ...

I've bought two coastal Florida coaches also, with similar problems.

If you want a clean car, stay away from salt-water coasts.
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  #14  
Old 10-21-2008, 06:58 PM
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I don't know that I agree with you about the "saltwater coasts". Having lived in the South almost my entire life, cars don't typically rust like they do up North in the great Rust Belt. If the exterior of the car is in good shape, chances are the owner took pretty good care of the car and there probably isn't any rust. I have owned 4 different Mercedes and none of them have had rust, all of which lived thier lives on the coast.

The engine looks like every Mercedes Engine I have owned. I don't see anything alarming in the pictures.
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  #15  
Old 10-23-2008, 09:28 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 81Wagon View Post
... it's what's under the dash that worries me, or what might happen if a lot of moisture entered the system. If that's happened can it just be flushed?
If there are no leaks in the evaporator then yes, just a good flushing will suffice (there may be blockage on the evaporator). If there is a leak....well either plan on taking about 20 or so hours to dissasemble the dash to get the new one in and putting everything back together. Or spending a lot of money at the shop for it.

You could hook it up to a vacuum pump to see if it holds vacuum. If it doesn't hold you will have to find where the leak is coming from.

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