Cheap wagon number two
 

So, I'm at my mom's dropping off my daughter a few weeks back when my mom says. "Hey, there's a Mercedes wagon for sale in Farmersville". Farmersville, where I currently reside, is a small town with a population of about 3K. I've been known to search Craigslist and other clasifiied adds for MB wagons. I was sure my mom was mistaken.
That evening when I got home I checked and sure enough, there it was listed on CL in the "general' section with the heading "Everything must Go" including an '84 Mercedes wagon. Could this be another CW?

I called, left a msg and waited. Two days later, called again. The third day...

Four days later I get a return call. Seller says he is fed up with CL folks and said come get it for $950. It qualifies, I must go look.

Not three miles from my house, off the beaten path I drive down a long dusty road to find a beautiful white 300TD sinking into the dirt. Weeds growing up around her rust free near perfect body.
The seller comes out and we talk very little about the wagon at first. Mostly about his place in the country, the town... I got the impression he was an honest fellow just needing a new start in life. He tells me of his plans to move to Romainia. His wife comes out with their 18 month old daughter who sparks up a "baby talk" conversation with Sarah, my 13 month old. Several minutes later he and I start to discuss the wagon. He claims to have bought it in '05 for $4500 from a good friend who was a MB mechanic. He had lost touch with the PO (due to a divorce I believe) and in '06 the car developed an intermittant starting problem. He parked it late '06 where it sat ever since.

I gave a quick looking over. Fluids look good, AC compressor turns OK by hand, no body rust, glass is all good, rubber seals look new, interior looks nice, suspension appears tight, tires have even wear. Oh yea, a 60/40 rear seat, third seat and.... roof cross bars.
In the glovebox I find all the books and a huge stack of recs including the original window sticker. Nice.
The hood had a dent from one of his goats jumping up on it and there's a dent in the FR fender.
Not hearing it run or able to drive it I ask what he would take... "$900 no less". I agreed and we shook hands. I returned later with a battery and aired up the one flat tire. One quick glow and she fired right up smooth as silk. The SLS raised the rear up above the weeds and I was off. Brakes were a bit 'lumpy' due to the pads sitting on the rotors in one spot for so long. She was very sluggish but smooth, tight, runs straight down the road.
Man, did I have an enjoyable evening looking thru all the records. The PO really spared no expense on repairs. Parts recipts for OEM MB stuff galore including a new exhaust system.

So far I've found the boost line banjo bolt plugged, swapped all fluids/filters, starter, had a good look at the brakes, packed the front wheel bearings and swapped new tires wheels. The AC needed a can of R134 and now blows cool enough for now. The white exterior helps out.
The hood dent popped out but left a few areas where the metal must be stretched. I plan on having it and the fender repaired soon. The SLS is a bit bouncy and I'm hoping the new spheres I got from Jimmy will fix this.

She has been my daily driver for two weeks now. Everything works and the first tank of fuel I got right at 26 mpg. This is with running the AC and lots of standing idling/revving.

I'm very pleased.

Pics coming as soon as I find my camera.

I've heard whispers of this new cheap wagon, and am happy you finally got around to posting the submission.

Looking forward to the pictures.

WOW !!!

Where is Wagonmaster Jimmy anyway?

Excellent find. Your trips down dirt roads to look at sleeper cars is more fruitful than mine.

Congratulations Dan! Good find. I hope the pics get posted soon.:D

yes where is the wagon master??? we need to get a cheap wagon club get together now that a bunch of them are in north TX.

you guys are absolutely killing me with these things, I don't know why I keep reading these posts - it's like pouring salt into an open wound. buying my '95 has been the worst purchase decision of my life. I would love to get on a plane and come down to the dry salt free southern states and drive such a vehicle home - for half what I paid for the nice appearing rust bucket underneath I've spent way too much money and time on over the past year... I hate myself right now.

This thread, sir, is *worthless* without pics.

WORKING......a "real" job.....that means he doesn't have time to "work" on this forum.

He has to get up earlier.....something about an alarm clock is what he told me recently.....and sometimes he has to cover the "on-call" until midnight. He has posted a few times since he started his new job just not as often, for sure.

Bah, he still posts quite a bit. You can't expect someone to be on here every night, do you?

Why not sell it and pay a finder's fee to these guys to help you out.

"Why not sell it and pay a finder's fee to these guys to help you out. "

such thoughts are already running through my head - I have a truck and a trailer, what I need is more time off work!

My black wagon will be available in the near future. See page 8-9 of Jimmy's thread for pics.

SLS Repair
 

This afternoon I had a chance to replace the SLS accumulators.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=252606

The job took about an hour and another thirty minutes washing the fluid off that ran down past my elbow. The ride is much improved, no more bounce but, a little more body roll to get used to. I might raise the rear a little as it sits slightly lower now than it did with the fluid filled spheres.

I also, found a seeping fuel return hose while I was under there. I'll tend to that when the tank is low.

I'll try to post pictures to this "worthless" thread tonight. :rolleyes: