300 TD. Is $1,500 a good deal?

Hello and Happy New Year!
I found a '82 300 TD with 180,000 miles for $1,500. I haven't seen the car in person ( it's thousands of of miles away) the photos show a solid rust free body, they mention a leak in heavy rains and the interior is a little ratty. Apperantly there are no mechanical problems, so I'm wondering,

How wrong could I go with this?

I have good strong mechanical aptitude (if I do say so myself!) so the little stuff doesn't faze me and I have a garage so I guess the big stuff is do-able. I've looked through the archives of this site, I'm up to speed on most of the weak spots and I know that I have to make this decision myself, I guess I need a push. Do they ever get cheaper than this? Do you think I should jump on it? Feedback appreciated.

Thnaks for any and all tips, Patrick.

[loubapache]

TXBill gave some excellent advice. Condition is everything.

If it is in good condition, $1,500 Canadian is a good deal. But if it is not, then "the most expensive Mercedes is a cheap Mercedes."

Actually it's $1,500 US plus the transportation expenses.

[rickjordan]

Did the present owner mention anything about the rear self leveling system? The only "cheap" parts of this system is the 4 liters of hydraulic fluid and the 2 accumulators in the back ($75 a piece). What part of the U.S. is the car in?

Yah, that's a good point, I'll try that. The car is in Florida.

I JUST bought a 300TD (1980) this fall and make SURE you look at the following things before purchasing the car (if you cant look yourself then ASK specifically about it):

At 180k miles the rear suspension may or may not need new accumulators, ask how the ride is, if its really bumpy then it needs new accumulators. (70ish bucks each from benzbin.com)

Make SURE you ask if the AC AND heater work. The heater in the 300TD seems to have some problems, mine wasnt working when I got it and had to fix it myself since it was going to be VERY expensive if I took it to a garage. The gearbox and motor should be sound however, the 5 cylinder diesels these cars have last forever.

And of course make sure it doesnt consume oil like a starved animal.

[Palangi]

An 82 will have the later more conventional style of climate control instead of the wierd servo system used on the older ones. It's still expensive to fix the air conditioning, but fixing the heat is cheap.