I'm looking for any advice on purchasing a 1982 300TD wagon. The car has 137,000 miles on it and the owner is looking to get about $2,500 for it (I think, however, he'll negotiate).

Is there anything I should specifically look for in this car that could be a potential money drain or car-killer? I'm willing to spend money to maintain it, so that's not the issue. I just don't want to get a car that will end up costing me $3,000 a year to repair.

I'm looking to replace this as my primary car. I live in NYC -- where a car is not a necessity but a luxury-- and don't put a lot of miles on my current car (less than 10,000 miles a year), but the driving I do is horrible city driving.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Can't believe I got in here before Anthony R... this will have his heart racing... The short answer is this,, much depends on how it was maintained... most things can be fixed except rust at the jacking points... that sort of structural desease... but your best bet is to take it to an independant company like "lemon busters" and find out what is wrong.. then come back and tell us ... and read in the diesel section here .... there are posts addressing this going on right now... rear self leveling system, climate controls, etc.. but if that is actually correct on the miles and it was reasonably maintained that is a bargain. Let us know if you get it or NOT.. others would be interested no matter the condition for parts for their beloved machines... Greg

The repair costs are relatively cheap if you tend to do things yourself. Most of the guys on the forum do so and receive tons of help here. I can't imagine spending alot of cash if you cover minor repairs yourself.

Don

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DAILY DRIVERS:
'84 300DT 298k (Aubrey's)
'99.5 Jetta TDI IV 251k (Julie's)
'97 Jetta TDI 127k (Amber's)
'97 Jetta TDI 186k (Matt's)
'96 Passat TDI 237k (Don's
'84 300D 211k Mint (Arne- Undergoing Greasecar Conversion)

SOLD:
'82 240D 229k (Matt's - Converted-300DT w/ 4 speed

A 300Td won't run you 3K a year to maintain. Initially you may have to dump some money into it, but over time that will average out to being very cheap. With only 137K on it, that car has a long way to go. Where is this car located, is it in NYC? If it has spent it's life in the Northeast, I would definetly look into the rust issue. The jacking points are the most common area to rust. It is hard to believe Mercedes would build a car holes delibritly put in the rocker panels.

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1999 MB SL500 (110,000 mi)
2004 Volvo V70 2.5T (220,000 mi)
2014 Tesla Model S 85 (136,000 mi)
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