Hello

I have been looking for a late model MB for mi wife as a daily driver. All I have come across so far in the are some 84 300sd. A bit too big for city driving. The other day this 240d popped up on craiglist. The elderly retired lady states that it is in "mint conditon." I took a look at it yesterday. Here is my findings.

The good:
only one minor ding on driver door and interior decent. good/fair condition
235K on car and she states that the PO put in a "new motor" at some point.(I think rebuilt but she didnt know)
She is the 2nd owner.


The bad:
the car has not started for a week. she could not remember right away how long it had been. It actually was not able to start. When I turned it over it seemed as if the engine was siezed up. The starter would engage and halt. After a many attempts it turned over and finally started with much smoke.

On the test drive I could not believe how under powered it was. I have read alot about how these cars are slow but this is beyond what I had imagined. (I am very familiar with what underpowered is I own a 82 vw westy. Driving in the slow lane is common.)I had to keep the pedal to the floor almost the whole time from stop light to stop light jsut to get up to speed. That is without hills. It seemed to shift just fine and idle fine.
She also has now knowledge of any maintenance. She knows very little of the car that she has owned for 12 years.


Little things.
fog lights dont work
antenna, no up or down
rear door will not open, button for lock missing
trunk will not open
blower fan control not wrking properly, 2 settings
bumper trim falling off.
Probably more but I only had 1/2 hour with the car.

Now I know that it is not in mint condition. She has also decided not to state a price for it. It will go to the best offer. I asked for a rough idea of what she would want and she said around $3000. I do not feel that this is a good price.

What do you think? What is a fair price?

I understand that this car will need some TLC but I do not want to sink every free moment on it. Does this sound like ot will take a lot of time?
Are these all possibly small minor fixes? I understand without seeing it you can not know but Im looking for an opinion from people who know these cars.

Also what do you think of an 84 300sl, maintaned well, 200K miles, for daily city driving for $3000?

From a stop light, you can push a 240D automatic across the intersection faster than you can drive it across the intersection.

Find a 300D to test drive if you think the 300SD is too big.

The only opinion I have about the 300SL is that's a lot of miles on a gasoline engine. And the 500SL and 560SL are known for getting up and going better.

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daw_two
Germantown, TN

Links:
Sold last car --- 05/2012 1984 300D Light Ivory, Red interior
Cluster Needles Paint
New Old Stock (NOS) parts

Past:
3/2008 1986 300SDL "Coda"
04/2010 1965 190D(c) "Ben"
& many more

i've driven my friends 240D automatic plenty of times.. it's definitely slow but by no means does it need to be floored just to get up to speed around town. from 0-15 it's bad but after that it does hit a power band. it sounds way beat up for 3 grand. i'd say maybe 1 grand, depending on if the lack of power is an easy fix?

$3000 sounds way to high for that 240D. I've never driven one but they have a terrible rep for being SLOW. The sticks are marginally better.

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2009 ML320 Bluetec
1985 300CD
1981 300TD

Past Mercedes
1979 300TD
1982 300TD
2000 E320 4Matic Wagon
1998 E430
1984 300SD
1980 300SD

I second the comment. I owned an automatic 240d and it had ample power for most urban driving. Onramps, really steep hills and passing on two-lane highways were challenges.

If you own a Westy and find this car slow, it has some problem, possibly one or more of the following: low compression, clogged fuel filters, misadjusted (or really, really dry) throttle linkages, broken throttle linkage pivot bushing (at firewall-this reduces throttle linkage travel and gives you a 20 hp car), seized caliper(s).

It's a sub-$1000 car right now.

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Mac
2002 e320 4matic estate│1985 300d│1980 300td
Previous: 1979 & 1982 & 1983 300sd │ 1982 240d

“Let's take a drive into the middle of nowhere with a packet of Marlboro lights and talk about our lives.” ― Joseph Heller, Catch-22

Sounds like you are dealing with greed or insanity.Forget that car unless you are interested in the brooklyn bridge with few cars having ever traversed it.

I'd guess more likely ignorance.

I sold my Grandmother's car for her this past summer. She thought it was worth about $5k. I sold it for $3k, which was above book value (only 50k original miles for a 98). She had no way to know the value of these things. She doesn't watch TV, listen to the radio, let alone go on the interweb. That woman probably has no clue what it is worth. She just knows what she paid for it X years ago.

__________________
2009 ML320 Bluetec
1985 300CD
1981 300TD

Past Mercedes
1979 300TD
1982 300TD
2000 E320 4Matic Wagon
1998 E430
1984 300SD
1980 300SD

240s are slow but they shouldn't be that pokey. It sounds to me like filters are clogged or throttle linkages need some attention. The hard starting could be as simple as a weak battery or glow plugs, also what was the temp there in Bend that day. If it was really cold that car will be really cold blooded if it hasn't started in a while But it could be much deep and problematic. It sounds like it needs some TLC for sure it's not a $3k car for sure maybe $1000 or $1500. A health Benz will fire right up after sitting for a while. I don't think I'd be too afraid of the car if you can get it for half of her ball park price.

If your wife is okay with a manual trans I'd hold out for a 240 with a manual. Less vacuum issues to worry about and a little more horse power. In my opinion the vac operated transmissions are the weakest point of these old diesel Mercedes. They are very cantankerous, when everything is working they are great, but there are so many places for problems to arise in the vac system that result in a hard shifting transmission.

I have a manual 240 for my daily driver. I won't win any land speed records, but I can cruise on the highway just fine. Just take me a little longer to get there. If/when you do buy one and want to make a trip to Albany, I'd be happy to help you get her tuned up.

__________________

2x on the sub $1000 ... AND you need to be prepared to do a bumper to bumper maintenance before you even consider using it as a DD.

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1985 300D 198K sold
1982 300D 202K
1989 300E 125K
1992 940T

"If you dont have time to do it safely, you dont have time to do it"

"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."

Find out what a junkyard would give for it and offer just slightly more than that. Be willing to go up to about $500 in negotiations, but no more. The car isn't worth any more than that. Automatic 240D's are pretty useless IMO, but I see you live in Oregon where a properly sorted 240 will easily outrun most traffic.

I personally dislike SL's. YMMV.

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Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.

She also has now knowledge of any maintenance. She knows very little of the car that she has owned for 12 years.


OK, that line right there tells me, this car has not been maintained.
I would guess the valves haven`t been adjusted in a long time. that right there will make a difference in the way the engine runs.
also as mentioned, change the fuel filters (2) and if that doesn`t help it, there is the tank screen that could be plugged. with a better than 1/2 tank of fuel, swap the supply and return hose and see it that doesn`t help.

There is a tank vent that is behind the L/R wheel that could be plugged, loosen the filler cap and see if that helps with the running, see if there is a swoosh of air when it is loosened after driving.

I wonder when the automatic trans has been serviced?

I know you can`t go through all these things looking at a car to buy. If you did, and it ran better, the seller would raise the price.

My 80 240 with a stick, will get right up and go with its 332K miles. Andrew has seen it a couple times when we were passing through Albany on our way north to Portland or south back to Calif. on I-5. he hasn`t driven it yet to confirm it.

There is a big difference between a 240 and a SL. as I understand it, the SL`s are pricier to work on. and the milage will be lower. much much more Zoom

Charlie

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there were three HP ratings on the OM616...

1) Not much power
2) Even less power
3) Not nearly enough power!! 240D w/auto

Anyone that thinks a 240D is slow drives too fast.

80 240D Naturally Exasperated, 4-Spd 388k DD 150mph spedo 3:58 Diff

We are advised to NOT judge ALL Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics. Funny how that works

I would definitely pass unless she majorly discounted it. I drove my dad's manual 240D plenty of times and it was slow but not anything you describe.

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1999 E300 TD 190,000
1996 Passat TDI 225,000-sold
1996 E300 120,000-sold
1998 Jetta TDI 186,000 -sold
1983 Chev Suburban C20 6.2-sold

Thanks for the response.

I have choosen to pass this one buy. What she thinks is mint is far from it. Too much work for a daily driver. Been there done that and I now want a vehicle that is trusty from the start. Yes I know that I will pay for that but that is fine. On to my next idea.

Thanks again.

Here is the link of someone whats a good car for maybe cheap.
beautiful pale yellow 1982 mercedes 240D

Why can`t these idiots list the price in their add?

I have a car for sale, guess how much?

Charlie

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there were three HP ratings on the OM616...

1) Not much power
2) Even less power
3) Not nearly enough power!! 240D w/auto

Anyone that thinks a 240D is slow drives too fast.

80 240D Naturally Exasperated, 4-Spd 388k DD 150mph spedo 3:58 Diff

We are advised to NOT judge ALL Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics. Funny how that works

There's no such thing as a cheap used Mercedes.

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Codifex
1981 240D ChinaBlue (Got her running with a donor engine.)
1983 300DTurbo w/sunroof.
1984 300TD manual sunroof. (Electrical Gremlins)