Newbie here: What is a fair price for an '81 300 turbo diesel w/190,000 miles

[Hsolo]

Hello MB fans,

As the subject states I'm trying to find out what fair market value of an '81 300 TD. I hope I've posted in the correct forum, if not please redirect me.

Some more info about the car: It is the wagon variant, it was originally a California car (pertinent as it has been in eastern Canada for 3 years) the car is rust free and straight as a pin with no prior accidents, the paint is dull (I feel a good buff could bring it back), water is slowly leaking in from somewhere though all the rubber looks good to me, has had a GreaseCar veggie system installed, was being driven daily until about two years ago when it was parked outside, last winter (I believe) it had to be moved to avoid the snowplow drivers rath and was difficult to start at which point a helpful neighbor suggested starting fluid (not good I know) which was used liberally until it fired up and the car was moved to a safer local, it is currently a non runner.

The owner is an old friend of mine who I was visiting for the first time in ages. He mentioned the car and that he was looking to sell but that it wasn't starting. My limited mechanical background/hobby is with the early water-cooled vw's and having just gotten a 1.6d (my first diesel) rabbit up and running I offered to take a look. The troubleshooting began by pulling a glowplug and putting 12v to it, it remained ice cold, at which point I read the back of the starting fluid can and saw the warning not to use with automatic glow plugs. The plugs are ruined in my reckoning. The starter turns over slowly even when attempting to jumpstart, and when pulling a return line for better access to the plug it was dry and there was no evidence of flow in the supply to the ip. This is as far as the troubleshooting went. I'm concerned that there has been gelling of the veggie oil or dirt from the veggie that has plugged up the fuel system. Although he has told me that there is a diesel purge built in to the controls that should flush the system before shutdown. Before I suggest to him that the pump should be stripped down, cleaned and rebuilt then following that injectors pressure tested and possibly rebuilt I hoping that those with veggie running experience could provide input.

Finally with all of the above in mind what would you offer for the car, keeping in mind that I don't want to lowball him as he is a close friend.

Thanks for reading. All and any input with fair price and further troubleshooting will be greatly appreciated.

Nat

[Junkman]

Non-running cars are sold cheap because you don't know what you are going to get into. You will at least need glow plugs, a battery, fluids, Startron, brakes, likely suspension work, alignment & a good cleaning. Then there is the climate control, engine & trans all of which are unknown. Any or all of the above could turn into major issues. Why did he park it?

If the objective on both parties is a "fair" price and neither is attached to outcome, ask your friend what he wants for it. You could buy a decent running vehicle for $3k and wouldn't have the issue of improper veggie being run through the engine.

Bottom line...salvage price + a little. Perhaps $1,000 if I liked what I saw.

[kerry]

Lots of potential problems here. The veggie oil system could have induced a terminal illness. That's pretty common. This could be complicated by a 'stroke' caused by the starting fluid. It can cause far worse problems than knocking out the glowplugs. It's worth scrap value in it's current condition. $500 or so.

[toomany MBZ]

Probable parts car.

[barry123400]

Many factors involved. You state you are visiting. How many miles to get the car home? Can you do whatever is required yourself?

I too live in eastern Canada at about the border area of New Bruinswick and Nova Scotia. If you feel you need some help drop me a private message.

[Shortsguy1]

Is it a 300TD (=station wagon) or a 300D Turbo (=sedan)? This will affect its value significantly. Your original post refers to both options, so it is difficult to advise as it currently stands.

[kerry]

Originally Posted by Hsolo

Hello MB fans,

As the subject states I'm trying to find out what fair market value of an '81 300 TD. I hope I've posted in the correct forum, if not please redirect me.

Some more info about the car: It is the wagon variant, it was originally a California car (pertinent as it has been in eastern Canada for 3 years) the car is rust free and straight as a pin with no prior accidents, the paint is dull (I feel a good buff could bring it back), water is slowly leaking in from somewhere though all the rubber looks good to me, has had a GreaseCar veggie system installed, was being driven daily until about two years ago when it was parked outside, last winter (I believe) it had to be moved to avoid the snowplow drivers rath and was difficult to start at which point a helpful neighbor suggested starting fluid (not good I know) which was used liberally until it fired up and the car was moved to a safer local, it is currently a non runner.

The owner is an old friend of mine who I was visiting for the first time in ages. He mentioned the car and that he was looking to sell but that it wasn't starting. My limited mechanical background/hobby is with the early water-cooled vw's and having just gotten a 1.6d (my first diesel) rabbit up and running I offered to take a look. The troubleshooting began by pulling a glowplug and putting 12v to it, it remained ice cold, at which point I read the back of the starting fluid can and saw the warning not to use with automatic glow plugs. The plugs are ruined in my reckoning. The starter turns over slowly even when attempting to jumpstart, and when pulling a return line for better access to the plug it was dry and there was no evidence of flow in the supply to the ip. This is as far as the troubleshooting went. I'm concerned that there has been gelling of the veggie oil or dirt from the veggie that has plugged up the fuel system. Although he has told me that there is a diesel purge built in to the controls that should flush the system before shutdown. Before I suggest to him that the pump should be stripped down, cleaned and rebuilt then following that injectors pressure tested and possibly rebuilt I hoping that those with veggie running experience could provide input.

Finally with all of the above in mind what would you offer for the car, keeping in mind that I don't want to lowball him as he is a close friend.

Thanks for reading. All and any input with fair price and further troubleshooting will be greatly appreciated.

Nat

There's the answer.

[Zacharias]

Originally Posted by Hsolo

suggested starting fluid (not good I know) which was used liberally until it fired up and the car was moved to a safer local, it is currently a non runner.

The term "liberally" makes me uneasy. Can you be more specific?

[kerry]

Originally Posted by Zacharias

The term "liberally" makes me uneasy. Can you be more specific?

"Unlike the way Rush Limbaugh would use it."

[Travis_k]

If the car is in somewhat decent shape, in my area $1200 would probably be fair, or anything less than that. I looked at a 300td and passed on it because it needed too much work (almost no oil pressure and transmission needed a rebuid), but the price was firm at $1200 because that's what the government will pay to scrap any running and registered car here.

[kerry]

Where's 'here'?

[Hsolo]

Hey guys,
Thanks everyone for your input and offers of assistance. Please excuse my lack of MB knowledge, nomenclature and so on. I should clarify a few things. The car is located about three hours away from me on the extreme east coast of Newfoundland, standing at the car and looking east if you could see across the water you would be looking at Ireland. As the car isn't required for daily service I'm confident that at my painfully slow pace I could do any work required (with the requisite mistakes/lessons learned along the way). After driving the car for a number of years in the southern US my friend parked the car shortly after moving home (driving up from Louisiana), starting a family as well as a business, needing a vehicle with modern safety features that the local mechanics weren't afraid of and with easily located parts, there aren't many Mercedes drivers or scrapyards in rural Nfld. He has assured me that all other systems from the tranny to the horn are topnotch. Looking at the new belts, tires, and filters its obvious that the car was well maintained.

I fear that my concerns over gelling of the VO and dirt have been misinterpreted, having discussed his filtering, dewatering and storage methods at length I'm positive that all percautions were taken and no "raw" fry oil was put in the tank. Just that with my tackling of the 1.6d vw I've become aware of the fine tolerances required for the ip and injectors to work properly and the turmoil caused by a grungy fuel system or running summer diesel in the winter.

I would however like to learn more about the terminal illness (cool analogy) brought on by running VO. I personally am not an environmentalist and don't understand the desire to run a fuel that was never intended for the engine. It is cool that in a pinch you can burn canola to get you home but the car and engine were designed around diesel. If I do buy the car the veggie system will be coming out. By the way, what is a used GeaseCar setup worth?

I would also like to hear more on the damage caused by starting fluid (the stroke analogy was cool too). By "liberally" I mean that the one time it was used *(to avoid the snow plow) they kept squirting until it fired up. I have always felt that if your motor won't start you should fix the underlying cause as opposed to forcing it to do something it doesn't want to. This is coupled with tales of gas motors becoming addicted to the stuff and having always been warned against it. Beyond fried glow plugs what else is waiting to be found?

Finally I must add that I'm surprised at the numbers being mentioned. For a car of this age I'm so impressed by the total lack of rust and accident free history. I paid slightly more than 2k for my rabbit which I thought was rust free having been stored each winter since new, until compared to this. If 3k will get you a running example today what were they going for back in 2005? I'm worried that my buddy got fleeced. Also how does body style, wagon vs sedan, affect price?

Again, thanks for reading.

Nat

Ps, What is startron?

[vstech]

in 05, the veggie craze was in full swing due to katrina, so it could have easily gone for 10K... ESPECIALLY FROM LA!!!!
heck, if the car was bought after Katrina in LA it could have sold for 20K...
but in today's realistic market, a well running wagon in excellent condition, with fine running engine, and perfect shifting transmission, well kept up, and with a greasecar (arguably the most reliable grease system...) kit installed, TO A GREASE ENTHUSIAST, it would be worth around 6K
with dry fuel system, possible piston/rod damage from the ETHER (I also love the stroke comment!) and non running, you have to consider, an engine transplant as a worst case for the car, and you cannot tell if the trans is any good either... they do go bad sitting... so, 1.5K tops, 5-600 if you have no intention to replace the motor and just want the car for getting yours running with spares...
oh, the 81 is a one of a kind year vehicle... it's the first year the turbo motor was put in the 123 body, and as such, the transmission is from the 126, and the speedo/odo is electronic, not cable driven... that's a plus or a minus depending...

[kerry]

The problem with starting fluid and glow plugs is that the starting fluid will ignite once it hits the hot glow plugs, regardless of where the piston is on its stroke. As you can imagine a piston moving upward on its stroke being hit by an explosion of starting fluid is not happy. Starting fluid should only be used if the glow plugs have been disabled or if your life depends on getting the car running.
Veggie oil wears out the IP and gunks up the rings.

[benhogan]

Originally Posted by kerry

Veggie oil wears out the IP and gunks up the rings.

Veggie oil= Commercially purchased biodiesel?

or

Veggie oil= homemade oil gathered from McDonalds?