and fluid leaks which can be minor or major (as in engine removal) to fix,

ya prob don wanna deal with a rear main seal, or even the upper oil pan,

which is prob all original,

if the oil cooler lines are original and even if not leaking now, i'd replace unless perhaps there was some record of when last done,

when dealing with oil cooler lines, it is all too easy to wreck the oil cooler threads

Unfortunately "good working order" is not typically associated with a 30 year old vehicle that is sold by a dealer.

The best way to describe the general condition of these vehicles is "operating". They start and go down the road under their own power, but typically need $3K worth of suspension and cooling system components to make them a reliable driver.

Furthermore, the climate control system will definitely pose issues unless it has also been replaced to a significant degree.

If you're looking for a vehicle that is in good working order, sorry, but these 30 year old diesels will not be for you unless you have time and money to invest in them.

One out of 200 will have a complete set of maintenance records to document the current condition. The remaining 199 should be considered to be factory original parts..................

I've worked for a few used car dealers in my time and I would not trust them to sell you a good car.

They'll buy a car for a certain price, jack up the price of the vehicle thousands of dollars and sell it with a down payment equal to what they paid for it. Many do nothing to the car at all except maybe charge the battery and check the oil before they sell it.

I'm sure there are good decent used car salesmen out there but... they are hard to find. If you find one - sing his praises.

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

Most used car salesmen are just in training for a political career. As Hunter suggested get the thing up on a hoist and check out everything. A thirty year old car is a thirty year old car. Either it was well maintained or it was not. It also goes a long way for the person inspecting it to be very familiar with this model. There is no substitute for experience.