Looking at a 1997 E300D with 248,0000 miles....How much $$$
 

Looking at a 97 e300d with a failing spring perch and a bent control arm.
248,000 miles and he is "asking" $2700.
What would be a fair price considering I plan to fix the suspension myself?

Or should I run from a W210?:confused:
Is a car like this just not worth messing with?

Sounds about right if no rust.

I bought my 1996 E300D with 248,000 miles (!) in 2007 for $10,800 so yours sounds good. Ask about service records. More = better. Ask about transmission service, you're getting close to end-of-life (~300,000 miles). Engine should be fine if they changed the oil regularly. Climate control? Sunroof? Power windows? Power seats? All expensive to repair.

Jeremy

It's difficult at fire sale prices but it would be nice to make the sale contingent on replacing the glow plugs.

Is it driveable? History of WVO use?

Evaluate your cost and effort to get it back on all fours compared to instead buying one of these:

1996 Mercedes E300 Diesel!NEED TO SELL!ASAP

96 mercedes benz e300d

Sixto
87 300D

Are the glow plugs pricey on these? Are the spring perches an issue in desert climates?

Glow plugs are no more expensive than other models, the trick with this engine is to get them out without having them break off in the head. When that happens, you are looking at some major money to have them removed. As for the spring perches, if the car was exclusively used in a non-salt belt area of the country you should not have much of a problem. If it was used in an area where salt was used on the roads, then yes, they can fail without warning. I just lost my 96 E300d to just such an event. Parked the car overnight, and everything was peachy keen. Got in the next morning, and thought I had a flat. Spring perch on the passenger side failed, and the rest was history. Repair prices in my area ranged from $2000-3500, and none of the shops were eager to tackle the job. Strange thing was, that a week prior to this disaster, I had the car up on a lift for wheel balancing, took a look at the spring perches, and they looked fine. Based on the cost of the repair, I could not justify putting that amount of money into a car that was starting to show its age.

Spring perches are a common failure in the UK. Repair is effected by a riveted on repair panel gotten from the Stealer price of which is under $50 per side (iirc). How can it cost $2000 - $3000 to fix in the US?

Glowplugs are best attacked with the engine hot. Another fail point is injector seal blow-by which needs a re-seating tool to cut a fresh seat in the head.

Spring perches
 

My '96 E300 spent its first 220,000 miles in the Portland, Oregon area and another 28,000 miles in the San Francisco Bay area. There is a certain amount of wet in these areas but rarely snow and salted roads. The spring perches are fine and the car has little or no rust, even underneath. It's not at 286,000 miles with hopefully many more to go.

Jeremy

Have you seen the dealership facilities of MB and BMW in the US lately. They put alot of money into their waiting room.