I'm interested in a 95 300D. It has about 330k miles on it and the owner said the AC has been recently done. He said he has the receipt for it. I've heard about the electrical harness issue with this model. My questions are:

1- Is $3800 a decent price ?
2- Too high mileage ?
3- How much does it cost to replace the harness ?
4- Any other items to watch out for with this model ?

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1982 240D 4spd 232k (deceased)

$3800 seems high
Harness is $550 + labor
Receipt for what specifically? Recharge, new evap, new xv, new compressor?
Other items at that mileage: vac pump, glow plugs, brake hoses, fuel tank strainer.

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2009 E320 Bluetec 117,000
1995 E300D 306,000 Sold
1996 Ford Taurus LX 130,000 Sold
1985 300TD Still 225,000 Sold
2016 Ford Fusion 24,900

I'll see if I can get specifics on the AC repair.

What about the mileage, is transmission an issue then ?

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1982 240D 4spd 232k (deceased)

If virtually everything works, performs well, and interior and exterior are decent, $3800 is at the high end of the reasonable range. If the transmission is original it could go at any time....but one forum member with same car is on original tranny with over 400k miles.

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14 E250 Bluetec "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 153k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 171k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver, 142k mi, wastegate conversion

19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife

Transmission lifetime is usually a minimum of 250K miles. A lot depends on how the car was driven and whether the transmission oil and filter were regularly changed. That the transmission has lasted this long is a good sign that the car has not been abused. One test that you can do is, with the engine and transmission at normal operating temperatures, shift into Drive, holding the car with the brake. Keeping on the brake, shift smoothly but quickly into Reverse and measure the time that it takes the transmission to disengage and reengage the clutches. The longer it takes, the more wear there is on the various clutch packs. A new transmission will shift in a second or less; a very worn transmission could take a couple of seconds or more to take up all the slack.

Jeremy

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"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970