Looking, considering this 1983 300TD - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

MercFan · #1 02-23-2014, 09:10 PM

1983 Mercedes 300TD Turbo-diesel Wagon - Great shape

Well written ad - I'm not a fan of white (especially a repaint from blue to white), but the maintenance appears to be well done and the price is in my range. I exchanged some emails with the owner he says he didn't put much miles on the car due to and accident in the fall so he doesn't know about oil consumption... hmmm - first yellow flag. I asked him about compression test results - if he has them it may tell a story of the engine.

Looking at these pics and description, what do you see as you 'read between the lines'.

UPDATE: mileage is 285K.

minsk · #2 02-23-2014, 09:19 PM

wow thats a reallly nice one..id snag that if i was closer to it

Mölyapina · #3 02-23-2014, 09:27 PM

Looks nice. On the other side of the oil consumption coin, it's good that je doesn't want to make unsubstantiated claims.

MercFan · #4 02-23-2014, 10:04 PM

On the compression he wrote: "* I don't have the numbers right in front of me for the comp test but they came out pretty well. #1 was 320# and #2-5 were at 365+#. "

mannys9130 · #5 02-23-2014, 10:14 PM

That's kind of bad. You ideally want high compression and EVEN, EQUAL numbers for all cylinders. Even if the compression numbers are a little low, as long as the cylinders are equal across the board the engine will run well. Perhaps he's remembering wrong, or cylinder 1 has some carbon on the rings.

MercFan · #6 02-23-2014, 10:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mannys9130

That's kind of bad. You ideally want high compression and EVEN, EQUAL numbers for all cylinders. Even if the compression numbers are a little low, as long as the cylinders are equal across the board the engine will run well. Perhaps he's remembering wrong, or cylinder 1 has some carbon on the rings.

Maybe... I will need to get the actual numbers to be sure but going off the numbers he gave the variance (per my calcs) is about 14% and that's under 15% that MB gives as maximum variance - not great but still under max variance.

Another question: I don't see the blue saucer vacuum modulators that I had in my '85 - is that normal for '83?

Left Coast · #7 02-23-2014, 10:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mannys9130

That's kind of bad. You ideally want high compression and EVEN, EQUAL numbers for all cylinders. Even if the compression numbers are a little low, as long as the cylinders are equal across the board the engine will run well. Perhaps he's remembering wrong, or cylinder 1 has some carbon on the rings.

There's a number of reasons why someone else's compression test numbers are worthless to a potential buyer, as are opinions solicited on the internet. Those are not such good numbers, but they may not be very accurate either. It does look like a nice example. If you have doubts, then an independent PPI is the best way to resolve. No blue saucer in the '83.

mannys9130 · #8 02-23-2014, 11:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Left Coast

There's a number of reasons why someone else's compression test numbers are worthless to a potential buyer, as are opinions solicited on the internet. Those are not such good numbers, but they may not be very accurate either. It does look like a nice example. If you have doubts, then an independent PPI is the best way to resolve. No blue saucer in the '83.

#1 - Someone else's numbers are better than no numbers at ALL. If they are GREAT for the engine's mileage, be skeptical. If they are low, be cautious of the health of the engine and use it to your advantage if you decide to buy. If you are serious about the purchase, a PPI is a no brainer.

#2 - The op is SPECIFICALLY ASKING for opinions on the vehicle.

So why the snark?

The op posted the numbers, so I gave my opinion on what they mean if they are accurate.

toomany MBZ · #9 02-25-2014, 09:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Left Coast

There's a number of reasons why someone else's compression test numbers are worthless to a potential buyer, as are opinions solicited on the internet. Those are not such good numbers, but they may not be very accurate either. It does look like a nice example. If you have doubts, then an independent PPI is the best way to resolve. No blue saucer in the '83.

The blue flying saucer was introduced in 1985.

Skippy · #10 02-23-2014, 10:55 PM

The suspension has been lowered. Find out how it was done. If done right, it might be a plus. It's seldom done right.

I'd hammer him on the incomplete color change to knock some hundreds off the price. The clear fog lights aren't correct for an '83. They actually work better than the amber ones, but you don't need to tell the seller that.

MercFan · #11 02-23-2014, 11:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skippy

The suspension has been lowered. Find out how it was done. If done right, it might be a plus. It's seldom done right.

He wrote this about the lowering: " The coil springs were quite worn when I bought the car and I didn't like the way it wallowed while cornering. W123 springs are linear rather than progressive, so I cut 2 coils from the front and 1.5 from the rear. This effectively brought the car down 1" all around without incurring unpredictable handling. I have the Merc spring compressor (ridiculously expensive tool) and can raise the car to stock height if you desire to renew the springs."

MercFan · #12 02-23-2014, 11:37 PM

What is this part in the very front on the passenger side? Never seen that before, but then again, I never owned a TD wagon.

uberwasser · #13 02-23-2014, 11:48 PM

SLS fluid reservoir.

crazy4diesel · #14 02-25-2014, 11:40 AM

My 2 cents: and that's exactly what it's worth when it comes to car purchases, I know folks will usually do what the want in the end.

I think the mileage is too high for the price. Also, when someone takes really cheep shortcuts in one place it tends to make wonder what else did they do on the cheep? The color change in and of itself I don't mind...though I agree the original blue was a much nicer color (again personal preference). That they cut corners on the color change, is what I find as a red-flag.