Hi,

I'm new to the forum and had a question for you all. We currently have a GL350 Bluetec as a family car (bought used) and my wife and I have really been happy with it. My car (2005 dodge magnum) is being totaled out from a hail storm and I am in the market for another full size wagon, but want to get better fuel economy than the 17mpg I was pulling in the magnum.

That said, I'm interested in the 79-85 300TD and have been reading some your threads with your project vehicles and such. Would a well maintained and low miles 300td be a fairly reliable daily driver? I put on 7k-10k in a year and have a very good Mercedes mechanic down the street that bills around $95/hr.

I'm considering putting an off on this car: 1981 Mercedes Benz 300TD (Diesel)

Does it look like it is worth the money, and what should I look for?

Thanks-
Byron

Scam, in my opinion...

The car should have a tachometer if it's an 81... I think, all other turbo MB's do... Also the cluster looks like it's popped out, another indicator of work done on it.
13K just seems high on this vehicle. MANY turbo wagons in great condition are out there.

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

That said, leather in a w123 is quite rare, if it's really leather. It appears to be, but it's hard to tell on the 123 because the pattern is the same...

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

What happened to the tachometer?

Dkr.

Wrong, 1981 300TD Turbodiesel wagons have a clock instead of the tach, and also have an electronic speedo like the 126 diesel cars.

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1982 300D Turbodiesel, daily driver. Mods so far: Fram 8038 paper filter, 4 brake light mod, Gen II w126 (front) rotors/calipers, boost turned up to 12lbs, non-egr manifolds, water/methanol injection, 4-speed manual
1980 300SD Turbodiesel, project car, nearly ready to hit the street

1974 240D, New paint

It's nice but the price is way out there.

Purdy Wagon.

Wonder why the Turbo was rebuilt at 105K miles? They should last about the life of the engine.

That price is a bit steep, you would have to do a Vin# check, Carfax, and take a close look at the all the records they have.

I would have a qualified MB mechanic that knows these old Diesels to do PPI before handing over any cash.

This guy could just be a flipper.

Charlie

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there were three HP ratings on the OM616...

1) Not much power
2) Even less power
3) Not nearly enough power!! 240D w/auto

Anyone that thinks a 240D is slow drives too fast.

80 240D Naturally Exasperated, 4-Spd 388k DD 150mph spedo 3:58 Diff

We are advised to NOT judge ALL Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics. Funny how that works

thats too much for that car. the brake booster hose looks crimped near the booster. also the brake fluid is dark . i dont think its leather i think its a flipper that thinks its leather.

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1981 NA 300D 310k miles

no mention of a valve adjustment being preformed, no mention of fuel filters being done, that primary is as black as a sharpy marker...

Those front seats are not original, they are from a w116, look at the rear nets and the sides....I believe only 76 w123 had those style seats....

Its also not leather, I see no creases which is a dead give away for leather...

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Clean car for its age. Seats look to be MB tex, which is better than leather IMNSHO. Radio looks to be aftermarket, if you care about that. Nice car, but I don't think it's 13 thousand dollars worth of nice.

As for the general idea of dailying a W123, I did that with a '77 240D for about three years. At present I split the duties between my motorbike and my '83 which is sitting at 334,000 miles. I trust it enough that I drove it to San Diego and back for a two week business trip in March (529 miles each way). I have put a considerable amount of work into the car. It's worth much more than the $800 I paid for it in 2005, but I'll never get back all the dollars I put into it.

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Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.

Those seats are absolutely leather and the net on the back of seats is correct for the year of the car. The pleats in the seat are a dead giveaway, the MB-Tex seats are 5 pleats and the leather option is 6 pleats. That is why the seat pads are not interchangeable. See below for example.
This is a car with leather
Mercedes Motoring - 1979 300TD Diesel Station Wagon
This is a car with MB Tex
Mercedes Motoring - 1979 300TD Diesel Station Wagon

Looks like a nice car, the prices for wagons are high in general, I would buy on condition and history. This car has low mileage and will absolutely find a buyer at that price if the seller waits long enough. I'd go for it if the car checks out, it does not appear to be worn out like most of the wagons on the market. Great color combo.

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2001 G500 (45k and counting)
1991 350SDL (211 and counting)
1998 C43 (50k) Silver/Black (sold)
1995 E500 (40k and counting) Pearl Black/Anthracite (sold)
1991 300CE (50k and counting) Silver/Black Cloth (sold)
1983 300D - 79k Classic White/Blue Leather
2002 E55 Obsidian Black/Black
1996 S600 Coupe - 75k Black/Black (traded)
1984 300D -145k (sold)
Silver Blue Metallic/ Blue Leather
1985 300D - 87k (sold)
Manganese Brown/ Palomino Leather
2005 E55, 50k(sold)
Flint Gray/Black

No rear headrests, so it's not got the third row seats. No roof crossbars, no rear cargo nets...
New throttle pivot.
Poorly maintained...
Dirty engine compartment... So it's unlikely to be a flipper... They often slather on armor all.
This car has the only year electronic speedo, so it's unlikely to be incorrect instruments, mileage should be right, but for that money I'd insist on carfax. It looks like they shampooed the carpets, cleaned tires and put it up for sale.
The wagon was the first year w123 with a turbo, so it got the same stuff the W126 diesel did... 722.3xx trans with the electronic speed sensor, and matching odometer cluster...

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

The gauge cluster and seats are correct for the year. 81 had some old and some new trim bits. As was already posted I would ignore the mileage listed and go on condition and and records available for the car. I had a 300D with 350k miles that was in better shape than a 280E with 90k

IMO moving from an 05 Magnum to a W123 as a daily wouldn't be my first choice. For the money that this car is listed at, a fine 2005 E350 Wagon could be had.

But,

Old Wagons are "in" on today's SUV overladen roads. They ooze class, sophistication, and a W123 demands a second look, but isn't foreign enough to cause a stir in the parking lot.

So if your dead set on this one, take it for a PPI with your Benz guru.

Probably 3-4K above value if everything checks out. But, if this car was on Ebay, I bet it would fetch more than the asking price.

The pricing on well preserved wagons is way out of whack. The demand is inflated by too many "yuppie" 30-somethings who remeber these cars as kids, and now want them as a family cruiser or beach house car. This is exactly why MercedesMotorin' exists. An old Benz in the eyes of some is an more of a fashion Accessory than an well engineered and beautifully crafted auto.

That being said:

The seller bought the car at 99k and has done "the repairs myself" since then. Lots of work, but no mention of Valve Adjustments is strange. He's also trying to foot the bill for his kid's college. Expensive. Can't blame him for asking this kind of money. But this is eBay "flipper" money...

These cars can be used as a DD, but have a back up plan. There will be times when you must wait on parts.

The price does seem high, but he may think he's sitting on a gold mine.

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83 SD

84 CD