1981 240D worth? - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

jsain86 · #16 02-09-2015, 11:35 PM

Good call. I think I will do that.

sleepstar · #17 02-10-2015, 12:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by charmalu

Really?

Did you read what I post above on the few I found?

If the guy want`s $1800 and will hold out for that, why does it make him a a.. h...?

Charlie

like i said, the manuals command a premium, which is almost all that you posted. theres a $1k automatic up there too, which sounds to be in comparable shape to the car the OP is talking about. my take on the guy being an a**hole is wanting the car to rot. i guess he can eventually die with the car sitting in his yard after which it will be towed away for scrap.

Mölyapina · #18 02-10-2015, 01:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vstech

Worth to a buyer or a seller?

With JUST the info given so far, I'm leaning between 1200 to 1800

"Yellow" covers a wide area... Actual color is important to value.
Interior color is important to value...
"Paint just needs to be buffed" is a SCARY description.
"No rust" is a scary description.
There are a LOT of problem areas where rust grows invisible to the inexperienced looker. Don't be that guy that buys a "no rust" car then his seat falls throu the floor, or the trunk fills with water, or the rear seats fill with water, etc...
The 240 automatic is a tough car to love... Set your sights very high, and check everything before offering a price...

Second everything this man said. ^^

Quote:

Originally Posted by jsain86

The owner wants $1800 for the car. He said he will let the car rot before he would go any lower than $1800. So firm on the price, and of course the car needs work.

The statement in bold. How stupid.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Junkman

I would let him keep it. The suspension will be shot. The brakes are about worn out. The vacuum system leaks. The water pump and vacuum pump are ready to go. Nothing has been done to the suspension. "Buffing will in fact turn into a needed paint job. All else either needs attention now or will in the near future.

I log fuel, mileage and any/all work done to my vehicles. I also try to do a complete system so it's fixed and doesn't keep nickle & dime-ing me or leaving me stuck on the road. They all still need work. Anything less would need more work. Keep looking. He wants too mucking futch.

Look for a 300 with a 617 or manual. You'll be glad.

I'm with Junkman. If he's never had to replace anything, you'll have to replace everything.

Mölyapina · #19 02-10-2015, 01:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skid Row Joe

So, the car wasn't for sale in the first place then. You just walked up and asked to buy it? Not sure what the price issue is?

You're saying you never approached someone about buying something that wasn't posted for sale? Whether or not an item was listed for sale shouldn't make a difference in what price the PO should pay.

gatorblue92 · #20 02-10-2015, 07:29 AM

Personally I would walk briskly away from this one. If he said he only drove it and never needed to do anything then your wallet will be in for a shock. The auto 240D is a very sluggish car. I love my auto 240D so much I did a manual swap

In the seller's own words "let it rot."

vstech · #21 02-10-2015, 08:46 AM

let us know if you inspect it thoroughly, and be sure to point out how much "rot" you find...

it's likely the seller does not want to sell the car. you can look over all the issues the car has, and tell the owner that it has already rotted, and will need multiple thousands to get it in great shape. offer to bring the car over to him when it is repaired, and let him drive it if he likes, but aside from the engine and transmission being functional, nothing you have posted tells us the value of the car.
this could be a gem worth the 1800... but I'd bet it isn't. you have to look everywhere and determine if it is.
also...

even if it's worth 1800... it will likely need 1500 or more to make it a reliable daily driver. the 240 has a bunch of issues that need addressing. fuel pressure, and #1 piston come to mind. also the oil pump issues, the slow acceleration, the need for perfect tune to be driveable...

be honest with the guy, point out all the issues that you find with the car. but it may be too late, the car may be worth about 250 in scrap at this point... (steel prices are very low at the moment!)

Phillytwotank · #22 02-10-2015, 09:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jooseppi Luna

If he's never had to replace anything, you'll have to replace everything.

So True!

franklyspeaking · #23 02-10-2015, 12:02 PM

For what it's worth, Chattanooga doesn't get a lot of snow, and I don't think they use salt on the roads (could be wrong - they have a lot of hills/mountains). I had a 1982 240D, which always lived in North Alabama (125 miles west), and it had zero rust when I sold it a few years back, so I wouldn't be surprised if the no rust statement was true. I think the biggest issue is the automatic transmission, which makes the car unsafe slow. I usually turned the A/C on and off to channel the horsepower to where I needed it, and mine was a 4 speed. My wife grew to hate it over time, because it had "no pickup". She won't let me buy another one - even though I would like to have one!

Maxbumpo · #24 02-10-2015, 04:01 PM

My father had a 240D auto, I think an '82 or '83? I found it to be very drivable, may have been a rare exception to the rest of the 240D population.

One often overlooked issue which prevents full power in any 123 car is the slow but inevitable degradation of the throttle linkage. As they age, flooring the accelerator may no longer provide full stroke at the injection pump, so you loose some very critical horses. If the acceleration is not within factory spec for 0 - 60 (~18 seconds I think?), this is a good thing to check which is also easy if you have a lovely assistant to plant their right foot while you watch under the hood for full stroke of the linkage.

Skippy · #25 02-10-2015, 04:39 PM

The description so far sounds like a $1000 car. If the owner wants to keep it and let it rot, leave it be. We used to get the end result of that when I worked at a junkyard all the time. It makes no sense to me, but it seems to be pretty common.

MagicBus · #26 02-10-2015, 05:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jooseppi Luna

You're saying you never approached someone about buying something that wasn't posted for sale? Whether or not an item was listed for sale shouldn't make a difference in what price the PO should pay.

True enough. The buyer should pay what the buyer is comfortable with. If that's the actual street value of the car in question, fine. But, whether or not an item is listed for sale can and probably should make a difference to the seller.

I've had people ask to buy cars of mine that weren't for sale at the time. In that situation, I throw out the actual number at which it's worth it to me to sell the car. The problem is that I drive old cars and fix them myself. I usually have close to or more than book value tied up in my cars. As drive them as long as I like them and can keep them reliable.

If someone came up to me on the street and asked how much it would cost to buy a car of mine that's not for sale, I wouldn't throw out the actual value. To give you a very rough idea, let's say I pay $500 for a car, fix it up for myself, spending maybe $1200 on parts and doing the work myself. In the end, I have a car that I like and that I know is reliable. So, I've spent $1700, but the car has a book value of say, $1000. Not a problem, as I like my car, and will be using it for a long time to come.

So, Joe Stranger walks up to me on the street, likes my car, sees it's in nice shape, and happens to know it has a book value of $1000. He wants it and asks if I'll sell it, and for how much. At this point, my answer to Joe Stranger is either a firm but polite "it's not for sale." Or... "$1,800 if you really want it."

If the car's not for sale, and I don't need to sell it, then I need an incentive to do so. I've spent $1,700 on it, so I'm not going to sell it at book value and take a $700 loss if I don't need to. I'm also not going to sell it at $1,700 and break even if I don't need to. The only way I'm selling is if I end up coming out ahead.

So, question for the overall discussion, does that make me a butthole, or am I somehow obligated to take a loss because of the car's street value?

As for the owner of the '81 240D in question, it's possible the owner has more than $1,800 tied up in the car. It's easy to spend that much on a car, especially an old car, and doubly so for an old Mercedes. If it's not for sale, and the seller doesn't need to get rid of it, he can and should (my opinion) be asking for what it's worth to him to sell the car. His phrasing may have been brusque, but I can't argue the logic.

jsain86 · #27 02-10-2015, 05:47 PM

I think im going to walk away, just because you cant drive a 34 year old car and not do anything to it. I really dont feel like dumping money into it. If it was cheaper i would.

MagicBus · #28 02-10-2015, 05:53 PM

Probably a good move. There's plenty more of them out there.

I've only ever bought one car that wasn't for sale at the time. Even then... the story went like this. Cliffs notes:

saw car I liked
approached owner in parking lot, asking if it was for sale
seller said no, but took my contact details should he ever change his mind
seller called me a year and a half later
checked car out again
seller told me his price
I made a counter offer
seller wasn't happy with getting a counter offer - he thought he'd get his price (in retrospect, it was a fair price, but there were some unknowns)
I brought my offer up, we agreed, and I bought the car
12 years later, I still own and drive it

leathermang · #29 02-10-2015, 06:27 PM

A lot of talk about what one has put into a car in terms of money...
but when I finally get through going through all the little things.. doing it RIGHT...
that blood sweat and care figure into what I think of the car... and particularly with regards to Reliability... knowing you have fixed properly the little things which came up.... and it translating into getting you home each time... that affects what I view a car's worth to be....

Skid Row Joe · #30 02-10-2015, 07:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MagicBus

True enough. The buyer should pay what the buyer is comfortable with. If that's the actual street value of the car in question, fine. But, whether or not an item is listed for sale can and probably should make a difference to the seller.

I've had people ask to buy cars of mine that weren't for sale at the time. In that situation, I throw out the actual number at which it's worth it to me to sell the car. The problem is that I drive old cars and fix them myself. I usually have close to or more than book value tied up in my cars. As drive them as long as I like them and can keep them reliable.

If someone came up to me on the street and asked how much it would cost to buy a car of mine that's not for sale, I wouldn't throw out the actual value. To give you a very rough idea, let's say I pay $500 for a car, fix it up for myself, spending maybe $1200 on parts and doing the work myself. In the end, I have a car that I like and that I know is reliable. So, I've spent $1700, but the car has a book value of say, $1000. Not a problem, as I like my car, and will be using it for a long time to come.

So, Joe Stranger walks up to me on the street, likes my car, sees it's in nice shape, and happens to know it has a book value of $1000. He wants it and asks if I'll sell it, and for how much. At this point, my answer to Joe Stranger is either a firm but polite "it's not for sale." Or... "$1,800 if you really want it."

If the car's not for sale, and I don't need to sell it, then I need an incentive to do so. I've spent $1,700 on it, so I'm not going to sell it at book value and take a $700 loss if I don't need to. I'm also not going to sell it at $1,700 and break even if I don't need to. The only way I'm selling is if I end up coming out ahead.

So, question for the overall discussion, does that make me a butthole, or am I somehow obligated to take a loss because of the car's street value?

As for the owner of the '81 240D in question, it's possible the owner has more than $1,800 tied up in the car. It's easy to spend that much on a car, especially an old car, and doubly so for an old Mercedes. If it's not for sale, and the seller doesn't need to get rid of it, he can and should (my opinion) be asking for what it's worth to him to sell the car. His phrasing may have been brusque, but I can't argue the logic.

I see you get it, too.

Every time someone stops and asks about buying any of my vehicles over the years, first I laugh at them, followed by either double or tripling the fair market value of it as to what the price is, so they'll realize either; A) they can't afford it, or, B) IT"S NOT FOR SALE.