One of my buddies is looking to get into the MB diesel world after being around mine for a while (I'm already a corrupting influence ).

We're thinking about looking at this one today:
1985 Mercedes 300 turbo diesel

Anything to look out for on these models? Looks pretty clean, seems like the PO cared about the car.

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RenaissanceMan Labs: where the future is being made today.

Garage:

2017 Chevy Colorado Diesel (nanny state emissions)
2005 Volvo S40 T5 AWD, 77k
1987 Mercedes-Benz 300D turbodiesel, 4 sp auto, 156k - 28.7 mpg
1996 Tracker 4x4, 2 door, 16v, 3 sp auto. 113k - 28.6 mpg

WARNING: this post may contain dangerous free thinking.

Impossible to determine w/o checking it out with a complete PPI. They're selling it for at least one reason. The PPI would identify the deficiencies of the car, not disclosed in the ad..

That looks like a great deal.

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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

Looks pretty good I guess. Things to check out for are signs of the power steering belt rubbing into the oil cooler line (this happens when the engine mount on the drivers side collapses) and the state of the flex discs on the drive shaft (if you see any cracks, replace immediately).
These are all parts that are usually neglected, and when they fail they will fail SPECTACULARLY and take the car down with it.

When you take it for a test drive, the seats might turn out to be saggy and there might be play on the steering wheel. The former can be quite easily fixed (pool noodles!) and the latter can be adjusted, though some folks advice against it.
If there is no discernible play on the steering wheel, you might want to check and make sure that the steering straightens itself out after full lock. If it doesn't, the PO tightened it too much.

Other then that, check to see if your vacuum stuff works. These are prone to break. So check if the door locks work, if the HVAC unit works (heat all the time, no heat at all?) and if the engine turns off quickly after turning off the key.

I mean, for comparison sake:
I bought a '84 W123 from an owner that "meticulously maintained it, as did the previous owner" (literal quote from the Craigslist ad) for 1500 bucks, and still haven't been able to drive it, due to it having a gazillion issues. (all the famous ones, like flex discs, engine mounts and oil cooler lines).

Just sayin'. Then again, I seriously don't think you could go wrong for 1800 bucks and that interior looks gorgeous.

I do however wonder if you should have a W123 as a daily driver. I mean, they are awesome and incredibly well made and over-engineered cars. But they are also 30 years old. But as hobby? I sure would check that one out!

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"The MB W123 is so bulletproof, you can drive them forever. Which is a good thing as it takes that long to get anywhere."
Betsie: 1984 W123 300D (hobby, 280k miles)
Myrla: 2001 Mazda Protege 2.0 ES 5spd (daily driver, 130k miles)
The Turd: 2007 Toyota Camry (wife's car, 118k miles)

Looks like the vote is split down the middle. I should have made this a poll!

__________________
RenaissanceMan Labs: where the future is being made today.

Garage:

2017 Chevy Colorado Diesel (nanny state emissions)
2005 Volvo S40 T5 AWD, 77k
1987 Mercedes-Benz 300D turbodiesel, 4 sp auto, 156k - 28.7 mpg
1996 Tracker 4x4, 2 door, 16v, 3 sp auto. 113k - 28.6 mpg

WARNING: this post may contain dangerous free thinking.

Car body appears to be straight and clean. Interior looks unfaded besides the sagging pleats. 219k miles is not a lot of miles.

$1800 is a great deal.

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1983 123.133 California
- GreaseCar Veg System

The pics look great. If the car has been maintained and is rust free, the price is cheap. The fact it is in a garage raises the price in my opinion.

Check around the west coast on craigslist. You can find clunkers for not much less that you will have to put lots of work and money into, usually exceeding what you could have gotten a nice car for.

Now that you have pointed it out to all the rest of us, we can inquire about it too!

Regards,

W.

Wow. I'd jump on it for that.

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Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"

I'd be all over it, don't waist time to test drive it. If it runs out good and you like the condition I hope you will leave the lady a deposit at least.

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92 e300d2.5t
01 e320
05 cdi
85 chev c10

The only way you can determine what else this car needs is by a complete PPI and engine compression check, AC check, cruise-control, etc., etc.. However, I doubt she'd let it even be PPIed off-premises at the MB dealer or a high-line indy garage. That wouldn't stop me from asking, esp. since she's disclosed the windows don't work - that's not a good sign of "great care," to me.

RUST RUST RUST!!!!

Check everywhere for rust, especially the jack pocket area. They can look pretty good but have serious rust issues underneath. Another spot is the windshield pillars and/or the rear window/trunk seal area. The pics in the ad are not detailed enough to really make this clear.

The other guys mentioned stuff that might need fixing and they're right - but the mechanical stuff can be fixed and it'll stay fixed for years. Rust is TOUGH to fix and have it stay that way and I've done body work for over 50 years. I lived in Michigan for most of my life and now that we're in NC I can't tell you how much better the cars are. But at PnP (where I can crawl all over the cars) I still see cars that I'd avoid.

Dan

I'd be asking more than that for mine if I were selling, and mine has a hundred thousand more miles, a less nice interior, and various old car issues.

If the thing runs and drives with no obvious major problems, it's worth the asking price.

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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.

If it ain't a rust bucket, that's a steal. The transmission job alone is more than that. Cant lose even if it is rusty. Make a great parts car. 85 is best year.

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What Would Rudolph Do?
1975 300D, 1975 240D, 1985 300SD, 1997 300D, 2005 E320 , 2006 Toyota Prius

I see the ad is down. Did you score?

W.

It's hard to say for certain. I may not be the only one that saw her number. Sometimes ppl realize they may have mispriced it if ppl are calling left and right.