Hi all,
Sorry if this is the wrong place for this but I was hoping I could get some help feeling out what this car could be worth. I've had it for about 20 years now. Daily drove it for about 10 of those, now drive it about once every two weeks just to keep everything operational.


Due to personal circumstances (displaced by the Camp Fire in Northern California) it doesn't really make sense to keep owning this car. It is hard to price these things, it seems like they can range from 50 bucks to get hauled to the junk yard to 5 grand for "fair" on sites like hagerty. Where is the reality on them and where do folks recommend selling their older mercedes through?


The car does drive, though it doesn't love going up steep inclines. The mechanic I have had it serviced through burnt down in the Camp Fire, unfortunately, so I have minimal maintenance records.



Car Details:

• miles: 385,000 (ish)
• model: 1983 300D Turbo Diesel
• Interior: sun damaged and cracked but mostly intact, some of the fabric on the cabin liners is peeling away and the seat cushions are cracked.
• exterior: sun damaged with scratches in the paint and a big dent in the front right quarter panel.
• Air conditioner: does blow air, but it's not cold. Hopefully it is just that the coolant leaked out?
• Annoying issues: powered rear windows don't roll up and down, radio antenna mast is stuck up, sunroof doesn't open. I am sure many other small annoying issues one would expect from a 35 year old almost 400k miles car.

EDIT: Photos a few posts down as requested.

Work backwards from basic good value and subtract cost of repairs.


A/C will cost $50-2000 depending on issue. Recharge (unlikely) is $50, pull dashboard the replace evap maybe $2000. Most likely is compressor at around $500-1000.


Interior rehab could run $500-1000 depending on where you source parts, perhaps more.


Paint, $1500-4000 depending on what quality you want.


Windows/sunroof; $200-800?



Bodywork; ?


If this is really a TD (and not just a turbo diesel) its base value may be $3-7k for a nice one (not great) with no major issues.


If its just a 300d (turbo) its base value may be around $2-4k for a nice driver with no issues.


As a buyer I would have to assume to top estimates on repairs. If you disagree then you should handle the repair. ie;(if you really wanna bet its just a recharge)

Post some pictures

Will do, thanks again for the advice folks.

1. Is this a wagon?

2. Pictures tell a lot more.

3. Sluggish up hills we can fix. Minor adjustments really awaken this car.

4... price varies a lot depending on color, buyer needs, phase of the moon, etc.

__________________
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!

I snapped some quick photos. My apologies for the poor quality and the mess/seat covers in the car, finding free time has been a nightmare. Also thank you to mark for differentiating between a 300d turbo and a 300td, I didn't realize there was a difference and had written the wrong model in the initial post. It is a 300D Turbo Diesel, not a 300TD

Going off the post from mark82 earlier, is it safe to say the range for the car in this condition is in the 2k ish range as is, and under a correct phase of the moon could be as high as 4k ish?

If I could get 2K for cars like that, I would sell them all in a heartbeat. I have a friend that has a much nicer car for $1,200. That would be a good price for a car in that condition, not $2,000+. That is just my opinion though. It does seem like these cars are higher priced nowadays. I think the Bring a Trailer auction prices have raised the prices elsewhere.

__________________

All Diesel Fleet
1985 R107 300SLD TURBODIESEL
2005 E320 CDI (daily)

LOTS of parts for sale!


EGR block kit
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/355250-sale-egr-delete-block-off-plate-kit.html

1985 CA emissions 617 owners- You Need This!
Sanden style A/C Compressor Mounting Kit for your 616/ 617 For Sale + Install Inst.

Sanden Instalation Guide (post 11):
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/367883-sanden-retrofit-installation-guide.html

Maybe you misinterpreted my post;


If all the issues were fixed (good runner with no major issues) it might be a $2-4k car.


"As is" I suspect its a sub $1k car due to the expense/risk involved in the repairs.

California pays people $1200 (last i heard at least) to scrap them so it has raised the price a bit, so I would say more like $1800-2200 would seem normal here.

It will take some dollars to fix that car. The things you can't do are the expensive things. Seat repair and bodywork will push your cost above what you can sell it for.

You would be better of buying a nicer car for more money IF you can find one. That said, anything can be fixed if you're willing to expend the effort.

I talked to a guy that said he used to buy cheap cars to refurbish and always lost money on them. Then, he started buying expensive cars and fixing them. Labor is higher as are parts for the high dollar cars but he says that he makes money off them.

There's a lesson in there somewhere.

__________________
85SD 240K & stopped counting painted, putting bac together. 84SD 180,000. sold to a neighbor and member here but I forget his handle. The 84 is much improved from when I had it. 85TD beginning to repair to DD status. Lots of stuff to do.

Thank you all for your expertise and clarifications. I really appreciate your time and will take all of this in to account when trying to figure out how best to get this car to a new home.

Clean all the crap out of it and then ask $1,500, take the first $800 + cash offer you see .

Don't waste time talking to anyone who doesn't show you cash in hand .

This will prolly make a nice car for someone who is willing to put in labor and more than they buy it for .

otherwise it's a nice parts car, sell it to Pick-A-Part .

I hope you sell it to someone who'll fix if but those are getting hard to find these days .

__________________
-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better