1982 300sd - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

#1 09-24-2002, 10:45 PM

Please give me some help! I'm looking at a one owner vehicle and really can't find anything wrong with it. It has 33,000 original miles.
What should one pay for something like this in excellent condition?
It has always been gargare kept.

What things should I look out for with this vehicle?

What are the major expenses?

In 2000 the owner had a new a/c system installed and claims it is functioning perfectly. I didn't hear any noticable knocking sounds in the engine. They have all the original paperwork and claim that the engine has never been taken apart for anything. The only thing they have done is service the fluids which they have some records for. The only other modification to the car is the original Pirelli tires have been changed to MXV's. It sounds like it is almost to perfect. I've considered having a dealership check the vehicle out. Please fill me in what is the worst I could expect. I've always heard very good things about these cars in the past. The price seems a little high but I'm asking what your experience shows. The NADA value shows the low 6's but they are asking a couple thousand more than this.

Thanks for your help,

Jim

P.E.Haiges · #2 09-25-2002, 12:01 AM

J Reid,

To be accurate it had zero original and now has 33,000 actual miles if the odometer is working and hasen't been tampered with.

If I was looking for a 300SD with that low mileage, I would pay much more then the book value. It is an absolutely fantastic find. This is a car that will give you 200,000 miles of service with little trouble and will last another 20 years if you don't drive it on salt covered roads.

What it worth is up to you. The book value is just average of reported sales.

If you get it, don't forget to fix the EGR valve for proper operation.

P E H

#3 09-25-2002, 12:37 AM

P.E.'s been on this board longer than I but 33k may actually be not-so-good of a thing. Cars that sit are sometimes a bad investment. You end up with leaks springing to and fro and seals drying up at random..Not to mention other things like dry-rot bushings and rubber...

anhydrous7 · #4 09-25-2002, 07:10 AM

P E H
I own a 1982 300SD with 137K on it now. Just purchased her in August. I saw your comment on fixing the EGR valve for proper operation. What does this entail? I think I remember reading some other postings where people were blocking the vacuum line by inserting a BB at the end. Is this what you are talking about? If there is a thread on this already, I apologize as I did not perform search on this yet.

Thanks,

Rob

jcd · #5 09-25-2002, 11:51 AM

These cars love work, and do not like to sit.

A pre-purchase inspection is in order.

My only other thought is, you say there are no knocking sounds in the engine, are you sure it is a diesel (kidding)

JCD

vwbuge · #6 09-25-2002, 11:58 AM

You didn't hear any knocking from the motor? Was it running? Seriously, I wouldn't pay much over 6 or 7 thousand. If taken care of it will last you a lifetime. But you can find another with more mileage that was also taken care of for much less. And it will also last you a lifetime.

#7 09-25-2002, 12:15 PM

I'd have a good mechanic or Mercedes shop do a thoro check of the car, including a compression test on the diesel. I bought a similar "creampuff" on trust from a Shopforum poster last spring, and ended up with almost $4,000 in engine work I hadn't expected.

Sounds great...and there are still terrific cars out there, but with any old car it can be the "hanger queens" that give more problem than something steadily used and taken care of.

Good luck

rickg · #8 09-25-2002, 11:16 PM

There seems to be a lot of people on this forum afraid of low-milage older cars. I agree with some of the arguements, but not all of them. I've owned two cars in years past that were about 20 years old, both with around 50,000 origional miles on them. They both were two of the best cars I ever owned! The biggest problem I guess was the fact that they were american-built cars from the sixties, and it got increasingly difficult to get even basic maintanace parts for them, and wrecking yards with cars that old in my area were getting scarcer all the time, except for ones that specialized in that type of thing. In other words, they got expensive. A twenty year old Benz is still a fairly easy thing to get parts for. Even the old 1968 220D I had a few years ago was a piece of cake to get parts for.
If I could get ahold of an old low-milage Benz with the right kind of history, I'd grab it in a second. It should have spent it's life in a relatively dry garage. It should have been driven occasionally over the years, not 30,000 miles in the first 5 years, then parked for the next 15. And so on.
Even if it had been sitting for a long time, one advantage would be a better built model then the newer ones, and would probably be totally rust free(in a dry garage). Those two factors are high on my priority list. Gaskets and rubber boots can be fixed and replaced. A rust bucket on the other hand can be a real waste of money/time.
Well, that's my opinion anyway, for what it's worth. (probably not much to some)

#9 09-26-2002, 12:50 AM

Sounds like it might be a car worth getting, but get it checked out before purchasing, and if the owner will not allow you to, then walk away. Also $6,000 is a good starting point, but you might be able to talk the owner down closer to $5,000. These cars don't have a high collectable value, but instead you will be a getting a car that is like new. Still expect to put up to several hundred dollars into the vehicle if you get it.
This is just my honest opinion, but don’t let it stop you from buying this vehicle.

william rogers · #10 09-26-2002, 02:37 AM

you don't mention what State this car is in older low milage cars here in the damp costal North West
scare me. I bought an 81 SD for $1600, put another 1600 or so in it ,and feel that it will serve me for many many years with carefull maintence........
William Rogers......