I am in the process of searching for and buying my first 240D or 300D, late 70's or early 80's vintage. What tips can people on the forum offer to look for in these cars. The ones I've seen have had problems with rust around the bottom and corner of fenders and along the bottom of doors. Are there any other problems that I should be looking for in these cars of this vintage?

Thanks for your input

Any and all maintenance records!!!!!
Mke sure all the vacum componets work e.g. door locks, brake booster the first couple I looked at had problems with the vacum pump. but the maintenance records are most important if the owner does not have good records stat away from it.

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Keith Schuster
99 Harley Davidson Ultra Classic
97 Dodge Ram
83 300D
auto\hydraulic mechanic 20 yrs

Hi. I've owned several 123 cars. Usually, they're rock-solid performers, but I would rate the 240D as much better than the 300D. The 300D is too complicated for my taste. I've had BIG expense fixing stuff on the 300 that never gave me a moment's trouble on the 240. My 240D is a four speed which makes it a bit quicker, but it's still a slug (Lord bless it). I noticed all the 123's I know are leakers (around the windshield mainly). Check the driver's side rear carpet, mat, floorboard. If they're wet or if, when you pull up the mat, you see signs of rust -- think hard on it. Mercedes wants $250.00 to replace the windshield gasket and they won't even touch the read window (too much chance of breaking). All 123 A/C units are suspect. The 300D has ACC (automatic climate control) which is especially worrisome. Under the hood, you'll see a big difference. The 300 engine compartment is loaded with vacuum lines while the 240 is relatively simple -- only a few vacuum lines. Bottom line: I like 123's very much, but I don't like the 123 300D. If you have your heart set on a 123, my advice: get a 240D. If you're not "hard-over" on a 123, get yourself a 115 240D.

Keith
'83 240D
'85 300D

I will ditto almost everything boomer said. The reason I say almost, is that I finally, after many years of 123 sedans having wading pools in the back floorboard, have learned what typically causes it. There are some drains in the cavity belowe the hood hinges. When these drains stop up, water makes it to the rear floorboard. I've bailed water out of my rear floorboards for years until I learned this from some kind soul here on mercedesshop.

I have had a 300DT turbo(my wifes), a 300D sedan non turbo(my daughters), and three 240D sedans with sticks. One of the real pluses of the 240D is simplicity. As boomer said, the climate control is simple, there's no leveling system, the engine and accessories are easily accessible, and the little engine doesn't make near enough horsepower to do any damage to the rest of the drivetrain which is designed to handle the torque of a six cylinder gas engine.

The 300D's also have a leaky oil vent system. It's extremely difficult to adjust a few of the rear valves, and you can only get one with an automatic. To me the automatic is a real negative. The manual transmission in the 240D is as reliable as any transmission can be.

Good luck,

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Larry Bible
'84 Euro 240D, 523K miles
'88 300E 5 Speed
'81 300D Daughter's Car
Over 800,000 miles in
Mercedes automobiles

Airfoill,

I'd go with a 300D Turbo myself. I've owned both a 240 and a 300, and the 240D was so slow, I'd panic if I was the lead car at a red light. If you can find a manual tranny 240, then good for you, but I don't think they are too plentiful. My 300D has nearly 200K on it, and she's a real sweety. Whichever you choose, pamper it to the teeth, and you'll likely be rewarded with many trouble-free miles. And as Larry often chimes: change the oil often!

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Matt
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Grey/black '84 300D, 194K

I say go for the 240 also if for no other reason than to have the manual transmission which is much more reliable than an automatic in a twenty year old car.
And if you're thinking about getting one of these cars and keeping it awhile, go ahead and pay top dollar for a very well maintained rust free vehicle. Look around for awhile. Don't get something ragged out, because you won't have fun spending tons of time and money bringing it up to a reasonable standard of dependibility.
Good luck with it,
Harvey

TXBill,

How many miles on this 240D?

Zoonhollis,

I was surprised to see you say that the manual transmission 240D was rare. I've seen a number of 240D's, not enough for a scientific survey, but of all of them I've seen, I would say that 60 or 70% were manual's. Maybe we've just seen a totally different sample set.

If your sole criteria is power, when you go from a 240D manual to a 300D normally aspirated, which will be an automatic, you are picking up power, but giving that power back to the automatic. If you insist on power, you would have to go with a turbo 300D. I've had both, and I still stand by my suggestion that the simplicity and ease of maintenance and seemingly increased reliability of a 240D outweighs the increased power, but that's just me, I cruise on the highway, and don't have to do much stoplight to stoplight.

Good luck,


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Larry Bible
'84 Euro 240D, 523K miles
'88 300E 5 Speed
'81 300D Daughter's Car
Over 800,000 miles in
Mercedes automobiles

TXBill,

How many miles on this 240D?

Zoonhollis,

I was surprised to see you say that the manual transmission 240D was rare. I've seen a number of 240D's, not enough for a scientific survey, but of all of them I've seen, I would say that 60 or 70% were manual's. Maybe we've just seen a totally different sample set.

If your sole criteria is power, when you go from a 240D manual to a 300D normally aspirated, which will be an automatic, you are picking up power, but giving that power back to the automatic. If you insist on power, you would have to go with a turbo 300D. I've had both, and I still stand by my suggestion that the simplicity and ease of maintenance and seemingly increased reliability of a 240D outweighs the increased power, but that's just me, I cruise on the highway, and don't have to do much stoplight to stoplight.

Good luck,


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Larry Bible
'84 Euro 240D, 523K miles
'88 300E 5 Speed
'81 300D Daughter's Car
Over 800,000 miles in
Mercedes automobiles

Bill,

I would absolutely be interested in looking at that 240D. Is there a way I can get that person's phone #. I would surely appreciate it. Thanks.

Herb (airfoill)

quote:

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Originally posted by airfoill:
Bill,

I would absolutely be interested in looking at that 240D. Is there a way I can get that person's phone #. I would surely appreciate it. Thanks.

Herb (airfoill)

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Bill, After thinking about it some more I guess it would be more appropriate if you emailed me directly rather than posting the information I am asking for on this forum. If you want, you can email me directly at:

airfoill@aol.com

Thanks again,

Herb

I also would go with the 240d having had 3,
the third with over 500,000 mi. Mercedes made a number of improvements to the 240 d starting in the 81 model year that has lead me to favor the post 81's, having had both.
1. The manual trasmission has much better syncronization - therefore shifts quicker and smoother.
2. the a/c unit is a nippondenso (sp?) which is more efficient than the york and mounts under the engine, withouth the nasty accross the engine bracket that the york requires. So replacing the water pump is much easier.
3. The engine on the post '81 is sligtly larger
4. The interior is better - fewer need for seat rebuilds b/c there is no horsehair

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Josh
'81 240 d manual

I think the 81 240D was the best of the lot. My father has a '82 and my brother a '83. Mine was an '81 and it was the quickest of all three eventhough it had the highest miles (289k). All our 240D's had the manual trans. I think the '81 was quicker because there was no emissions (egr)equipment on it.

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'82 300D Turbo 216k miles