Thinking of buying a 300D or so...
 

Hi everybody, I am the current owner of a 2003 Golf TDI 5 speed. My name is Randy and I am originally from Germany, new to the states so please forgive my ignorance to the American market of cars. I would like to have a second car, and it must be a diesel i will not tolerate a gasoline car, they annoy me, don't ask. I would love to have a 300D or 300SD, i really like the 123 and 126 style, but I want utmost reliability, not a fixer upper. The last thing i want to do is have a list of repairs for a car that i buy, or be scared to be left at the side of the road, I am willing to pay up to about 6 thousand US. I am located in southern california. What should i look for? JamesStein has helped me tremendously but he told me also that i should ask around as well. How fast are these 300Ds and SDs? Would i be better getting a 123 if i want reliability over the 126? I even like the 124, but any of these must be with turbo... I am used to an Upsolute chipped 5 speed TDI. I know they will be slower but I want to be able to cruise at 140KM/h on the highway with ease. Thank you very much in advance for your input :)

140km/h is about 88mph?

The 300D Turbo will do that with ease and the 300SDL with the OM603 will be even faster and more comfortable.

For $6000 I say that you could get a really nice W123/126 diesel (very nice actually)

and you could easily get into a nice W124 Turbodiesel ( 87 300D Turbo 3.0 and the 90s 250D Turbo 2.5 )

The 300D turbo and 300SD through 85 will top out at 105-115 mph. 140kph all day long is not a problem for these cars.

The 300D turbo and 300SD through 85 share an engine. Minor differences from year to year but the same within years. The 126 is no less reliable than the 123. The 126 has motorized seat adjustment and a dedicated electric central locking pump but these devices have proven to be solid in cars with over 300K miles. YMMV. It boils down to preference.

For $6000 you should be able to find a nice 87 300D or TD (124s) or an 86-87 300SDL (126). The 6 cyl turbo allow these cars to top out around 120 mph and it doesn't take long to get to that speed.

The 124 went on to have a 5 cyl turbo in the 90-93 300D 2.5 (not the same as the 7x-85 5 cyl) and a 6 cyl 4 valve NA engine in 95 E300. If you find a 90-up 124 Diesel in SoCal for $6000, run away from it.

The engine in the 95 E300 carried over in the newer body style 96-99 E300 (210) gaining a turbo for 98-99. If a chipped Jetta TDI is your benchmark, try a 98-99 E300.

The 126 went on to have a bigger 6 cyl turbo in the 90-91 350SD/SDL. Stay away from $6000 examples of these cars as well. In fact do a lot of research before investing in any 3.5l MB Diesel.

The 3.5l Diesel continued in the 92-95 300SD/S350. Fabulous cars if you like to travel in a living room (as I do). They might not be the most reliable MBs but you can keep your Jetta in the trunk :)

Sixto
95 S420
87 300SDL

honestly i used to think the 123 was hideous... but I seen one in fire engine red with this tan leather and perfect chrome on it... and wow that changed me forever, i love the 123 now. the 126 i thought had this shock system that is automatic adjusting and therefore breaks down alot??? could it be possible to find an example of one of these or even a 124 with a rebuilt engine and transmission and good paint and interior for 6 or am i asking way too much out of too little money? Thank you

In the US, only the 500SELs and 560SELs (and the coupes?) have leveling suspension. The rest of the 126s have conventional springs. Some US-spec cars were special ordered and the gray market was booming in the early and mid 80s so it's possible to find anything.

You're new to MB Diesels I see :) What you want is a well cared for never opened MB engine. The bottom ends are good for 4-500K miles. And many heads will stick it out for as long. The time and care it takes to rebuild an MB Diesel (or any MB engine for that matter) makes it a cost prohibitive proposition for in the general sense. It can be done for less, but will the results be worth the effort?

Transmissions are another matter. 150-200K miles is about as far they'll go even with proper care but there are exceptions.

The problem with your budget and requirements is that a proper engine and transmission rebuild will cost more than $6000 so if someone sticks their wallet out that far, they won't be eager to take $6000 for the car.

Sixto
95 S420
87 300SDL

Take your time and look at everything (W123/126) that comes available. I just picked up a '85 300D with 79k miles from the original owner. A friend at work saw it sitting by the road with a for sale sign in the window. It drives like a brand new car with all records. I was not even looking at picking up another one but the folks on here with more than one knows how it is:) when you come accross something like this;).

OilBurner, you will find the best American Market value indicator on www.ebay.com ....but I'm not saying you should buy your Benz there!!

$6000 is alot of payola for *any* 123 or 126 in this market where "disposable" products and spoon-fed desire for "newness" is the prevailing attitude which drives prices of smart purchase diesels with less than 200,000 miles through the floor.

Am wondering if with contacts in Germany you could purchase a very good 5-speed Autobahn edition 20 yr old 123/ 300Diesel (did they make them?) which is entirely unknown in this country...... AND ship it to Port Los Angeles..... All for less than $6000 USD.

But i know nothing about the German market. Otherwise, you might even find an exceptional 123/ 300CoupeDiesel in the USA for the money you are thinking of spending.

hi oilburner,
its like they say, shop around, do resherch, shop around, and take your time. I picked up this mb for 2400, installed new shocks, and cd-stereo system, its a very good cruzer. again time is on your side, shop, resherch. welcome to the u.s.

Which car to buy?
 

Come to the Red Lion Tavern in Silver Lake, 2366 Glendale Boulevard, Los Angeles and ask for Frank, or call me at (626) 794-5189, we have the right crowd and find you the car in a friendly environment

VW TDI Club
 

Something else you might want to check into is the VW TDI Club I'm a member there also. The club can provide source's for part's, dealership's to avoid, GTG's where even thing's like Timming Belt's job's are done, along with social cook out's and such. I'm hosting a GTG here at my house in Oct again and I really look forward to them. There are over 23,000 member's and some of us have designed/invented special equiptment for the TDI, me included. :D

Anyway welcome to the US and the Diesel forum. Hope to see you on the TDI forum. I'm Old Navy there also. :cool:

You are all so very nice... and Frank, yes i would love your help if you wouldn't mind. :) I will give you a call possibly tomorrow as i am travelling that way anyway, perhaps we can go "hunting" together? As I said, I want to find one entirely free of any problems, hence the reason I am so willing to pay so much, 6K is a lot for a 123 300D, and I am most certain I want the 123 now :) Thank you all again :D Oh, and to old navy, I am getting rid of my TDI... and replacing it with the Benz, I can't afford it anymore

FINDING 300D
 

Thanks for all the replies. a truly good example of a well-kept 300D or even a 240 will take some time and reading. Antother friend of mine found an excellent example of a '79 240D stick with 210k miles and I would have bought it if I didn't have "Brownie" also check please the pages of our dear friend Markus Besold at www.braunerbenz.com his car is temporarily parked at the Red Lion Tavern, call me before you go, Satrudays can be busy at the house.
But they have Erdinger Hefeweizen, "ich kauf' Dir eins" gibve me a call. Frank

Good choice mdntoilburner!!

Try looking on craigslist.com

A fellow w123 300D turbo driver parked next to me in a parking garage, and we struck up a conversation... he just bought his, which has 67K original miles in exceptional shape. I enthusiastically asked him how he found such a find.. his reply:
craigslist!

Autotrader.com is a good source, although there are sooo many cars on there that it can be rather hair-pulling to sort out the good sounding cars from the obviously shoddy mis-represented cars! Thats where I found my 84 300DT daily driver.. 1 owner, all records, low miles, and very very clean. Took me 6 or so months, but well well worth the wait!!

I was just in Ft. Lauderdale Fl., and took a visit to Mercedes Showroom (www.mercedesshowroom.com) They had a very nice 300CD coupe, creme/palomino. Not sure if distance is a matter.

Good Luck!!!

Mercedesbenz Showroom
 

Hi Veloce:

funny coincidence: I was looking at the 1990 350SDL with 54000 miles in white in Ft. Lauderdale at that dealership and thought it was a stunning example. Dave wants 24 Grand for that beauty. Did you see that? What do you think? There was another one with Palomino Interior and 72k miles for about 8 Grand less as well let me know