1982 Mercedes 300D TurboDiesel

[Chocaholic]

15 yo son is in driver's ed and we're looking for a first car. Lot nearby has a nice looking 82 300D with 190k on the clock. Body looks straight and clean with no rust. Bought new in Charlotte and owned locally. Engine started right up and idled/rev'd nicely. Sounded like an ol' MB diesel is supposed to. All power windows worked, new carpet, seat upholstery, clean engine bay with no sign of damage that I could see. Even the sound pad under the hood was new(er).

Car is for sale on consignment, so repair shop/dealer (used MB's primarily) didn't know a lot. Had newer matched set of Michelines, brake rotors looked relatively new with no scoring. Original radio worked, but power antenna did not. Vacuum locks worked, but dealer said they didn't after car sat for several days without being driven (small leak somewhere).

They're asking 6k which seems high....he said to make an offer. I had an older E class and regret parting with it to this day, but never owned an MB diesel. The E was a pleasure to work on, for the smaller projects, although I don't do the heavy stuff.

Anyone own one of these, or similar? Any thoughts/exprience, etc? May give it a test drive this weekend. BTW...he said the AC works (hoses looked newer), but still R12 and he said it won't get as cold as my 2010 F150...to be expected, I suppose.

Thanks for your insight....as always.

[holtjv]

We had an 81 wagon. Great car, bulletproof.

I'd check ebay "completed" auctions for price, though. $6k seems way high-I'd expect to see $4k for something in great shape.

[RNajarian]

I LOVED my '83 Turbo Diesel. Not a lot of off the line power but rest assuresd your son won't be drag racing anyone.

6k sounds steep, if it were pristine with no issues then yes maybe. The market is soft. Offer 4k and go up to $4500.

Eventhough the Mercedes is built like a tank you may be able to find a '95 C class that at least has air bags.

It is not uncommon for these diesels to go 500k miles. Common problem areas are worn out rubber bushings in motor mounts and tranny. I've heard of glow plugs going at 200k.

Hope this helps

[speeder]

I own that car, a 1982 300D turbodiesel. That series of cars is pretty bomb-proof, 1983-older are more desirable all things being equal but they're all good and condition trumps all. The advice to check eBay completed auctions is solid. Here is one almost identical to mine that ended in L.A. 2 days ago:

Mercedes-Benz : 300-Series: eBay Motors (item 260650522884 end time Aug-23-10 16:40:31 PDT)

Once again, condition, (and to some extent miles), is everything. These cars range in value from almost free to ~$7k if perfect and double that for wagons. I know of an '83 wagon that was sold w/o advertising a week ago for $15k. It had 120k miles and was in close to perfect condition. Like a clean 3 year old car.

Here is mine, I'd offer it to you but wrong coast:

[aigel]

He sure won't be racing it. The miles should be fine. That said 6k is about 2500 too much.

I know you didn't ask about it, but I would not put my kid in anything without front, side and side curtain air bags and a decent crash test rating. Chances that young men wreck are VERY high. For 6k you can get a high mileage newer vehicle with much better safety features.

George

[aigel]

Denis,

How much?

I am on the correct coast.

George

[speeder]

Less than the one that he's looking at.

I haven't decided whether to sell or keep this car, it's a good one. Just over 100k miles. I'm in the process of going through it, I sometimes buy cars that are basically good but need minor mechanical work/resto and then go through them like a maniac. This car will be mechanically 100% (or better) when I get through.

I'll let you know by PM.

[VincentVega]

Most 123's are rusted to pieces up here, but I cant see paying more than 2500-3k for one. Dead simple cars, just keep the oil up and fuel clean. Very slow, almost to the point of being unsafe to merge, at least around here.

Make sure the trans fluid is good, rebuilt trans isnt cheap. Also, pop off the air filter housing and see if you can wiggle the turbo shaft. If so, move on. Check for rust in the rear wheel wells and at the rear jack points.

If it were me I'd drop the same money on a late 90's Honda.

The vac leak is most likely a lock actuator in one of the doors, very common issue.

[speeder]

300Ds and 300SDs with the OM617 5-cylinder turbodiesel engine are not slow at all if running properly. Mine will take off when the light turns green like a diesel rocket. I rarely lose the stoplight GP.

If they are dog-slow, something is not right. Frequently the vacuum system that downshifts trans, also turbo or fuel issues. They are fairly simple cars but many are not maintained correctly at this point in time. Mine makes a very audible screech when it leaves tire rubber on the street shifting into 2nd under hard acceleration.

[Steve Carlton]

How long do the turbos and transmissions last in those cars? I would think those would be the weak links.

[speeder]

Turbos last a loooong time and are not a bank-buster to replace anyways. That's an over-blown issue, I've never seen one fail with the exception of one extremely neglected, long-sitting car.

The auto trans is not as long-lasting as the engine but that's true of any auto trans car in the world unless it has a really schit engine.

[porsche4life]

Originally Posted by aigel

I know you didn't ask about it, but I would not put my kid in anything without front, side and side curtain air bags and a decent crash test rating. Chances that young men wreck are VERY high. For 6k you can get a high mileage newer vehicle with much better safety features.

George

Sorry... I don't understand this mentality. Teach the kid to drive and watch out for the idiots. I drove a 944 with no airbags or driver aids daily at 16. I have yet to wad it around a pole. I have always been a careful and attentive driver however.

[aigel]

Originally Posted by porsche4life

Sorry... I don't understand this mentality. Teach the kid to drive and watch out for the idiots. I drove a 944 with no airbags or driver aids daily at 16. I have yet to wad it around a pole. I have always been a careful and attentive driver however.

Sure - I am just talking statistics. I can dig this back up - we had this argument before. I remember there was about a 20% chance of a teen being in a serious accident before they are in their early twenties.

Of course, that's just statistics. Not every smoker gets lung cancer either and you will have a lot of healthy ones tell you about it if you raise the issue.

A lot of kids don't have the attention span and focus it takes to drive well - including anticipating and avoiding bad situations. Not all kids that wreck are full of testosterone, texting, drunk or idiots. There are a lot of "honest" mistakes and I'd hate my kid to die or get crippled from one just because I had to buy the cool old beater over a car that may cost the same and offer better safety.

George

[Tobra]

An MB sedan like that would not be a bad place to be sitting in a wreck. Those things are pretty stout, would fold up a Honda like it was made out of paper in a crash. I don't care how many air bags you have, if you hit a car that weighs a thousand pounds more, you are likely to come out on the short end of it.

[aigel]

[nota]

I have a 300sd nice car but not worth that much
I paid under a grand for a nice car with diesel bugs
cleaned the tank and replaced the brakes and it went cross country

a quick check of craigs list showed runners for sale 1200 to 2500 for 79 cd to 85d

6k should buy a later model with airbags and ALB or at least a nice CD

[RANDY P]

My Mother has an 81 280E (w123) purchased new and presently has 78K miles.

watch for the steering boxes, they fail and it turns the car into a dump truck with all the slop. expensive part.

Hers did that.

rjp

[Chocaholic]

Thanks guys. The car we're looking at is identical to Speeder's car above in terms of color. Condition appears similar. It has some patina, for sure. Dash has a crack and wood console has some cracks....age and sunshine, I guess. Appreciate the advice on price too. Never intended to offer $6k....almost makes me wonder how badly the owner wants to sell.

Regarding airbags. . .a late 90's car with 20 year old air bags would concern me more than an older car without them. These older benz's were very well built and heavy. All things being equal, I'd rather be in a solid, heavy tank of a benz than any newer cheap Japanese car...besides, he'd never drive on. Insists on American, but this older Benz is an exception because he loved mine when he was younger.

May have another look and see if the guy will take $4k. The ebay listing above depicts a car that is nicer than this one (perfect interior and lower miles) that sold for $4.9k.

Thanks again.

[gprsh924]

Driving around knowing that if I got in a wreck in the 924S that I was likely done for was its own type of safety device.

As to the poster who suggested making sure it had a cd player...Who cares? For $100 you can put in a head unit with an iPod hookup, which is infinitely more important than a cd player or radio. I can count on 1 hand the number of times I have listened to the radio or cd in the past 4 years. All of those times were when I forgot my iPod.

[VincentVega]

300Ds and 300SDs with the OM617 5-cylinder turbodiesel engine are not slow at all if running properly.

No argument intended, but I believe 0-60 of a brand new 123 300d is ~14-15 seconds. Sure, this is a drag race or even performance car, but that's a measure we can all relate too. Sure, on the street under boost in second gear the car feels moderately powered. I've driven a ton of these cars, merging onto the highway was always a well planned affair. More like passing the weather mark or timing a jibe than just changing lanes in most cars.