1993 mb 300d
 

So I'm looking at a 1993 Mercedes 300D with 211K on the clock.

It's in an online auction :( and I can't get down to inspect in person but only see a video of it being driven and a bunch of pictures.

However, it looks pretty clean and no odd sounds. A friend of mine that works at a Mercedes dealership got me the carfax info and the car is fully serviced by the local Mercedes dealership, only had 2 owners, the last service was at 207K miles. So the car *should* be in good shape in that regard.

I'm looking at this as my son's first car. Should I run away from this or is it a find?

all input welcome.
thanks!

To me, online auction without inspection seems a really bad idea.

W124?

I believe it is a W124, but I'm basing that on the model/year and wikipedia ;)

can i tell succinctly in the VIN what model it is?

oh and believe you / me i don't like buying a vehicle without an in-person inspection, but... it was serviced at the dealership like 4K miles ago and has 43 service records at the dealership over the decades. that and if i can get it for like 2K I think it might be a steal, but I never owned one of these so trying to get a sense of is it a headache to keep on the road and so on.

I dont put much faith in dealers OR Carfax.

Then there is the baffling ordeal of StarTek (MBZ online repair manual).

The W124 is solid, but they are OLD cars now. Why must it be a MBZ for a first car?

it doesn't have to be a MB, it's just more that I think I can get this for about 2K, and how many vehicles can you really get that are reliable / decent for that price? It's just that I saw it, and I Know this car has gone more then a million miles for a few people. and it would be a cool car to own (i think)

There is one on FB marketplace in Columbus Ohio for $4500. 167k. Looks clean.

0 - 60 times must be measured with a sundial.

What does your kid like? (realistically). Those were new cars when I was in high school. I thought they were old man cars. But maybe your kid digs it.

There's a reason you see cheap ass MBZ as hood rides..

Have you ever driven one? I wanted one until I drove it about 300 yards...I was sorely disappointed.

I have an 84 that I'll sell you. 🤣

thanks everyone for the input.

i rolled the dice, got it for 2300. Pick it up on thursday.

Good first car in that it will be damn hard to hooligan around in. I think the 80s were the sweet spot for Mercedes diesels though.

A 1990-'93 w124 with a 2.5 turbodiesel? I can't imagine what you were expecting but those are fantastic cars and it sounds like the OP scored if it's clean. Not many people service their car at the dealer for close to 30 years...I'd disagree that is not significant, it means that it's gotten nothing but factory parts including filters.

Sounds like a really nice car, what part of the country is it in? :cool:

Not the model he bought. It performs exactly like the gas model of the same year.

Any MB is a great car if it's in good condition and maintained, especially the diesels. But all things being equal, (meaning condition), the car in the OP crushes any '80s MB diesel except maybe the w126 300SDL from '86-'87 w the OM603 6-cylinder engine. The 2.5 OM602 is the same engine w one cylinder chopped off...almost literally. Same pistons, everything the same, just one less hole.

WAAAY more refined and powerful than the old OM617 5-cylinder turbo from the '80s.

Corrosion underneath ,not visible from a walk round is the enemy of these cars.

That’s why I asked what the location of the car was. Vehicles do not rust within 1000 miles of where I live.

my only real experience is with a couple from the early 80s. very easy cars to work on. nice drivers if you like boats. ws told that somewhere in the 90s the level of complexity became irritating.

If it's a total turd and losing $2k is going to break the bank, move on. You really only need it to go a couple of years and you're ahead of the game though.
Bought my first and only MB a couple of years ago sight unseen. A 78 300TD euro 5spd. with 300k miles. $1k sight unseen. It's a dream boat.

so rust on the frame is my primary concern right now, as I haven't seen the thing in person yet. but from what I can tell in the pics there is no rust in the door jams or wheel wells.
2K won't kill me, and I thought it was worth the gamble at that price.
here's a youtube of the car that i bought was on the auction site. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JRT5p0Dczc

This car is in maryland. I'll post up some pics once I have it my possession.

I bought an '83 W123 240d two years ago for 2k with 284K miles on it. Just hit 305K miles on it...not a single hiccup. The car is an absolute beast. I'm sure you'll be just fine.

I think you will be happy, given what you paid.

So got the car (finally) I think it was sitting for the last 12-18 months, The last service was at 207K miles on 1/23/18. I picked it up yesterday with 4K more miles on it since then (211K) the previous owner averaged around 7.5K miles a year.

So the interior is an awesome shape.
The exterior is a a bit dirty and it needs cleaned up but overall looks good and think once it's properly washed/waxed will look great.
No rust underneath that I can see.
Suspension is *TIGHT* including the steering. I am actually very impressed with how solid the suspension is for a 28 year old car. It's tighter then my 03 TDI jetta.

It fired right up and I drove it 60 miles home.
The only thing is I checked the oil (of course) before I took off. It was black as black can be. and just over the bottom of the good range.
I got it home and now i'm right on the bottom of the good range, maybe just a little below. So I definitely used a tiny bit of oil on the drive home. No drips that I can see. I know with my TDI that when the oil needs changed it starts to get used ever so slowly. So I think that's the case here.
I would like to just put some oil in it until i do a change later this week. I do not want to drive a car with low oil level... I have no idea what viscosity was put in it, the only record I have in the mainteance book was from 120K miles where they put in 15w-40 pennzoil (written by the MB dealership).
So if I just want to add a quart to this beast to drive it a dozen miles or so to get to inspection and mechanic for fluid changes what should I put in ?

Secondly the car barely accelerated when I first rolled out. All four tires were low on pressure which didn't help. I went down the block and put air in the tires and some fresh diesel. (tires were all at 15psi) I mean it was semi dangerous to pull out in traffic.

Once the tires were pumped up, fresh fuel added. As I drove it it seemed to get a bit better acceleration wise, but still a pig. I was able to drive over a pretty steep appalachian mountian and go at 65mph on the highway without issue. If it took a little bit longer to get there.

I think the fuel filter is plugged up, the clear plastic inline fuel filter is BLACK So those are getting changed.
Anyhoo once I get it cleaned up I'll post up some pictures.

Fuel filter dirty looking on a car serviced 4K miles ago? Something's not right. Either that's the way they look on average or somebody lied.

But I don't condemn — a 2K car with even mostly good bones is not a bad deal when you're in that class of cars. I like to buy Jag XJ's like that. And talk about complicated....

You've got to be willing to work on these cars.

DIESEL BUGS grow in sitting cars to form a thick black sludge that will block the filters

there is a bottom of the tank pre-filter that unscrews after you drain the tank
if it is covered in black goo those are diesel bugs you need tank cleaner by Star Tron Tank Cleaner

the bugs will limit performance the car should be able to go 80 all day long with clean tank fuel and filters

Just get a jug of 15w40 Diesel specific oil, doesn’t need to be synthetic. The common brand names are Shell Rotella, Chevron Delo, Mobil Delvac, Valvoline Premium Blue. There are other brands, they are all the same. I buy whatever is on sale.

All of these oils will be together on the shelf at any Autozone, O’Reilley’s, etc. Walmart has a good selection and the best prices. Good luck and post photos! If it’s gutless, something simple is wrong. Hopefully not the turbo, which is simple. :)

Just looked at the video you posted the link to.
That car looks great for a first car for a kid.
My son's first car was a 1980 240d w/4-spd donated to him by his uncle. We put a battery in it, changed the belts and hoses, fixed a motor mount and checked the brakes out. Steering box was really worn as the car had @500k on it, but tightened up to acceptable feel with an adjustment.
Second gear sync was almost gone so double clutching on up shifting and down shifting was the norm. My son got really good at it and learned all about 'momentum' driving in that car. The paint came back after he clayed/buffed it out and since it was Glasurit it came back looking like new.
Initially he didn't want it since it was an 'old man's' car. When it was presented as an either or proposition, either this car OR the bus, he took it on with a real pride of ownership. We sold it a couple years later and the buyer said he bought it based on how clean it was.

Any check engine lights? A diesel with a bad MAF can be a real dog, same for the turbo actuator...it is a turbo, right? See what boost you're getting.

Run that diesel fuel out, then change the filter. Or drain it. I've let my diesel sit for six months and the fuel was fine.

I only use Mobil1 Turbodiesel full synthetic.

+1 on using Shell Rotella.

Good idea checking the fuel system out.

So an update.

Car passed inspection with only costing me the cost of the sticker (25 bucks).
This is my normal mechanic he told me the car is in fantastic shape.

Took it to the Mercedes independent mechanic whose been working Benz for 30 years to get the fluids, filters changed out and have him do a once over on it.

He told me it's in great shape, a couple of wear items to keep an eye on but nothing needs replaced anytime real soon.

The throttle cable was buggered up some and I wasn't able to get full usage of it apparently. Also the fuel filter was plugged up.

The car now runs like it's brand new, no lie. Of course these were never rocketships. But it definitely gets up and goes now. I wish I would've done a video of it accelerating before and then put one up after. The difference is dramatic. At some point I will do a thorough clean / buff/ wax on the car but to do it myself i'll have to wait until it's warm enough out to do.

not cleaned up pic.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1611858213.jpg

If you buff it right that car will be hard to look at in bright sunlight.
Congrats on getting a cream puff.

I told you that it was something simple, these cars perform well if everything is normal. Congrats, it’s one of the best cars ever made.

Very nice car. I had a 190e of same vintage. All day cruising at 100mph like a bank vault.

Get that antenna fixed. It should go all the way down when car turns off. Some poo head will break that and pull the 3 point star off the front hood. When they steal the star replace with MB badge... Or get a few dozen hood ornaments

congrats!

thx and..
i snapped the pic when the car was running. the antenna does go down. and yea i'm hoping to avoid someone taking the star off hopefully...