engineure

hi, looking at buying a 84 mb 300sd, this car has 236,000 miles. could anyone tell me what to look out for with this model? i have had 3 mb diesels, still have a 68 200d 4 speed. i have had good luck with them, i also work on these cars myself without much problem. i had a 1960 190d ponton and a 1976 300d. not sure if i should stay with the older ones or go for the 84 300sd.

houseofdiesel

There in no rocket science at work here, still a simple older car mechanically. Beware of the heater system and air conditioning, they rarely work properly and not for long with a couple of $500 parts each. We had to replace an expensive part about every 4 or 5 years averaging 30k miles a year for the heater.
The car should feel like it has three times the power vs the older models, if it is not quick off the line the injection pump will need refreshing at the minimum, they all need it after 20 years of service...turbo should spool up and feel strong after 2000rpm and be quiet (need to have the windows down to hear a slight whistle). Transmission should be firm shifting, watch for the 2-3 shift if it flairs it will need some attention maybe not rebuild but attention, check reverse too. Look for broken trim and swithces, check power windows, a/c, sunroof, power seat switches, usually a few are broken and it can really frustrate someone to fix it all and get costly as used parts are not easily found in "better" shape! Look for frame rot around the front sway bar mounts, look at the sway bar carefully for rust, check the rear wheel wells and frame areas closely, around the rear bumper, below the rear window inside the trunk all common areas for major rust problems.

Cousinelwood

Currently driving an 84 with 218500 on it. Two issues:
First, word has it the automatic tranny can go south at about 215000. No issues with mine yet. Second stopping distance sucks. Never tailgate!!
Acceleation is slightly better than an M1 tank but otherwise it's a great car.