I was hoping to get some advice on a possible buy. Tomorrow I will be checking out a 1984 300td with an odometer that stopped at 150000. The owner believes the actual amount is around 500000. The car has been well maintained as far as I know. Current owner is very knowledgeable about the car and before him it was owned by a Benz mechanic. I have two main questions. First, how reasonable is his asking price of 2200? Other than the high miles the car is in pretty good condition. Most electronics working, good body, etc. I feel it's a good deal but I'm also a newb. Second, I plan on taking the car to a mechanic before any purchase. I know to get the engine compression checked, but are there any other specific things I should ask?

Thanks in advance to anyone willing to help me out on this.



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wow 500,000 miles!!! You need to get a PPI inspection at a good mercedes indi shop. With that many miles lord knows what needs to be replaced and hopfully it has all records there.
Engine compression
A/C for leaks and to see if it even works.
Starting and shutting it off.
Exhaust
All electricals
interior to see what may need to be replaced
Transmission! Makes sure it shifts smooth!
Rust
Rust
and more rust! That is a huge W123 downfall so make sure it has none or little.
Pretty much take as long as you need to go thru the ENTIRE car from inside and out.
For $2,200 I think it all varies on the car itself. There is not a real market price set on these cars being so old so its really worth whatever you are willing to pay.

 

Thanks for the advice! As far as the records go he has some, but not all. He redid the entire front end a few years ago which is a big plus. The back end needs new shocks but he has bought those and not installed them yet. If I buy it he will include the shocks with purchase (along with all the service manuals he has for the car). Also, he has mentioned the back end needs new bushings. The A/C does definitely work which is great. As far as compression goes, when we ran it today I loosened up the oil cap to check for blowback. There was a little, but the Mercedes mechanic I talked to says that was fine as long as it's nothing crazy. Under the hood looks great, everything is very clean for how old it is. No smoke except a little when it's started up which I hear is normal. Transmission was rebuilt back in 2000 and he says he has put on 150-250k on it which does worry me, but he says all the fluids were flushed about 5 years back which makes me feel better. It seemed to rev a little high before shifting but there was nothing extremely noticeable. The ride of the car felt great. As far as rust goes that was the one thing I didn't think to look at (once again, newbie here). Where would be the best places to look for it?

I am planning on thinking this over and giving him a yes or no tomorrow. The body and interior were not in as nice of shape as I thought so I offered him 2000 and he said he would take it. Now I just need to decide if the risk is worth it. I know he has taken great care of the car, the dude knows it in and out. But he even admits it's not a guarantee to keep running well. When we started driving some new buzz started coming from the center console which he hadn't heard before, definitely worrying. I'm leaning towards yes nonetheless though. Gotta say I just love the look of these cars.

 

EXTREMELY high.
A 300TD with that many miles, no matter the condition, is worth less than $1000.

 

How does someone apparently knowledgeable in the car drive it for 350k miles without fixing the odometer?

 

^^^ I absolutely agree with you.... It reminds me of the people (everyone) selling their cars on craigslist and claining that their A/C woks but "just needs a recharge".


I think that $2200 is very expensive for that many miles. You can still find good deals for less.

 

I would have to agree with Sulaco--how does he know how many miles he put on the transmission if the odometer's been broken since 150k? There's no telling how many miles have been put on since 2000--that's 14 years of unchecked/unknown mileage. And, you should consider how did he know when to change the oil with the odometer broken? Maybe he has records showing the oil changes every few months or so because he couldn't go by the mileage?

Trying to sell a car without being able to show mileage is a tough sell, plus the car being 30yrs old works against the price. I would weigh how nice/what condition the car is in, if he can show oil change records back to when the speedometer broke, and if he can show the receipt on the transmission rebuild. If he can't offer much on those items, I wouldn't pay more than $1500, and at that, the body and interior would need to be in great to excellent shape.

My 1984 300D has 196k on it, but only 110k on the engine, as it was rebuilt. I got the receipts to show for it. I also have a 3-inch thick folder full of receipts going back to delivery date of the car to the dealer. I can prove my mileage and all work done. That makes a big difference.

Best of luck to you. Go with your gut feeling. If it doesn't feel right, pass. There are PLENTY of 300Ds on the market. Just search Craigslist or Ebay. You'll see...
SK