Purchase a 1981 300D
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Joined: Sep 2012
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94 Lincoln Town Car
Purchase a 1981 300D
I have a chance to buy a 1981 300D. I have always wanted one and im just wondering if this car is a good buy.
Here's some info on the car. The car is a 1981 Mercedes 300D, 3 liter, 5 cylinder, non-turbo, automatic trans., silver outside, navy blue leather inside.
It shows 124xxx miles, but the odometer was broken when he bought it. Car has been inCalifornia all its life, hence there is no rust in all the usual spots. The windows have a professional dark tint.
Since the guy bought it in 06:
new battery (summer 2012)
new glow plugs
rebuilt, balanced injectors
upgraded headlights to E-code Bosch
fixed a bunch of stuff like the odometer, power antenna, vacuum door locks, clock, driver's power window, windshield washer, broken headlight doors and taillight...
The good:
Sunroof works fine and doesn't leak
pretty consistent 30 mpg at 55 mi/hr.
Starts easily with 15 sec. glow
stops straight
trans shifts fine
glass is all good
interior is very nice for the age
all original car including first aid kit!
Car comes with a box of spare parts and the complete MB Factory Service Manual on CDs
The bad:
clear coat is peeling in spots ( just like every other car from the 80's )
cruise used to work half the time, now about 10% of the time
heater quit about a year ago
ac is all there but needs charge (or more?)
high oil consumption (all my cars use a lot, but this one is the worst) – may be a stuck ring? and may improve with regular driving?
Needs alignment – pulls right
vacuum system doesn't hold vacuum overnight
tires aren't great
He wants $1500 for the car and Im just wondering if its a good buy or not. Thanks for the help in advance
Here's some info on the car. The car is a 1981 Mercedes 300D, 3 liter, 5 cylinder, non-turbo, automatic trans., silver outside, navy blue leather inside.
It shows 124xxx miles, but the odometer was broken when he bought it. Car has been inCalifornia all its life, hence there is no rust in all the usual spots. The windows have a professional dark tint.
Since the guy bought it in 06:
new battery (summer 2012)
new glow plugs
rebuilt, balanced injectors
upgraded headlights to E-code Bosch
fixed a bunch of stuff like the odometer, power antenna, vacuum door locks, clock, driver's power window, windshield washer, broken headlight doors and taillight...
The good:
Sunroof works fine and doesn't leak
pretty consistent 30 mpg at 55 mi/hr.
Starts easily with 15 sec. glow
stops straight
trans shifts fine
glass is all good
interior is very nice for the age
all original car including first aid kit!
Car comes with a box of spare parts and the complete MB Factory Service Manual on CDs
The bad:
clear coat is peeling in spots ( just like every other car from the 80's )
cruise used to work half the time, now about 10% of the time
heater quit about a year ago
ac is all there but needs charge (or more?)
high oil consumption (all my cars use a lot, but this one is the worst) – may be a stuck ring? and may improve with regular driving?
Needs alignment – pulls right
vacuum system doesn't hold vacuum overnight
tires aren't great
He wants $1500 for the car and Im just wondering if its a good buy or not. Thanks for the help in advance
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Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 17
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1985 380 sl
1981 300 d
I just looked at an identical car for sale in Calgary for 7 grand.
It had 250,000 miles on it but looked like new.
So it sounds like a great deal to me . I bet that it would run better if you drove it regularly and in a year or so you could get the bugs out of the small stuff. I'd blow the 1500 to drive one of these Benz.
It had 250,000 miles on it but looked like new.
So it sounds like a great deal to me . I bet that it would run better if you drove it regularly and in a year or so you could get the bugs out of the small stuff. I'd blow the 1500 to drive one of these Benz.
