Hello guys, first post, with a cookie-cutter first post question.

I would expect that this has been discussed a lot here, but I couldn't find much general information using the search function.

I've been wanting to buy an old Mercedes for a while now,.. There are basically 2 reasons that I haven't bought one yet -

1 - Haven't found a nice one, though I have only been looking passively
2 - Worries about not being able to start the engine in the middle of winter

I've located a really nice looking '83 300D turbo with 95k miles. The seller has plenty of pictures and it looks great. So barring poor compression or some big problem I notice, #1 is out of the way...

I live in Wisconsin. It gets very cold here. So far this winter we've had many days (maybe 20-30) where the lows have been below zero. I don't want the hassle of getting stranded anywhere, especially now because I've moved here recently have no friends or family here to rescue me. I have a heated garage at home that stays plenty warm, so starting in the mornings will not be a problem, at least for now.... What I'm worried about is work.. The car will be sitting outside cooling off for 10 hours or so. For most engines I think that's enough time to get down to ambient temperature. Sometimes the highs here are in single digits. I don't believe we have any means for me to hook up to an AC block heater at work.

This would be my only car. I have seen quite a few Mercedes diesels around here, but I don't recall seeing many lately, (in the winter).

Would I be getting myself into a lot of issues buying a Mercedes diesel up here? I've seen some people write things like "if it's 10 degrees or less you NEED a block heater".. are generalities like that accurate?

 

Mine starts all the way down to 0 without having to be plugged in and I leave it outside in the driveway. This morning it was 4 degrees here and the car fired right up. A good tune up (valves adjusted, new filters, good glow plugs, battery charged, fresh fuel appropriately rated for the season) is the best way to maintain cold weather starting. The thing I have noticed (and I'm just south of you in Central Illinois) is that when it's below -10 then the diesel gels no matter what. Storing the car in the garage is perfect, but if it's not going to get above 0 during the day, it's not the day to drive it. And even if you can plug it in at work, that won't warm the fuel.

 

great. Thanks for your input