I probably need this car like a hole in the head. I sold my last 87 300 td wagon 2 years ago after sinking a fortune in repair bills into it. Now today I see in the paper a 1985 300 td wagon for $3100.00, I call the guy and make an appointment, It just hit the paper today. There were 2 people waitting in the driveway behind me. I had to either buy it on the spot for his asking price or loose it. So I took it. It has 159k miles on it, very clean in and out, well maintained and drive svery nice. I originally thought I would just flip it on ebay, but now I like it and think I may keep it. I already have a new car so this would be a second. Someone give me some advice, keep her or sell her?

 

Did this board slow down lately? I remember there used to be alot more action on these threads a couple years back

 

Mercedes are nice cars when maintained properly or a money pit for the next owner.

if it's good, feel good, sounds good, keep it is my vote. A diesel gets premium now and days because of the rising gas prices. It can make for a very around town car at least.

 

Thats what happened with my 87 300 td wagon, I bought it for $5200.00 with 250k mines on it. I put another 4k into it in the first month. My fault, I took it to a local mechanic who is pricey. He did brakes, glow plugs, water pump, all fluids, front end work, etc.....I was so frustrated spending all that money. I bought the car to save money, my wife was like "would it not have been better to just spend $199.00 a month a lease a new toyota and not have to worry about all these repairs? " Well now here I go again. But I figure the one I bought last night with such low mileage would probably do well if I decide to sell it. I see cars like that on ebay in the 5k range. Oh I forgot to mention, the wagon I bought 3 years ago for $5200.00 plus 4k in repairs I sold on EBAY for $8500.00 so it was not too bad of a loss.

 

Hm, see you got ya money back for the most part anyways. And if something happens to the Toyota I gurante you would be no where near getting you money back.

And with a Mercedes you really have to shop around and if you are capable, do as much of the work yourself. Them cars are not hard at all to work on. And $4,000 is pricey as hell for the work you listed. Now I know water pump can be pricey, up to a thousand. (Paid a total of $752 for labor and a BRAND NEW straight out the box water pump and dealership thermostat $40 and all gaskets and $40 in fluid and that was a last minute job due to the lack of time I had in the States. So with the water pump out the way that leaves three thousand. Brakes, glow plugs, and fluids shouldn't be that expensive so how much did you pay for front end? Somehwere in there don't add up. Even if he did just about every component of the brake system there should of been change left over in that $4,000. But it's gone now and you got $8500 for it. But with this car, ya have to look around. Sometimes it's cheaper to buy the part from one place and get the car repaired at another place.

Yeah yeah, spending $199 for a Toyota at first would be cheaper then you have to remember that lease will come to an end in a few years and basically it come s down to either buying the care, making more payments, or turning it in and get another car. Plus if the Toyota is what ya really want, I would say go for it, but (IMO) don't waste money on any car that you really don't want to buy because you'll regret it later especially when the car you really want pops up and you can't get it because ya stuck with the car you really don't want. With the new one you bought, when something breaks or is about to break, search around at different repair shops, negotiate. It also helps to know what needs to be done, the average cost to repair what needs to be done and how long should it take to repair what needs to be done.

 

By the way they say that you get what you pay for. That's true to a certain extent and some things are just rip off. I say if you spend money on a car and that car don't feel like what you paid for it at least, then it's not worth it. Plus spending $3100 on this one, there's no way you can lose and know how much you are willing to put into it. But at 159K diesel, it shouldn't have no issues if maintained. But then again any car not maintained can go bad but Mercedes tend to keep running for a while before dying from lack of maintainence. I guess that's why people sometimes skimp out of the maintaince of the older ones.

 

I think the front end work was about $1600.00
As far as the brakes go I dont remember, but I know he changes 2 rotors.
Hoses and belt. he charged I think about $700.00 to do the glow plugs, he said it was alot of lbor because of the location. I think the water pump was close to 1k. I know I put around 4500.00 totoal in a month.

 

also front shocks I forgot

 

I just bought an 85 300D (turbo) with 200k miles for $1500 at auction. No rust, straight, can't find any dents, everything works, ice cold A/C. interior practically perfect. I could probably sell it for $3500 to $5k. Will I? NO WAY. It might need brake work (I can do that cheap) and suspension work (I have a reasonable mechanic) so even if I have to put another $3000 into it I'll still keep it. It's PAID FOR. And I own it, not some lease company. I bought this car to save money. If it runs for a few years with only that much expense, then I'm saving BIG TIME. I'll save EVEN MORE when I convert it to run on free WVO. At about $400/month (at $3/gal diesel) this car (converted) will pay for itself in four months. And then it starts to pay me $400/month to keep it.

My vote: keep it and convert it to burn WVO.

 

But I paid 0ver 5k for that 87 300 td wagon with approx 280k miles on it. this one I bought because it only has 159k and price was $3100.00 so I am hoping I did good. I see these on ebay usually with that mileage for about 5k