Should I buy a 1982 300D turbo diesel with 200K miles on it? What kind of maintenance should I be aware of? Any additional costs?

 

Personally I wouldn't buy any car with 200K miles on it, no matter how nice it looks. But that's just me. By that mileage the cylinder sleeves should have been replaced at least twice. Have they?

 

Not sure, but thanks, that gives me something to check into.
Sgtsbud

 

200k miles isnt much for the 3.0 diesels.. these engines are known for going up to, and over 1 million miles. im not saying it will definately make it to a million. but another 100k miles shouldnt be too hard to pull outta that engine w/o anything in the rotating assebmly breaking. but the engine does need the valves adjusted periodically. it will tell you how often in the owners manual.

 

like any car used the condition plays an important role as well as the purchase price and what is it going to be used for . i believe as a commuter car its perfect for lets say $1000- 2500 if its clean. then pay the $100 to have it inspected by a dealership so you know all the pitfalls .remember a diesel is known and will leak oil thats normal for it. but if its consuming 1qt a week stay away, also the transmission is another key element how dose it shift harsh any bangging sounds ,slippage, ??? 1st thing check the color trans fluid black ,stinky or med/dark brownish is bad , red/ orange is ok the #1 killer of diesels is overheating, coolant leaks i just lost my 1987 300sdl with 428k on it i bought it with 228k had it for 4 yrs . drove it to hell and back i knew it had a seeaping headgasket rt rear when i bought it but it only seaped while cold and very little fluid loss . its not worth fixing and my time to repair it.all you have to do is changer the fuel filters every 20-30 k (all of them) adjust the valves every 30 k change oil every 10-15k check fluids periodicly and youll be ok as long as the trans holds up but a reman unit through a dealer is less than 2k with a 2 yr. unlimited mi. warr so thats not to bad the other parts are real inexpensive i thing i pay 80 for pads and rotors (cheep for mb) water pump $28 . **** as i tell all my friends when buying used have it inspected by a dealership who sells that brand spend the $100 who better knows its problems and what to look for then the mb dealer and as a tech when i see that inspection i would list all that i found and talk with the teck when ever possible they'll tell you like it is
good luck with your decision

 

you should probably change the oil before 15,000 miles inless ur runnin full synthetic

 

no dont run synth. that s the worst thing you can do , all the way up to 1997 mb cars were all on 7,500 mi. service intervals for gas diesel were more or the same 10k interval will not harm the car it wont break
unless you run it out of oil or coolant .
synthetic oil unless you been running iit since new DONT!!!!!! synthetic oil has different properities in it with high detergents which in a engine above 50k which starts running synth. it starts to wear differently may smoke is some drastic cases and all the crud which may be in the higher miliage engines will start to get loose and could cause some additional problems . that old addage DONT FIX IT IF ITS NOT BROKEN !!!!!! applies for any and all things in life . if you take a used engine specially with 200k then start pumping super cleaners down its throat where do you think the crap will go and what will it do ??
its been running fine this long leave it alone ..
MY OPINION FOR ANYONE REMEMBER WHEN YOU BOUGHT YOUR FIRST CAR WHAT WAS THE MAINTENANCE SCHEDULE IF IT HAD ONE MY 1985 TOYOTA P/U NEW WAS ON 7500 MI INTERVAL , OIL COMPOSITION ONLY GETS BETTER EVERY YEAR !!! TO CHANGE ANY OIL AT 3K YOUR CRAZY BIGGEST WAST OF MONEY THAT WAS A PLOY BY THE QUICK LUB SERVICE INDUSTRY WHO CHARGE $15 PER CHANGE NOW DO THE MATH IF I GO TO DEALER EVERY 7,500 -8K CHANGE OIL HOW MANY TIMES WILL YOU GO AT 3K ITS 2 1/2 TO 1 , ALL MY CARS ARE ON 7500 - 9K INTERVALS MY
04 NISSAN WENT 110K IN 2 YRS , MY 06 JUST HAD ITS 2ND CHANGE AND IT HAS 16K AND THAT WILL GO OVER 100K EASY

 

oil is a very cheap insurance to engine damage. sure, you will save 100 bucks in 5 or so years, but that camshaft your going to have to replace is gona cost ya more.you want to bitch about the price of an oil change?change your own damn oil! my 7 year old sister has changed oil before! you dont fix somethin if it aint broke, sure.. but y "waste" soo much money on oil? it still works, doesnt it!? synthetic costs less than twice as much, and lasts 3 times as long. yes, changing your oil every 3k miles isnt really necessary.its not a bad idea though. i just wasnt aware that people were retarded on the west coast. you might think im jus some punk *** 16 year oldkid that dont know jack **** about what im talking about, but my teacher is a damn ****. ever have a **** yell at you because your work performance isnt 110%? i make sure it doesnt happen, so i know this **** inside and out. its my job to know. im a NATEF certified masterautomotive technician, not a west coast parts changer grease monkey. and in diesels especially, they shouldnever berun above 6k mileson oil. most diesels on the road today are turbo charged.they all have some blow-by, they have positive crank pressure. there isconstantly burned and unburned fuel going into the oil , because the rings dont seal 100%, and is being mixed into the oilby the crankshaft. it doesnt take agenius to figureout what happens to oilwhen fuel is mixed in it. it loses its lubricating properties!swapping to full synth does nothing bad for the engine. thats like winning a million dollars.. sure, your taxes will be higher, but who really gives a ****? you got a million bucks. or would you rather stick with your $12 an hour job? i think most people would rather have synthetic, and the extra insurance, because whos fooling who? car maintinence is really f'ing expensive.the averageperson cant have something in therotating assembly **** the bed, and thoughtlessly throw cash at it to fix it, wondering why the oil is as thick as water.you claim changing the oil at 10k "will not harm the car". but in a thing we call"reality" it will score the crap out of the cylinder walls, reduce compression, reduce power, reduce fuel mileage, increase blow-by,and you will eventually hear the valves clicking because of under-lubrication. your 2006 is going to bust a nut at 100k miles, and your going to have to scrap it. benz's up to 1997 have a 7.5k service interval. thats only because at about that time, they realized oil doesnt last that long. so for the past 10 YEARS, what has it been? pull your head out of your ***, and give your self a bitch slap into reality for all of us. either get out of the business, get a new hobby, or get a ****in life.

 

look kid you are way misinformed and as a master tech with mb and how had done this for a living , and who also has rebuilt or repaired countless engines and can state for a fact every m112, m113,m104,m111, m116.m117, m606 , the cylinder walls all still have there cross hatch on most
mb block are pretty much bullit proof. but you would not know that because you are still reading about what i do for a living . the context in which i stated 10k oil change is for this gentalman who is going to purchase a car with 200k . no ive been driving since before you were born and as for my car breaking it has never yet!! youll learn when you grow up that there is a big difference between book knowledge and practical. and i trained many young wide techs like you who think they know their stuff and only to find they cant make a living (hell buy a combo meal ) with what they think they know. in my opinion you should not be offering advise if the past thread is the depth of your knowledge

 

oh ya i forgot your the super tech who is trying to pump more boost through a 83 ' 300d talk about smart . and doesnot even know how much is safe before damage occures and yet adding all that boost (if you can get it ) what stresses it places on other systems in the car. so before you have a stroke from you high blood pressure . remember this is a help section where people offer THEIR OPINIONS!!!
food for thought WHAT IS THE #1 CAUSE OF BREAK DOWN TOA CAR (OR MOST OVERLOOKED AREA ) the cooling sys . (which is what mostly stops the car from running) NOT THE OVERLY CHANGED OIL IN THE MOTOR !!! and response to your misguided statement above ALL ENGINES (GAS /DIESEL) HAVE SOME ALLOWABLE BLOW BY!!!!not one ever has 100% sealing power (impossible) . HAVE YOU EVER PREFORMED A CLT (CYL. LEAKDOWN TEST) THE BEST YOULL PROBABLY FIND IS 5% LEAKAGE IF THAT so do the match 5% from 100% = 95% sealing . my advice relax try listening you might learn something !!!!!!!