Hello.

When I was living in California I used to own a 280CE and just loved it. Unfortunately, financial considerations forced a sale and I am just now looking at getting another MB. Since this would be my daily driver, I am looking at W123 body diesels. Currently the three candidates I am looking at are:

1. 1983 300CD, 350K Miles. Has WVO conversion which makes me leery of it. Owner says it's running great but has some paint issues.

2. 1981 240D, 238K Miles. Per owner's ad (former mechanic for MB dealership) "has some rust in the corners, cosmetic only, structure and floors are solid." 4 speed manual transmission with recent clutch replacement.

3. 1984 300D, ad claims 89K miles which I doubt is correct. Car looks good in photos but owner seems to be hard to contact.

I'm of course looking at others but these are the ones at the top of my list at the moment. I really prefer the coupe body style but don't think I want to buy the problems of the WVO conversion. I'm in no great pressure to buy something quick and will of course keep looking.

I'd be interested in your opinions on these. If need be, I can point you at the craigslist ads for all of them.

 

Thank you, ForcedInduction. I have to admit that I've been reading your posts on a variety of forums and I almost predicted your response to this one word for word. I've decided to pass on the 300CD even though that's the body style I really want. Just too many potential problems.

I also agree with you that the 89K car is too good to be true. If that mileage were correct, the car would probably be in some collector's "museum." I suspect that the ad should read 89K on an engine swap or some such but since the people "trying" to sell it aren't returning any emails they go on my fly-by-night list and are out of the running.

The 240D is still in play. This car is likely not going to be used on road trips except to bring it home. I have another truck that I use to go places so this is going to be used mainly as a commuter. Since my commute is all of 5 miles all on city streets, the 0-60 time is not an issue. I agree that it would be if this were going to be my primary transportation for both around town and on the highway but for the use I anticipate, that's not a big issue.

Thanks again for the advice. If I run across something else that looks promising, I'll let y'all know.

 

Just a follow up: I got some additional pictures of the 300CD that I already decided that I would pass on due to the WVO conversion.

Paint on hood is completely oxidized and will need a respray.
Rear seat will need to be completely recovered.
Front seats have been replaced with Recarros.
Some rust visible which probably means there is lots more where you can't see it.

Glad I had already decided to pass.

- Dreamtym