Yeah but for $250 it is a really really good deal, a good cheap Benz! I
know all the advice in that regard, but if you have a place to put it, a
tolerant domestic manager, and some time and interest in hacking on it
to get it running half decent, it would a fun bit of hobby and then you
could sell it for a bio-dmobile. A good kid's car even, if it gets
banged up then who cares...
Besides that, I know you really want to.
--R
BillR wrote:
Based on what the guy said about it not going over 65 MPH I bought fuel filters and headed out. When I saw the car I was a bit reluctant to stop, but figured it was worth a look. The odo says 217k miles. Carfax says 204k in '96, so I guess the 217k is possible if it spent a lot of time just sitting for the past decade.
When I looked at the filters they looked new, so I didn't change them. Lady said the battery always dies overnight, so she had on the porch in a charger. It started easily and showed very little smoke, though she said it did smoke when started, but quit fairly soon. Just as on my 300SD the oil pressure pegged when the key was turned.. New theory on why it won't reach interstate speeds and runs poorly when started and the rest of the time also: I think it is only running on 4 cylinders at best, even though there was little smoke at start up. WAG is at least one bad glow plug. Ran rough the whole time.
The Good:
Tires are indeed new and look good.
Seats - Green MBtex, and in pretty good shape. I saw no tears, though the driver's seat does seem to be pulling away from the pad a bit.
I think the engine is good, though I am not a mechanic, and it didn't have much power. Only ran it for 5 minutes, but it never did settle down. The only odd noise, other than hearing what I think was only 4 cylinders rather than 5, was an occasional squeak from a pulley on the RF somewhere. I was not brave enough to try the AC, especially with the cooling line missing.
OEM Becker radio, which she says works great, but would not turn on when I tried it. Some electrical short/problem would not be a surprise, but the radio looked good, if in serious need of cleaning. I sure wouldn't kick it out of my car.
Very little rust on the car. A touch around the antenna, a hole [doesn't look like from rust, though] LF fender. Some rust spots and a small hole in the bumper. Light surface rust on one jack port, the others seemed ok. Somewhat funky looking spoiler looked to have been attached by a carpenter [no aspersions on carpenters, but that skill does not always translate properly to body work.]
Trunk looked clean and dry after a hard rain.
Much of the wood looks ok, though the piece around the shifter is pretty
cracked up.
Glass looks good.
Outside temp sensor and display seemed in working order
All body panels look ok.
The Bad:
ABS light stayed on full time.
I didn't think the transmission was much better than mine. It is about where
mine was a year ago. I wouldn't be willing to transplant even if my crank
could be bored out so the pin would fit. It would not be enough to stop me
from buying the vehicle if I could do the work, but at @$80/hour lots of stuff
get's expensive pretty quick. I wouldn't be seriously concerned about it for
another 50k miles or so [another WAG]. AND, the position points were wrong. D
was neutral, N was reverse, etc.
Dash seems pretty cracked under the almost faded to blue dash pad.
Door switches are missing on both sides.
He said the power windows didn't work too well.
Sunroof is dropped 1/2" , LR corner.
Unidentified @ 2" x 7" plastic flap lying on the floor.
Front looks to have been tagged a bit. Hood ornament is missing, hood will not
close down all the way, a cooler line is sticking out with a drywall screw in
the end, grill seems out of place, more angled out than it should be, and some
pieces are missing between the bumper and the grill and light assemblies.
RF light assembly is messed up a bit, and the side light/blinker is gone
altogether.
Radiator seems to be held together on the right top by JB weld.
Washer reservoir is missing
Over a bumpy driveway there seems to be some odd 'clunks'.
The Ugly:
A paint job that just screams "We paint your entire car in one hour or less for
$25". Large slabs of peeling paint on the sunroof, paint overspray peeling off many
other parts of the car. Mine is a 10' car, this one looks to be a 75' car, without
glasses.
No floor mats or carpet in the front. Didn't investigate the back..
Door panel tops that have seen too much sun.
So... is it worth $250 ? If you need tires, a probably useful engine and a
questionable but reasonably good transmission, solid but dirty seats, a Becker
radio [maybe working], some glass, or other parts I would have no idea about,
maybe. It is drivable, and they guy drove it home from Green Cove Springs [all
of 10 - 15 miles]. While I wouldn't be concerned about driving my 1981 300SD
to Indiana, I would only take this one after some serious diagnostic and repair
work, and with a really good contingency plan. I didn't stop by the bank.
BillR
Jacksonville FL
1981 300SD 285K miles
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