92 300D, good car to buy?

[Harry Perros]

Dear Group

I kindly request your collective wisdom...

I am considering buying a 92 300D turbo
with 113,000. The car was recently re-painted.

Has this model turned out to be a good and reliable car
or would I spend a fortune in repairs??

Are there any weaknesses I should know??

Harry

[Duncan D. Sterling]

Harry Perros <h...@csc.ncsu.edu> wrote:

Harry,

: I am considering buying a 92 300D turbo

: with 113,000. The car was recently re-painted.

: Has this model turned out to be a good and reliable car
: or would I spend a fortune in repairs??

If it was well cared for, and the seller can produce service records
and it passes a pre-purchase mechanical inspection by a reputable
technician, it should be a good buy.

According to my Mercedes factory trained German mechanic, the
90-93 2.5 liter turbodiesels are among the best examples of
the Mercedes diesels built to date. Many, many of these cars
are in service all over Europe as taxis.

: Are there any weaknesses I should know??

I've been told (and this has matched my own experience with my
92) that these cars are nearly bulletproof with proper care and
feeding...

--Duncan

[lwwise]

Second that. My ("our" if my wife is reading this) 90 300D with the 2.5
turbo has been a jewel. I/we have owned it since it was new. The
differential was replaced at about 500 miles (!) but it has had no further
problems. Now 145,000 miles or so, she doesn't let me drive it that often.
I would have bought two if I had known what a great car it was going to be
and if I could have found the money. :-)
Duncan D. Sterling <buf...@saltmine.radix.net> wrote in message
news:87smqg$2ho$1...@news1.Radix.Net...

[Carol Klein]

The 2.5 diesel is a five cylinder engine. This year had a apecific change:
because the five cylinder doesn't have the torque and power of the 3 liter,
six cylinder, the transmission starts in first gear, while other years start
in second. Any MB diesel will run forever if the oil and filters are
changed as indicated.

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[Justin Dobbs]

I keep hearing about the starting-in-second stunt with the MB
transmissions, but I have an 87 300D (603.960 straight 6)
Turbo that always, always starts in first.

Which models/years do the second-gear starts?

TIA,
Justin Dobbs

Carol Klein wrote:
>
> The 2.5 diesel is a five cylinder engine. This year had a apecific change:
> because the five cylinder doesn't have the torque and power of the 3 liter,
> six cylinder, the transmission starts in first gear, while other years start
> in second. Any MB diesel will run forever if the oil and filters are
> changed as indicated.

--
Justin Dobbs (j...@jrd.com)
The nice thing about Windows is - It does not just crash, it displays a
dialog box and lets you press 'OK' first.
(Arno Schaefer's .sig)

[Bo Siltberg]

I've always thought that my -94 300D Turbo (4-speed automatic)
was "lacking" a first gear, like it was a 5-speed automatic
without the 1st gear. It's quite slow to get rolling from stop
until I reach about 2200 rpm (~ 20mph) where the turbo kicks in.
Instead, it allows high speed at low rpm, which is nice too.
What year was the 5-speed auto introduced? And does it add a
"first" gear or a "fifth"...? Something in the middle I guess.

Comparing this one with my old -84 300D non-turbo, it's a great
improvement in many areas. But, it's maybe too early to say,
the quality-feeling is not the same. I doubt it will last as
long as the -84. I hope I'm wrong, time will show.

Bo

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