1977 Mercedes 300D worth it?
Mwahahahahaaahaa
car for some time now.. Found a '77 300d for $900. Has 112,000 miles.
Problem is, the main drive belt is broke and the car has sat for almost
a year... What kind of problems would that cause? The belt is no
problem, but assuming it ran fine before (which he said it did), what
would have to be done to get it running again? Any suggestions? Should
I barter or should I let it go? This guy is selling it for a female
friend of his who never got around to getting it fixed. Thanks a lot in
advance for any advise you may have!!!!!!!!!
M.M.
> ... Found a '77 300d for $900. Has 112,000 miles.
> Problem is, the main drive belt is broke and the car has sat for almost
> a year...
What do you mean by the 'main drive belt'?
112K is nothing for a Benz drive train (assuming it's been maintained)
but check it out for rust. Some of those old Benzes were rust buckets.
Parts can be expensive and difficult to find...
John S.
Mwahahahahaaahaa wrote:
> Hello all, I've been on a quest for a nice (but old and cheap) diesel
> car for some time now.. Found a '77 300d for $900. Has 112,000 miles.
> Problem is, the main drive belt is broke and the car has sat for almost
> a year... What kind of problems would that cause?
Does the speedometer and odometer work? Or were they ever broken?
That seems like very low milage for a 30 year old car.
Seals may start leaking on a car that old that has sat for a year.
Since you can't drive it to test the trans, power steering, etc., there
may be other hidden surprises.
> The belt is no
> problem, but assuming it ran fine before (which he said it did), what
> would have to be done to get it running again? Any suggestions? Should
> I barter or should I let it go?
Depends on whether you like the thrill of a gamble and a challenge.
You might dicker down and give it a try.
Scott Dorsey
is that when those diesels are left idle for a long time, they tend to
gunk up inside pretty badly.
Odds are you have a lot of seal failures and hose failures, as well as
the belt. And it's going to be more than one belt that is bad so replace
them all. And all the window seals too.
I'd be worried about the transmission, which is expensive to do anything
with. And I'd be worried the engine was gunked up.
I wouldn't spend much money for it. But it is a fun car. People wave
at you when you drive by in it. Prepare for a lot of weekends spent
working on it, but buy it.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
H...@nospam.nix
"Mwahahahahaaahaa" <sirmo...@entropicmusic.com> wrote in message ? Any
suggestions? Should
> I barter or should I let it go? This guy is selling it for a female
> friend of his who never got around to getting it fixed. Thanks a lot in
> advance for any advise you may have!!!!!!!!!
I have taken on my share of project cars, most of which have been a
challenge.
This one would not be my cup of tea.
I am not a real Mercedes fan anyway (although some of the two seater models
are really fine looking). They tend to be over engineered, expensive to
repair
and maintain IMHO.
Mwahahahahaaahaa
into consideration!! Is there any way to test for gunk in the engine if
I were to take a look at it tomorrow? I know I wouldn't get a thorough
test, but at least a minimal one..
Kevin
Remove the oil filler cap and stick your finger in to scrape some crud from
the inside of the valve cover. You might be surprised what you find there.
Black is ok, gritty mud not good.
--
Kevin Mouton
Automotive Technology Instructor
"If women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy"
Red Green
Ad absurdum per aspera
project car is being sold by someone who despaired of fixing it."
He would rather have $900 (asking -- maybe not getting) than a big
comfy safe tank of a car that gets pretty good mileage. So maybe it
needs more than just slapping a belt on there.
Trouble is, you're "buying a pig in a poke" and don't know how *much*
more. It's hard to evaluate much of anything except body, interior,
glass, and (maybe, if you've got some sturdy jackstands and a manual)
suspension on a car that isn't running. Frankly, the claim that he is
selling it for a friend whose brain you can't pick about these matters
in person also sounds a faint warning bell in my mind...
BTW, a quick glance around the web suggests that a private party price
on a decent one that you can actually drive is under $2k, and a nice
one is $3k.
My personal opinion is that it's too much money and two many
potentially large unknowns for a commute beater or platform for a
backyard biodiesel experiment, unless the body and interior are really
cherry *and* you know MBZ *and* you at least have a line on a parts
donor. You could easily spend more fixing it up than you would to buy
a good example.
Ultimately it's all about your risk tolerance...
Mwahahahahaaahaa
I would say I agree.. too much of a risk. thanks all of you guys for
your insight!