I was directed to this forum by some fellow TDIclub members so here it goes..... I recently stumbled upon a 1973 Mercedes 220D Auto when I was out with some friends. I only know what I read on the 'For Sale' sign in the window. Like I said before, it's a 1973 Mercedes 220D; Automatic transmission, it has 260K miles and it said the engine was rebuilt at 200k and it's a one owner car. I emailed the shop's owner to get some more info, but all he could tell me is that it does in fact run. He said it belonged to one of his customers and he gave me the owner's info for me to call him and get some of my other questions answered. I plan on calling him later this week.

My question is.... What should I look out for? What are some common problems with them? Anything I should know about the 220D before I buy it? And any other info you think I should know would be greatly appreciated!

Here's a few crappy pics I took with my cell phone. Yes, the body has some rust; lower front fenders, rocker panels, and rear quarter panels. The rust doesn't really bother me because I already looked up the price of new panels and they aren't crazy expensive. Couldn't find front fenders though.... I looked under the car with a few flashlights and didn't see any rust through the floor boards and the trunk happened to be unlocked so I took a look and the trunk floor is good as well. Other than the fading paint on the trunk, the rest of the paint looks pretty good if you ask me







Thanks in advance for you info/advice!!!

It wont be a speedster.

__________________
1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

Not worried about going fast haha.

Rust repair gets expensive in a hurry unless you have the time and know how to do it yourself.

So unless he's essentially giving it away, I'd pass given that there are rust free W115s to be had. Unless they are in mint condition, it seems like $3-4k is the top of the market for fine examples. You're much better off, in my opinion, in spending even $5k getting a well mantained and rust free car than you are in getting a $500 car and easily dumping more than that to make it even passable.

But if you must have *this* car, make sure that you look over the service records. Even with a newer engine, at this age the front end and all rubber bushings are likely gone. Ditto shocks. Heater motors are very expensive to replace so make sure it works. And the rust...well, 99 to 1 odds there's more rust there than what's shown in the picture. The undercoating is very, very thick on these cars and once water finds a way beneath the rust will spread over a wide area and you can't tell unless you start knocking the coating off.

The last thing is, as everyone else pointed out, you'd better not be in a hurry to get anywhere. 0-60 on a nicely tuned auto is in the 25 second neighborhood so use that as a standard to gauge engine performance.

__________________
1974 240D "Boldie" 170K.- New timing chain/freshly rebuilt IP/replaced valve seals/injectors/upgraded stereo/new Bilsteins with Yokohamas/fresh paint and rocker panels plus lots of welds.

Where are you and the car located? Somewhere outside of the rust belt? I would guess so. Your location would give an indication about how deep of a rust problem you potentially have.

That is a cool looking car.

How is the rubber around the windshield and rear window? Cracked and dry rotted? If so you would plan on replacing it. For that matter, look at the rubber boots around the rear wheel shafts and see if that is dry rotted as well. And the ball joints. I am focusing on the rubber components because of the age of the car. There are certainly a lot of other factors to consider. Little plastic stuff gets brittle and breaks at that age. And gaskets get old and leak.

__________________
85 300D 75K Anthracite Grey 0-60 in 13 seconds **For Sale**
84 300D 333K Black (The Velveteen Rabbit) 0-60 in 14 seconds
00 Toyota Sienna 208K (Sold)
15 Subaru Outback 43K
11 Subaru Outback 67K
98 Ford Taurus 100K (Gertie - Was Grandma's - drove it to church and shopping - really) Daughter's car now.
30 Model A Ford 2 Door Sedan (Sold) 0-60 in . . . Never reached 60

I have owned these cars and unless you have a desire to spend lots of money to go slow, RUN!

This car is worth 650 as is.

Expect a huge bill for structural rust

Expect a huge bill if the AT goes bad, which it will soon, if it has not been rebuilt.

Expect undependable AC if you have any at all, coming from a York AC unit

Expect that you cannot keep up with traffic.

The ideal one of these is a rust-free version with an MT and with air that works, so that you can get a Sanden compressor to replace the York when it dies.

Unless they are sacrificing the car at 500, RUN!

__________________
Strelnik
Invest in America: Buy a Congressman!

1950 170SD
1951 Citroen 11BN
1953 Citroen 11BNF limo
1953 220a project
1959 180D
1960 190D
1960 Borgward Isabella TS 2dr
1983 240D daily driver
1983 380SL
1990 350SDL daily driver alt
3 x Citroen DS21M, down from 5
3 x Citroen 2CV, down from 6

^^ What he said. Coming from a TDI, unless you enjoy receiving the three-finger salute from anyone trying to deal with you, fuggedabouddit. This should not be your intro to old MB diesels.

__________________
80 300SD (129k mi) 82 240D stick (193k mi)77 240D auto - stick to be (153k mi) 85 380SL (145k mi) 89 BMW 535i 82 Diesel Rabbit Pickup (374k mi) 91 Jetta IDI Diesel (155k mi) 81 VW Rabbit Convertible Diesel 70 Triumph Spitfire Mk III (63kmi)66 Triumph TR4a IRS (90k mi)67 Ford F-100 (??)

Dang I was hoping for some more positive responses. I live in Nebraska, but the car is owned by a career Military guy so I don't know where the car has spent it's life. The owner is asking $900 and I had planned on talking him down. This car wasn't going to be my daily driver by any means. I had planned to tackle the body work, have it painted, and then install an air ride system on it. Just going to be a hobby car.

This is my inspiration for the car......