Hi, I am planning on selling my 1987 300TD wagon and want to get a fair price without spending months on the market. I have been looking over craigslist postings in SF and LA to find comparables, but the number of these cars for sale is pretty small. Here are two:
https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/pts/d/san-jose-1987-mercedes-300td-diesel/7058961194.html
https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/pts/d/san-jose-1987-mercedes-300td-diesel/7058967600.html

My car is better than those cars in some regards and worse in others. Both of those cars have been on the market for a while. There have been a few listed which appear to have sold in the $2500-$3000 range. Do you know of any listings of 1987 300TD wagons in non-pristine shape in your area, which I could use to help me set a reasonable price for my own? Thanks for your time.

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1968 220D, w115, /8, OM615, Automatic transmission.
My 1987 300TD wagon was sold and my 2003 W210 E320 wagon was totaled (sheds tear).

I paid $2000 for my last one gotten from JayBob... about a year ago.

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 560SL convertible
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
2005 Dodge Sprinter 2500 158"WB
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

Willing to bet there’s very few left on the road these days.

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Only diesels in this driveway.
2005 E320 CDI 243k Black/Black
2008 Chevy 3500HD Duramax 340k
2004 Chevy 2500HD Duramax 220k

On the one hand yes they're wonderful cars .

On the other hand they're thirty three years old so only really interesting to Diesel nutters......

Sad but that's the way the mop flops .

Car # 1 there isn't even a $2,000 car anywhere .

Car # 2 is at best a $3,000 car if you're really hot to buy one of THIS EXACT COLOR and then restore it.....

Ask $3,000.00 for your and make sure anyone who comes to look is bringing cash in hand, take any offer over $2,000 and be done with it .

Don't waste a moment talking about price until you see the bengamens .

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-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

Around me they're rare as hens teeth and easily sell for big $$$$ all the time, regardless of condition. I'd love to own one, but couldn't find one to save my life. That being said, those both look like turds.

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2004 F150 4.6L -My Daily
2007 Volvo XC70 -Wife's Daily
1998 Ford F150 -Rear ended
1989 J-spec 420SEL -passed onto its new keeper
1982 BMW 733i -fixed and traded for the 420SEL
2003 Volvo V70 5 Speed -scrapped
1997 E290 Turbo Diesel Wagon -traded for above
1992 BMW 525i -traded in
1990 Silver 300TE -hated the M103
1985 Grey 380SE Diesel Conversion, 2.47 rear end, ABS -Sold, really should have kept this one
1979 Silver 300D "The Silver Slug" -Sold

So then ;

Grab a cheap flight or bus and come buy one here....

Many shops have them just sitting after the owner decides not to fix the latest thing, my guy Victor had a seriously nice one with iffy paint, the customer decided he didn't want to pay for the tranny rebuild so it was for sale for $2,700.00 even cold AC, near perfect interior, new tranny, tires, current tags and so on....

Go beat the bushes .

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-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

Its a little more complicated to get one into canada. Not to mention the immense travel to look at a car, that might be a turd..

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2004 F150 4.6L -My Daily
2007 Volvo XC70 -Wife's Daily
1998 Ford F150 -Rear ended
1989 J-spec 420SEL -passed onto its new keeper
1982 BMW 733i -fixed and traded for the 420SEL
2003 Volvo V70 5 Speed -scrapped
1997 E290 Turbo Diesel Wagon -traded for above
1992 BMW 525i -traded in
1990 Silver 300TE -hated the M103
1985 Grey 380SE Diesel Conversion, 2.47 rear end, ABS -Sold, really should have kept this one
1979 Silver 300D "The Silver Slug" -Sold

Thanks guys for the suggestions. It sounds like my pricing is right in line with the discussion here. I am just taking care of a few odds and ends on the car and will list it here and on CL. Unfortunately being a 30 year old car, it does have lots of little things that aren't quite right. So my ad is going to be very long listing all of its flaws (and a few attributes). I would rather the next owner know what they are taking on so they can pay a fair price for the actual car being purchased.

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1968 220D, w115, /8, OM615, Automatic transmission.
My 1987 300TD wagon was sold and my 2003 W210 E320 wagon was totaled (sheds tear).

The advert only needs to mention serious defects and if the AC works or not, take some time to really clean it well ~ in the crevices, under the hood, below the rear cargo area, the door jambs etc. ~ as long as it starts easily and runs well, the clean will sell it very quickly .

Don't push it as a 'project' unless it cannot be daily driven as is as you'll scare away the lower end buyers you're looking for .

Every where I go, people ask to buy my old beaters right after they comment on how clean they are .

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-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

Original FS thread from June 2018 with pics and details, for historical reference. Had a few scammers call (I advertised it in MBCA Star also) but no serious takers.

Listed in April for $5500 ended up giving it back to Vstech for $2000...my wife was either take the 2k or call kars-4-kids.

FS 1987 300TD

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The OM 642/722.9 powered family
Still going strong
2014 ML350 Bluetec (wife's DD)
2013 E350 Bluetec (my DD)

both my kids cars went to junkyard in 2023
2008 ML320 CDI (Older son’s DD) fatal transmission failure, water soaked/fried rear SAM, numerous other issues, just too far gone to save (165k miles)
2008 E320 Bluetec (Younger son's DD) injector failed open and diluted oil with diesel, spun main bearings (240k miles)

1998 E300DT sold to TimFreeh
1987 300TD sold to vstech

Jay-Bob-
That is an amazing car for $2K. That doesn't bode well for me, but I appreciate you sharing your experience.

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1968 220D, w115, /8, OM615, Automatic transmission.
My 1987 300TD wagon was sold and my 2003 W210 E320 wagon was totaled (sheds tear).

Would have sold here in seconds for $5500, for $2000 you’d have had to stop me breaking your door down to force feed you my cash...

__________________
2004 F150 4.6L -My Daily
2007 Volvo XC70 -Wife's Daily
1998 Ford F150 -Rear ended
1989 J-spec 420SEL -passed onto its new keeper
1982 BMW 733i -fixed and traded for the 420SEL
2003 Volvo V70 5 Speed -scrapped
1997 E290 Turbo Diesel Wagon -traded for above
1992 BMW 525i -traded in
1990 Silver 300TE -hated the M103
1985 Grey 380SE Diesel Conversion, 2.47 rear end, ABS -Sold, really should have kept this one
1979 Silver 300D "The Silver Slug" -Sold