Howdy friends,

I have been with out a car for the last few weeks. I recently sold my 190E, and my beautiful ol' 220D dropped a portion of a pre-chamber into the #1 cylinder. Even after my unfortunate luck with my W115 220D, I had my heart set on a diesel W123 for my next car. I posted a WTB ad in this forum's classifieds section seeking a clean, low mile W123 diesel. Within 20 minutes, I received a great tip from member PC Dave.

PC Dave told me about a clean, one owner, low miles 82 300DT in Fullerton that he almost bought late last year from a very reputable VW TDI dealer Leonard Harview (sells through his small lot and clubtdi.com). Leonard purchased the car after it was donated to a Kidney charity by a widow after the husband passed away. Apparently it sat for a year or two after his death in her garage, and consequently, the transmission developed some problems. She didn't want to deal with it, and donated it. Leonard picked it up for $2500 or $3500 and had the tranny professionally rebuilt. Leonard is not normally interested in anything non-TDI, but this car caught his eye. He wasn't able to sell it immediatly for the price he thought it was worth, so he has been sitting on it for the last year or two. His wife drove it for awhile, he drove it for awhile, and it spend a couple months in a garage. PC Dave backed out of the sale because Leonard was not flexible on the price, even though the car had a few oil leaks. Leonard hasn't showed the car to any one since PC Dave saw it.

I extend my greatest thanks to PC Dave for his kindness in sharing information about this car. Not only did he give me Leonard's contact info, he told me everything he knew about the car, including the information from the PPI he had performed on it.

I made the 350 mile trip from Santa Cruz to Fullerton via train to see the car. I was very impressed by the condition of the vehicle -- clean motor, perfect interior, very nice body and paint, low miles, and rebuilt tranny. It drove wonderfully.







I bought it for $4500.

I know, I know ... that's probably more than any of you guys would pay for a W123. I honestly believe that this car will last me at least the next 6-8 years. The extra $2000 I paid over the price of a more run down, high mileage W123 will easily be saved in maintenance.

I love it. The car drives and runs wonderfully. The trip home was fun and, thankfully, unevenful. I am now a believer -- the diesel W123 is one of (if not THE) best Mercedes ever made.

I have an order in at greasel.com, so I will be burning veggie oil soon. I will let you all know how my install turns out.

Regards,

Cassidy


(Quick questions)

What are the official exterior and interior color names for this vehicle?

Is this car equiped with any smog equipment, like an EGR?

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Cassidy
1982 MB 300DT - Running Great @ 104K!

1972 MB 220D - RIP @ ~200K (Dropped prechamber)
1992 MB 190E 2.6 - SOLD @ 145K

Exterior : White Don't know if there's another name for it.

Interior is Palomino

and yes there is an EGR Valve and as I can see in the picture it's connected. The line might be stuck though

Congrats! Looks like a nice car! I think it's definitely worth $4500.

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2008 BMW 335i Coupe

Congrats on the new addition! It looks very nice.
Ignore what people will say about the price being too high. The consensus around here seems to be that the most expensive mercedes to own is the cheapest to buy, abd the cheapest to own is the more costly, initially.

I've never seen un-faded carpet that color, how nice..


Good find there.

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One more Radar Lover gone...
1982 VW Caddy diesel 406K 1.9L AAZ
1994 E320 195K

Nice looking car. I don't think $4500 was out of line for having 104k miles. The interior says it all, in my opinion.

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Jim

Congratulations. I think you got a nice car for a good price. I too am looking for a nice 82-85 300D so far nothing good. I would certainly have bought that car.

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2010 ML350 Bluetec
2012 Mustang Convertible

I know Leonard. And I know this car. Congratulations. Looks like you got a real runner.

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'91 300D 2.5 Turbo 330K
'00 VW TDI Golf, 190K
'67 BMW R50/2
'73 Norton Commando Interstate

I too think ya done good! Nice ride!

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past MB rides:
'68 220D
'68 220D(another one)
'67 230
'84 SD
Current rides:
'06 Lexus RX330
'93 Ford F-250
'96 Corvette
'99 Polaris 700 RMK sled
2011 Polaris Assault
'86 Yamaha TT350(good 'ol thumper)

Beautiful and very much worth 4500 IMO, even if you paid 6k that would have been good, IMO. I have a white one too and love it!!! Congrats!
Adam Bush

After what you went through with the 220, you deserve a nice car.

Take care of it and I expect that it will serve you well.

Good luck,

Hear, hear!

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Rick Miley
2014 Tesla Model S
2018 Tesla Model 3
2017 Nissan LEAF
Former MB: 99 E300, 86 190E 2.3, 87 300E, 80 240D, 82 204D Euro
Chain Elongation References

Very nice car and worth the 4500 and probably 2K more :-) Congrats and enjoy.

Congrats! Nice looking car. I don't think you overpaid at all. A nice interior is a great sign and a wonderful rarity in most of these cars. My car also has the palamino interior and I think it looks much nicer than the dark blue. Sometimes refered to as "pinkamino" because of it's tendency to turn pink from the sun, your's looks like it has been spared this fate. Look at almost all the palamino cars on e-bay and you will see the two-tone color I'm talking about. Take care of it and enjoy!

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RT


1984 300D---Sold
1995 E420 - 106K - Brilliant Silver Metallic/Orion Gray --- Sold
1984 300SD - 151K Manganese Brown Metallic/Mostly Black --- Sold
1982 240D - 79K - Manila Beige/Palomino---Sold

Congratulations, that's a real beauty!

According to www.paintscratch.com, the color looks like Classic White, paint color # 737. See if you can find 737 on the data plate in front of the radiator to confirm that color.

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Palangi

2004 C240 Wagon 203.261 Baby Benz
2008 ML320 CDI Highway Cruiser
2006 Toyota Prius, Saving the Planet @ 48 mpg
2000 F-150, Destroying the Planet @ 20 mpg



TRUMP .......... WHITEHOUSE
HILLARY .........JAILHOUSE
BERNIE .......... NUTHOUSE
0BAMA .......... OUTHOUSE

You scored!! The $2000 premium you paid bought you the trans and the rest of the car is waaaay too nice for the remaining $2500 of the purchase price. The car looks very clean and straight and the interior is amazing! What's the deal with the green coolant, though? Looks like time for a flush and refill with the good factory stuff and you're down the road. FWIW, the eco-diesel we must subject our cars to here in California is pretty pitiful stuff, and I am finding my SD responds VERY well to a can of Lubro Moly Diesel Hi-Test every third tank or so, as long as I refill each in-between tank before it reaches half-empty. Keeping the additive in the fuel helps the mileage (2-3 mpg improvement, important to me since I drive 3k miles/month), the performance, and lessens the smoke. Slowly go over your paint with some clay, polish and wax and people will think you have a brand new car. Nice...

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Richard Detoy
'84 300SD
'76 Moto Guzzi 850 Le Mans