FS: 1987 300D Anthracite Grey, 322k, NO Rust, FL car, RECORDS!! - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

DieselClan · #1 04-05-2013, 07:43 PM

I hate to do this but I'm thinking of selling the '87 300D. It's been my daily driver for the last 5+ years and has served well. I would typically drive it 60+ miles a day 5-6 days a week for work. But I've since found a new job where I commute less than 4 miles each way and it's just not good for the car. Plus, I'd like to get a truck for hauling purposes and need to clear the drive a little to do so and the sale money would help purchase the truck too.

What I have is a well maintained example of the OM603 W124 Mercedes. My brother bought the car in June 1999 from the original owner in Orlando, Fl. (we lived in N. Fla at the time). It had 150k on it at that time. I acquired it in April 2005 after he bought a '99 E300. We probably have about 95% of the entire service history on this car, just amazing! The car looks much better than most on the road today thanks to some updates plus it was repainted at the time I acquired it (due to an accident- more details below).

Unfortunately, the car was involved in an accident. It was in Spring '05, when an unattentive driver rear ended us at about 25-30 MPH in the R/R trunk/quarter panel area. The car did drive home and we had it repaired and had the full car repainted. Had to replace the trunk lid, RR quarter panel, bumper, and tail light as far as I can recall. Naturally, the insurance company wanted to total it out but we fought with them and eventually won full repair and only had to pay for a portion of the repaint. That's the worst thing to ever happen to this car, accident wise!

Two major repairs (mechanically) done to the car were around the same time: (1) the injection pump which was rebuilt in October 2002 @ 211,933 miles and (2) the ABS pump went out and we replaced it with a used unit in May 2003 @ 220,176 miles. Naturally, its not to say nothing else has gone wrong. It has had typical oil services, brakes done, switches replaced, etc...

Since I moved to TN this is what I can recall having done to the car. And this is since about 280,000 miles:

*Motor Mounts/Trans Mount
*Water Pump
*Installed NEW Updated Vacuum Pump
*Ball Joints
*All NEW from Mercedes Rear Suspension Links replaced in Winter 2010 ($$$!)
*A/C Compressor and Drier replaced around this time last year (A/C would get your nipples hard most times but think there is a freon leak because I started having to get it filled once a month or so). Haven't needed to use it for the past 5 months with winter but will check on it when I get the chance. It was keeping me cool in 90+ degree Summer days last year!
*New ContiTech Belt
*New Belt Tensioner Shock/Spring
*New (Rebuilt) Bosch Alternator late last year or early this year (can't remember), haha
*4 New Michelins (not installed at same time though)
*I had a lot of Vacuum work done last year when the car decided to not shut off on its own and trans started shift very harsh. It was something with the vacuum pod located behind passenger side headlight
*The car is currently with my mechanic right now get a fresh oil service and replacing the front shocks with New Bilsteins (bought from Pelican)

UPDATES:
*When my brother owned it he bought New Bosch Euro lights and put them on. I had to replace the RH lens a few years ago when someone busted it (F***ers!) at my work. It was replaced with a matching Bosch lens.
*I've added the Euro corner lights up front and the '94/95 Smoked tail lights in the rear.
*I also updated the wheels with ones from a 94 E420 (still 15" wheels)
*I also added a front Euro plate

Pros:
This car has been well maintained over the years. It looks good and can happily say it is a daily driver car. The service records prove this alone! Nice tasty updates give the car great appeal and fresh OEM suspension components in the rear can make you rest assure they won't need to be replaced for another 200K miles or more.

BODY:
Body is in good shape, with the exception of some minor damage to the DS front door which has some dents in it from an animal running out in front of me one night on the way home from work- it also tore off the mirror but I replaced that right away. Paint still looks good (I give it a 7/10) but wasn't the best job and the clear coat has started to peel in 5-6 spots on the hood and a few on the trunk lid. This was a Florida car from 1987-2008 and has been driven in a few TN snows (nothing compared to Northern cars). This car is 100% rust free, I can get detailed photos when I have free time and for serious buyers to prove this. The front bumper has a few cracks in it and a crack in the impact strip that I had my mechanic fill in with some filler stuff. The NEW rear bumper I had put on in 2005 was unfortunately damaged by another animal one night on my way home (luckily only bumper damage, no body damage). I had my mechanic get another one from a pull-a-part that was technically perfect (crack wise) but was faded to hell. He painted it for me, in black which isn't correct but I think it looks good though not original and it doesn't match the front bumper. The front bumper could always be done too to match. All glass is original and in good shape. Windshield doesn't have any cracks but is the original glass so it has pits in it.

INTERIOR:
The interior is decent for the 25 y/o car with nearly 330k miles on it. The dash is cracked as expected. Passenger front seat is good, no rips. Back seat is good, no rips. Front seat and armrest needs replacing though- the springs are worn out and broken (one spring in backrest portion has busted out the back

). Center armrest is toast but I have a MINT replacement for whenever a better seat is installed. Sunvisors are in good shape. Headliner has a few small stains hear and there I think but no tears/splits/holes. Carpets are decent for age/miles but aren't mint. There are some stains in areas. Carpeted floor mats are dingy too, could shampoo out but not sure how well. Door panels are okay, no cuts or damages to them but the map pockets on the fronts are warped like commonly found in these cars.

MECHANICALLY:
The car runs out very good for the mileage. It does leak oil and transmission fluid. I honestly can't tell you how much but I have topped of the AT fluid 2-3 times between services and the oil maybe once if at all. Engine runs out well, it does sound loud when cold but is smooth as silk once warmed. It does sound like a lifter(s) is ticking but goes away once engine is warmed up. Transmission was resealed before moving up to TN but my current mechanic said there are more seals that need replacing- the trans will need to be pulled and I haven't had the opprotuninty to have him do it because I've needed the car. It has also started to slip a little if you put it in drive after being in reverse and try to take off quickly. It won't slip if you wait about 5 seconds. My mechanic was going to try and add some Lucas transmission stuff to see if it will help out a little. Electrics are iffy in areas. The power seats work but only when the doors are open (I don't think the front headrests work though). The sunroof works flawlessly. Cruise Control works but does surge from time to time (I had a new stalk installed while here in TN) and sometimes if you have the cruise engaged and hit the brake to cancel it out it won't work again unless the car has been shut off first. Front windows work but rears don't (never had these looked at- I prefer A/C in the summer anyways!

) The front passenger window, while it works, it is slow and may need a replacement regulator/motor installed in the near future. A/C and heat work but heat takes a while to come on (not till car warms up) and it's not really controllable by the temp wheel. Meaning, it's either full blast cold or heat. All vents work and none are busted (I had the PS and center vents replaced last year b/c they got cracked). Instrument cluster is near perfect. Last year the tripometer and odometer quit working so I had my mechanic remove it and sent it off the have rebuilt. I also has the clock rebuilt at the same time. I didn't do this right away though so while the odo reads 322,xxx on it I'm sure the actual mileage is around 330,xxx. Also, the trip meter is still flaky. It works but if you go to reset it it won't line up perfectly on the first try and if you start going it'll get stuck. What I generally do if this happens is stop the car and put it in park and reset it again and it always works after this. Tachometer works, no problems. Clock works no problems since rebuild. The only other guage with problems is the fuel guage. It reads fine but fluctuates alot and the light comes on when it reads 1/4 tank left so I don't know what to believe; I just fill it up when the light comes on to be safe. Oh yeah, almost forgot that this car does have the #14 head but have never had any problems with overheating except when the water pump was going out. I have the service record from where the original owner had the Trap Ox removed at the dealer back in '97 or so when the recall was announced. That may've help with the preserving of the head

STEREO:
I replaced the stereo about 2 years ago with a CD Player (forgot which brand at this time) that also has an Ipod hookup. The speakers are old replacements and sound like crap! They need to be replaced again. The car had an XM Satellite radio installed when it first came out (like in 2000 I think) and everything is still there but it doesn't work anymore. I think it needs a new tuner box (the XM antenna was replaced a couple years ago). The regular antenna doesn't work 100%. It'll go up about 1/2 way and stop. It will go back down all the way though. I had a sub installed at the same time the CD player was installed but think it was causing electrical issues with the alternator or something so I just unplugged it.

Well that's about all I can think of. I tried to be as detailed as possible. The car has been well maintained but these are old used cars with high miles and will always have things going wrong with them. I'm sure everyone here will know that. But it is a good candidate for a daily driver as it has been for me. I just don't drive that much and this car was meant to be driven. That also reminds me, I've never ran any WVO or similar crap in this car. It's only had #2 Diesel ran in it and maybe had 2-3 tanks of B20 ran in it but I stopped using that when it cause the fuel lines to leak. I know someone's going to ask me if this car can be driven cross country and as much as I love it and trust it as a daily driver I just can't honestly say I would use it for that.

I'm only selling because I don't have a long commute any longer and hate using the car less than 30 miles a week now. That and I want to buy a truck and need the funds from this car to buy one. Plus there's no room to keep this and add a truck to the fleet. Will be sad to see it go since it's been in the family for nearly 14 years but there's always a time when that happens.

I'm asking $3,500 locally and wherever I've placed ads but think my rock bottom price will be $2,800. I know the market is weak on these cars especially with the miles mine has but feel the service history on this one will be a solid factor in the price. Please get in touch if interested or shoot an offer. If I don't like it worst thing I can say is no thanks.

Oh and I don't have any recent photos of it but I have some in my gallery you can see. I don't have it in my posession at this time but will get some recent shots when I can.

EDIT: Here's a link to some photos I put on photobucket. These are old photos though so I want to eventually get recent one available. But the car hasn't changed much except the rear bumper as mentioned above. Also, the car sits higher in the rear now b/c these pictures were before the rear suspension rebuild. Car was sitting low up front which is why I'm putting shocks up front- hoping that will help. I also don't have the original rims anymore- I sold them.

http://s166.photobucket.com/user/daimlerdieselcdi/library/#/user/daimlerdieselcdi/library/My%201987%20300D?page=1&_suid=136520592692106021485751517192

DieselClan · #2 04-09-2013, 01:19 AM

And some extra photos. Some pictures of the folder full of service records and the original window sticker. Also ran an AutoCheck report on the car in 2010 and took a photo of the score (61). And then some photos of the undercarriage (new front shocks) and bad spots on the hood. Apologizes for the car being filthy but just got it back and no time to clean- pollen is back out

My mechanic informed me the front pads/rotors will need to be done by next oil service but I'm going to go ahead and get that done in the next 2 weeks along with recharge the A/C (turned it on last night on the way home from his home and yeah it wasn't that 'cool'

) so I'll get that done and it should be good to go.

http://s1229.photobucket.com/user/daimlerdiesel300d/library/#/user/daimlerdiesel300d/library/New87_300Dpics?page=1&_suid=1365694172355026172397190850116

After I get the brakes done and haven't had any interest I'll probably throw it on Ebay and see what happens.

dlssmith · #3 04-12-2013, 12:38 PM

My favorite of the "modern" MB diesels. I want it - though it's too bad you're in Florida and I'm in MN and I have one too many already. Not too bad for the car though

DieselClan · #4 04-12-2013, 02:39 PM

Actually I'm near Nashville, Tennesse now. Also, I'm meeting a prospective buyer in Dalton, Ga Sunday to show him the car if anyone nearby would like to see it as well. Got the brakes in today, Pelican is pretty quick with deliveries! But I may not get them installed if the interested buyer buys it Sunday or get the A/C recharged in time.

suginami · #5 04-12-2013, 08:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DieselClan

Actually I'm near Nashville, Tennesse now. Also, I'm meeting a prospective buyer in Dalton, Ga Sunday to show him the car if anyone nearby would like to see it as well. Got the brakes in today, Pelican is pretty quick with deliveries! But I may not get them installed if the interested buyer buys it Sunday or get the A/C recharged in time.

Dalton, GA?

Is the prospective buyer our fearless moderator Engatwork?

DieselClan · #6 04-13-2013, 12:31 AM

Haha, no, actually it was someone who saw it on CL from Marietta and we arranged to meet in Dalton. I'm not sure if it's going to pan out though as I have the feeling he plans to lowball me and I'm not going to go out of my way for a buyer like that to lowball me. We shall see! If not, Sunday will be my day to clean it up and get ya'll some proper photos of it