I am looking at a 1967 200D to buy, help!

I have always loved the body of this car, I look at it tomorrow and desperately need you guys advise!

History on car......

shipped from Europe, odometer is in kilometers, 40,000 original miles, no body damage, this is the second owner who bought it from the original owner.....
in good working condition, original tires

he is asking $8,500 OBO

What do you think? Please advise, I have no idea what I am getting into!!

Thanks in advance,

French

[250C/8 + 230SL]

$8,500 . . . did we read that correctly?

[Mark DiSilvestro]

There's a '66 Fintail 200 in Missouri you could probaly get for a few hundred dollars. Check out that thread.

Happy Motoring, Mark

[Tomguy]

I think the general consensus from EVERYONE here will be:

"That's WAY too much!"

[250C/8 + 230SL]

Collector Car Market Review Value Report

1967 MERCEDES-BENZ 200D 4cyl 1988cc (60hp SAE) 4M

#5 , #4 , #3 , #2 , #1
4dr Sdn 400, 1125, 2575 , 4975 , 6850


#1=the day it was sold, virtually
#3=best rustfree example of 200D you are likely to ever find today or $2575
$8500=the seller is dreaming

(even these figures seem generous to me, for that kind of bread you might look for a w111)
It's just an opinion.

[Tomguy]

Another thing is that, if it has the original 40 year-old tires on it, with 40k miles, you will need rubber off the bat.

A 200D is not a high demand auto and can be had for much MUCH cheaper. For $8500 I'd rather buy the most pristine 4.5 sedan I can find!

[300SDog]

Welcome to the forum FrenchDeb, that could be an hilarious fun car for you. Here's a list of items you might want to copy and give to your mechanic if you get the car professionally inspected, probly a good idea.

1) Check the oil in the injection pump, its got a separate sump from the engine and deserves to be changed regularly. Should be reasonably clean.

2) If standard column shift, check for excessive play in the linkage. Sometimes previous owners use the shift lever as a handrest, hence linkage problems.

3)Kingpin suspension grease nipples. There's about 16 of them including 1/2 dozen on each side of front suspension. Often these grease fittings are ignored in regular maintenance, then the suspension goes to hell.

4)Also check the brakes carefully, DOT4 fluid should be reasonably clean in the jar and all four brake callipres should be functioning well and not frozen with no pulling to one side or another, no nosediving of front end either. Rear brake pistons for 110 sedans are on the rare and endangered parts list, almost impossible to find. And MB recommends that DOT4 fluid be flushed and changed each 30k miles.

5)Pull the radiator cap and look at the core, does it look red with rust and scale? These cars deserve a solid radiator flush twice each year.

Deb, its all about the history of the vehicle, who owned it and how well its been maintained. And NEVER believe stated mileage on the 5 digit odometer unless the seller has paperwork to back it up.

Finally if you've never owned or driven one of the 4 cyl diesels, especially the 200D with about 47 hp, then you are in for severe culture shock. Your driving habbits will change forever. Everywhere you go it will be slowest car on the road, so you will get lots of attention. It will also take extreme courage to navigate the 200D in modern traffic situations, no more quickies at intersections or fast lane changes. These are not good cars for those who feel harrassed or intimidated by others easily. The primitive diesel will teach you patience and tolerance such as you've never known before. And on the coolness scale, there's nothing like a Vintage MB of that body style.

Get back to us after you've test driven the vehicle for an hour or so. Am looking forward to hearing your first impressions.

[meltedpanda]

Originally Posted by Frenchdeb

in good working condition, original tires

he is asking $8,500 OBO

What do you think? Please advise, I have no idea what I am getting into!!

Thanks in advance,

French

any car that keeps it original rubber for nearly forty years is a red flag
I am with the rest for $8500, it better have EVERY mainteance record and still smell new when you open the door!
The Dog is right, it is a great car, but that is a big price, get her to an MB mechanic and then let us know what he/she finds
$8500, I'd would divide that by 4
Good luck

[Palangi]

That car has a pretty high "coolness" factor, but, for that price it better be pretty near perfect condition. Being just yer basic sedan, it does not really have much collector value. As described, I would not pay over $4000 for it.

Look carefully around the 200Diesel trunk badge. If there is bubbled paint or rust there, then there is rust in more important places as well.

Also, be aware that starting around 1967 or 68, the engines were soft for a couple years, so a 67 engine would be a crap-shoot. If it's a bad one, it may not make it to 100K.

I hate to volunteer someone else's services, but, if you are serious about this car, get in touch with Randy Leo (username RLeo) on the diesel forum. I bet he would help you look it over.

[Tristar1959]

Punch line: No matter HOW much you've wanted one of these -
you just gotta 1) drive it and understand what Dog was sayin' about the power;
2) have someone who really knows these give it that thorough inspection, including up on a lift, for hidden rust-out, which is terminal;
3) truly divide by 4 or no better than 'bout 3.5, unless you or Daddy have your own oilwell which is still producing...

If you just GOTTA have one of these, really good ones come up for sale periodically - please be patient, as it's unlikely your seller will believe how out-of-kilter that asking price is and come down that much...until it doesn't sell for a really long time...

If you tell us what it is you really love about this model, there are plenty of folks on this forum who know all the older models who could suggest some perhaps more practical alternatives.

Happy shoppin'

Stan

[Tomguy]

Don't be afraid to take someone's advice on price - I didn't buy a 500E back when I had the money due to advice (Seller wanted 17k, I was told it was a 12k car at best). Good thing I didn't buy it, needed the money for something else anyway! You're probably best off driving it first, the shock of how slow it is might steer you towards something faster with a similar body style and gas engine.

[t walgamuth]

pass muster with someone who truly knows these cars in and out.

if it is actually like new then it is worth 8500. i have seen a couple of fintails that were showroom condition go for that and a bit more recently.

tom w

[Furious D]

I was in a similar situation last year. I was looking at a MINT '72 280SE 4.5, and a '67 200D. In the end I chose the 200. The 200 was a little more thrashed and needed a little wrenchin' where as the 4.5 could of been driven home that very day. In the end I will probably have a little less rolled into the 200 including resto and grease conversion as I would of bought the 4.5 for. The 4.5 was a little big for what I wanted and was very thirsty. Now I will have a car that runs on free fuel, and gets 30+ MPG, vs. fuel that costs $1.15L (I'm in Canada) and a car that gets 13MPG. I would of loved either, but in the end I can live with the slow acceleration vs high operating costs.