1981 Mercedes-Benz 300-Series

Sedan

5 cyl. Diesel

Automatic

WDBCB20A7BB005472

Diesel

I bought this car January 14, 2010 with 124,000 miles on it. At this writing it has 155,795 so in 5 years and 8 months I’ve put 31,795 miles on it, an average of 5,611 a year. I bought the car for a long distance daily commute by highway to a job assignment that did not last since the company failed. My next assignment included a generous car allowance provided my car was always 2 years or less in age, therefore I bought another car that I found I like a lot and continue to own. Here are the three reasons to sell it: Reason one: I simply don’t drive the Mercedes. Reason two: I need the space to bring my boat into the garage, do some upgrades & restore the trailer. Reason three: I have lost interest in having several cars around for different purposes and fooling around with them. At my age I simply want to play with my little boat and go fishing. With the car you will get a clear title and all the receipts for work mentioned below as well as what the prior owner had done. It is Mass inspected as of June 2015, registered & insured. I have a lot of receipts for work done on the car by the prior owner and me. I won’t bother to list the stuff he did. My receipts add up to $7,865 & change. There is no reserve. So first, work I’ve had done with invoices: MB Dealer repairs: Five new glow plugs, glow plug indicator light on dash, four-way flashers repaired, wiring corrections and repair from aftermarket radio installation, slides repaired for ashtray from aftermarket radio installation, cigar lighter repair from aftermarket radio installation, some other stuff, Carbon clean out, Heater plug, Tachometer repair, cruise control diagnosis with pick up at harmonic balancer replaced, Fuel injector. $1308.05.MB Dealer repairs: Completed repairs to cruise control with new actuator, repairs to tach again, faulty wiring, adjust e-brake, rear brake line(s), brake fluid, bleed brakes, headlights replaced, replace plastic headlight retaining nuts, complete repair to cigar lighter, replace differential seal, refill gear lube, wiring repairs, Oil & filter, drain & fill ATF, trans filter, trans gasket: $1789.00.MB Dealer repairs: New diesel shut off valve & vacuum box, Replace valve line, All new V-belts, replace mounting bracket under turbo charger, Replace rubber buffer, Repair air cleaner housing, Repair cigar lighter & wiring again, All oil, fluid and filters again, flush & fill cooling system, more repairs to cruise control, Re-charge & Leak down test to AC, found leak in condenser or possibly drier, replaced controller, repair windshield washers, Repair/replace door stops on left front and rear doors, Repair/replace inner door liner(s). $3,467.40.MB specialty shop, J. F. Allen Co., Shelburne MA: Replace wiper motor, repair wiper motor linkage, Replace fog light bulb, Replace right tie rod, replace both lower ball joints. $1007.68.Elite Automotive, best mechanic I have found at real world prices: Replace upper control arms and ball joints, Replace transmission gasket, filter and ATF (unlike the dealer no leaks this time), repair wire connection to blower motor. $294.09. New parts provided by me, I did not keep receipts and the cost is not included above. I’ve also bought numerous parts including, bulbs, lenses, oil filters, air filters, fuel filters, brake pads, upper control arms and ball joints (replaced by Elite) & done maintenance work myself like oil changes, bulbs, etc. but did not keep those receipts. Second what I know or feel does not work or may need attention and disclosure of things I think someone might find important. Rust is showing in spots. I checked non-OEM fenders on ebay and elsewhere and they are reasonably priced. I do have about a third or half gallon of the paint the guy who owned it before had it re-sprayed with. This can has been in my garage since I bought the car. It sounds liquid when shaken but may be useless. At least it would be a good reference for color matching. He did re-spray the car the original color. Although I have not inspected the areas affected it does seem to me they could likely be ground down, glassed and re-sprayed. See pictures.As with many of these cars the driver’s seat has a broken support spring. I researched repair fixes on line from de-upholstering and re-wiring the spring(s) in place to stuffing “pool-noodles” into the structure of the seat. I ended up going my own path with a 2/3-size kids football and a piece of Luann for flat support. It works pretty well and allows the seat motor to adjust foot room.This car does not have power door locks or they simply do not work. To lock the car you push the locks down or lock the driver’s or passenger door with the key.The passenger power outside mirror adjuster stopped working. I just leave the mirror in position. It is hand adjustable. The power windows are sometimes slow.The wood has some chips around a couple switches where work must have been done at some time to repair or replace a faulty switch.The plastic covers for the passenger power seat controls are off yet the levers they attached to are present and the power seat works fine with those and is not difficult to operate. The cover parts are in the glovebox.At some point the original radio was replaced with a pioneer radio/cd player. It runs through the original four speakers and sounds acceptable.The passenger side hood latch sticks open when the hood release is activated and the hood is raised. I have cleaned the latch and cable with a variety of lubricants and sprays. I simply push the latch lever with my finger prior to closing the hood and the latch (one of three latches) engages fine.I bought 5 new tires about a year after I bought the car. When I brought them to be mounted it was discovered the spare is a 14” rim while the ones on the ground are 15”. The four wheels on the ground must have been upgraded at some point and the spare was not. With the profiles of the two types the spare has nearly the same overall diameter as those on the ground so it can be used likely for short distances. The fifth tire is included, is new and has never been mounted. A new matching tire is $80. The rear tires are from the front and show wear from poor alignment after the front end work was done, consider buying one additional tire at some poin to replace those on the rear. I have since had the alignment done. As well the four Continental tires that the car came with are included and have tread that likely will pass inspection, they are the size for the rims on the ground. The AC condenser needs to be repaired or replaced & I never did that since I stopped driving the car. I did find one for $175 used but did not follow through on it. That is all I can think of about the car other than it drives well and gets MPG between 24+ in winter to 26+ in summer depending on ambient temperatures. Keep in mind it is 34 years old. It took me the summer to come to this decision and finally have for the reasons noted above. Thank you & ask any questions. If you want to see it let me know & we can schedule some time. I suggest you do this early since my schedule can be demanding without notice. Considering that please be courteous about my time and be a serious buyer who has read what I have written.