1980 Mercedes-Benz 300-Series

TD Wagon

w123

Automatic

wdb12319012018988

Clear

Diesel

I bought this car a little over a year ago from someone in Los Angeles and drove it back to KY. Including that trip, I've put less than 6,000 miles on it (just don't drive much). I'm now moving very soon and need to sell it and finalize the transaction as soon as possible (hopefully within a week). I'm going to copy/paste the previous owner's eBay description and then add my own notes below that: Almost a year ago, I came across this 1980 300TD in San Diego, California. I needed a vehicle that was die-hard dependable, spacious enough to haul cargo, and very fuel efficient to keep cost low during my travels. Long story short, this was it. I have driven this car for the past 25,000 miles and no doubt about it, this is an incredible example of a 300TouringDiesel. A few custom items on this Mercedes Diesel make it a very desirable amongst the few that are left on the road... Do note, this 300TD has a Salvage title. I am not sure what kind of accident or to what extent the damage occurred. I can note that the paint on the hood looks new compared to the rest of the vehicle. Still, this Diesel drives straight, feels very solid, and delivers a great sturdy ride while driving at 75mph. Also, this 1980 300TD has a TURBO DIESEL ENGINE from a later w123 300DT Mercedes. To compensate for the greater horsepower, I installed a lightly-used rear-differential (with the desirable 2.88 lower-gear ratio for better mpg) from a 1985 300TD. Upon completion, I drove from Southern California to Durango, Colorado on only $90 of diesel. $90 DOLLARS..that is at $3.50 a gallon!! I had no trouble with the vehicle, the engine, the transmission, the drive train, or the rear differential. After I returned, I had the old cracking rubber on the rear-axles replaced and rebuilt to conclude this Wagon's robustness... Furthermore, I have performed numerous upgrades to keep this 300TD in top condition... In the last 2,000 miles, I have had installed: BRAND NEW WINDSHIELD (Completely pit-mark, ding, and notch free) New Tires (balanced and under warranty from any Wal--Mart)Steering DamperEngine MountsTransmission Mount New Battery (also under warranty from any Wal--Mart)Completely rewired electronics to install Kenwood CD/MP3/Ipod player with removable face-plateFour new top of the line Xplod 3-way speakers--4"x 5" in front and 4"by 6" in rear. Sounds great!!New Hood Pad installed with high adhesive spray glueFront Bearings cleaned and repacked with new greaseComplete new set of Bosch "pencil-style" glow plugsVoltage Regulator Complete new set of brass/copper fusesCleaned and pop-tested upgraded Monarch Fuel injectors to Mercedes specifications for better fuel economy and no diesel knockNew Rear-Differential Seals New Flex-Disc on drive-trainRebuilt Rear-AxlesRear differential fluid changedOIL CHANGED with Shell RotellaT 15w-40 oil at 222,099 miles, including MANN oil filter, MANN fuel filter, and pre-fuel filter.Newer items include... Upgraded Nissen RadiatorAll around new brake padsWater Pump (still looks and functions new) Air-filterReplaced old fuel tank with a newer fuel tank from a Wagon with around 100,000 miles on it.A few new fuel lines, adjusted valves, and new valve gasket So what makes this 300TD so special? To start, each window is manual crank! The previous owner had installed manual windows to avoid the pesky little problems associated with vacuum lines and burnt out window-motors. EACH PASSENGER WINDOW completely cranks all the way up and all the way down. Very cool! The interior is very sharp. As you can see in the photos, there are no rips in any seat, NO cracks in the dash, and the vehicle has the coveted THIRD-ROW SEAT--all in astonishing original condition. In all, this wagon fits 7 people. Finally, the vehicle comes with a very well-engineered Single Tank Vegetable Oil-kit. This kit includes a toggle switch under the steering wheel to turn on a glow-plug that heats the vegetable-oil before it is fed into the engine. Alone, the cost of this kit is around $1,000. The Vegetable Oil kit is not hooked up at the moment but is included with the sale of the vehicle. During my ownership, I have only used straight Diesel fuel on this engine. The fuel gauge, clock, temperature gauge, speedometer, and odometer are all in working order. Although the interior is top-notch, there are a few other issues to note. To be honest, if the seller is looking for a pristine exterior, then keep looking. There are faded paint spots, dings, dents, and scratch marks. In the pictures, you can see the bottom of the doors are rusting due to poor seals. Still, all the doors shut with a good solid thud and the frame is free from rust. Also, the rear suspension hydraulic system was removed in favor of OE Bilstein Shocks. The ride is still very smooth with no suspension issues or "bottoming-out." The rear windshield wiper does not work. The AC blows but not cold (could be condenser or in need of a recharge); however, the defroster and heater work fine. Around town, the transmission shifts pretty well, but this cruiser really finds its place when it's being driven on the highway at 75 mph. When the turbo kicks in, you can watch the boost on the custom tachometer. Once again, this custom Mercedes-Benz 300TD has been driven and enjoyed for many miles and with many miles to go. I am sure you already know about the reliability of these 617.616 diesel engines. This 300TD is a great custom example of one of the finest vehicles Mercedes ever designed. Even after sitting for a few weeks, the car glows and kicks on the first crank. The blow-by on the engine is minimal. The NEW Kenwood cdplayer/ipod player makes the ride very enjoyable while cruising to the coast or the ski-slopes. The automatic transmission shifts very well into all gears. The suspension and new tires combined create a very smooth and sturdy ride. All headlights, brights, fog-lights, blinkers, front interior lighting work very well. The original floor-mats are in amazing condition without a single hole, wear-mark, or stain. The back seats fold down to create a bed with plenty of room for hauling cargo. The brakes are in excellent working condition. I have owned a few of these W123 Mercedes-Benz Diesels and have enjoyed their rugged reliability. This Wagon is no exception. Since it is a 1980, the VIN is not found with a Carfax. Included with the sale are Mercedes Benz floor mats, dash cover, coffee cup holder, spare tire, Mercedes tire-jack and Mercedes lug-nut wrench. I have many photos of the exterior, interior, engine, etc. Please send and email if you'd like more photos. I have set the "buy it now" price at a very reasonable figure that reflects the the numerous upgrades and detailed service accomplished with for this vehicle. This 1980 300TD is registered in California until April 2012. Ok, most of that was and still is pretty accurate, but he was definitely exaggerating in a few places. -First of all, it doesn't seem to have a veggie oil kit installed. I had it worked on recently by an experienced Mercedes mechanic and he said it looked like there had been a kit in it at some point, but all he could find were a few remnants of it. -The stereo is ok but the speakers are definitely not 'top of the line' and the ones in the dash are mounted poorly and without grills, otherwise I wouldn't use the dash cover. The one on the left side was sounding blown recently so I just unplugged it. It is nice though that it has an auxiliary input. -Due to the lower gear ratio, the speedometer reads about 20% slower than you're traveling, meaning you have to get used to doing that math. I assume this also means that the mileage has been under-measured for the last ~30K miles too. -There's been a consistent battery drain happening for a while now, requiring a charge every 4-7 days I'd say. They checked everything in the shop and couldn't find what was causing it. Tomorrow I'm going to take it to WalMart and have them check and hopefully replace the battery. I'll update the listing with the outcome of that. -The current title says 'Out Of State'. Not sure if that means exactly the same thing as 'Clear'. 5 months ago I had $1,200 of work done to it and the mechanic said it is in good condition, after looking over everything at my request. You can see what was done to it on the receipt here: http://i.imgur.com/CL777yM.jpg I've made a video demonstrating starting from cold, driving and starting from warm. It can be kind of reluctant to start when cold and takes a minute for the idle to become smooth and stay running without gas applied. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=942_NyMCAEk That's all I can think of at the moment. Feel free to request specific details/photos or to come look at it if you're in Louisville. Thanks! UPDATE: Took it to WalMart to have battery tested and they said it's fine. So, the battery drain is still a mystery. I'll have the battery charged up when you pick it up though - it should be fine for driving back to wherever you're going. Like I said, it generally lasts at least 4 days between charges. UPDATE 2: Someone asked me about rust at the bottom of the doors and on the underside. I've uploaded some new images of these areas http://imgur.com/a/ZXay7.