1980 Mercedes-Benz 300-Series

Sedan

5 - Cyl.

Automatic

WDB12313012193886

Clear

Diesel

I bought this car on e-bay (item # 260580120575) in April so see whether a diesel Mercedes running on vegetable oil viable is option to commute 50 miles to and from work. It turned out pretty well and I have decided to purchase a low mileage 1999 turbo diesel (last year which can be converted to one tank SVO). While I was not traveling for work (about 50% of the time) I drove it to work and had no trouble, even in SoCal traffic. Engine, transmission and body are very sound. It will make a nice restoration project while you drive it daily, or you can drive it the way it is. Starts every day. There are less than 70k miles which makes this car very unique. The down side is that all that time was probably not used and stored in sun for a while. Therefore, the interior and outside paint have deteriorated. Its starts every morning, even after it not driven for two weeks. I have run it on SVO and diesel. With the new ultra low sulfer diesel the is absolutely no smell. My kids love it. It is true that it kind of grows onto you. I am sure you will love it. Tires are in pretty good shape. The previous owner had the radiator, thermostat and water pump so cooling system is essentially new. The oil pressure stays in desired range at all time and transmission shifts smoothly. Things that I know that need some work or adjustments. 1) Both oil pan gaskets leak. The lower one is probably an hour job which can be performed during an oil change. This one is the major culprit. The gaskets costs about 10-15 dollars and are available on e-bay. The upper pan gasket leaks a little an I believe it may be fixed by tightening the screws holding the pan and some application of high temp silicone sealant. The transmission does not seem to be leaking at all. 2) AC does not work. 3) Heater works by using a cable and valve system installed by a previous owner. I had no problems. 4) There is a minor rust spot, about 1.0"x0.5" on the inside of the door. Otherwise the there is no rust anywhere else. 5) Needs a good polish or a paint job. Some one has done a horrible over spray job. 6) Vacuum system works, but I believe that it should be serviced. 7) some rubber parts in the engine compartment need replacement. 8) I am sure that cruise control will not work! 9) A rear window and sun roof sometimes have trouble open an closing. The sun roof some need a nudge but the rear window eventually closes. There is a window lock stem missing. These are availible for $5. 10) Interior has seen better days. That been said the front seats are much more comfortable that than the Toyota Matrix's it replaced. 11) The front door striker was worn out and the door needed to be slammed. I have a new one. Also, the glove box latch plate was missing and I also ahve ordered it. It should be here before the car is sold. 12) May need alignment. Although it does not pull to any side. Here is the link to the original listing. Since then I have removed the trickle charger mentioned in there. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260580120575&viewitem= My camera is dead so I cannot post any pictures taken by myself. If you have any trouble with the url please let me know. Bottom line: If you like to work on diesels and would like one that can run on SVO without modifications then this car for you. remember that this car was designed to run on diesel that was available in 1980's. That diesel had over 5000ppm (10000ppm or 1% in third world countries). Mercedes sold hundreds of thousand of these cars (mostly with 240D engine all over the world). A lot of them are still on the road. The diesel sold in US these days has only 15ppm and may even go down in future. So a little bit of FFA's will not affect the engine. I do not think that there is any need to deacidify the oil. settle it for a few weeks and decant the top product. I have a Haynes manual and it will be included. There is also an original parts manual. Mercedes supplies parts for ever car it has ever built. Good luck. And bid with confidence. Local pickup only. One last thing. I have to travel lot for work (one to two weeks at a time). There is no travel scheduled for next week so when the listing ends I will be in town. If you are not able to pick up the car next week you may have to wait a few day to pick it up.. I will keep the insurance until you take physical delivery. If you can score some waste veg oil then there are no fuel costs! Some people are selling dewatered VWO for $1.50 in LA and Orange counties. This will save you the hassle of collecting oil. You can make your own biodiesel but I would not like the hassle of transporting methanol and disposing off glycerin. Please call me at (310) 614-4661 if you want to take a look. On Jun-30-10 at 23:08:24 PDT, seller added the following information: One thing I forgot to mention is that the idling system needs adjustment. Currently when the vacuum is not built up the car idles a little faster than it should. Once driven for a while the car idles a little slower. Ther is also a lever in the transmission that controls the tranmission oil pressure. It is directly hooked up to the feul delivery linkage. As idle is set high the pressure of the transmission is increased and if the shifter is in drive, the forward push of the car is slightly stronger than it should be.