1981 Mercedes-Benz 300-Series

Sedan

3.0L 5-Cyl Diesel

Automatic

WDBAB30AXBB229574

Clear

Diesel

This is a very clean 1981 Mercedes-Benz (W123) 300D sedan, non-turbo variety. We are listing this car because the fleet needs a station wagon now. Looking for a similarly clean 83-92 Volvo 240/760/940 wagon, so trades of this vintage will be considered. This car is a great investment; I've owned four of these cars and this one (despite not being a turbo) is my favorite. It is a southern California car from day 1, originally sold in San Diego, and then moved up to Buena Park/Anaheim around 1987 and been here ever since. Maintained for most of it's life by House of Imports MB in Buena Park. I have nearly all of the service and repair receipts from 1987 on, and it is a sizeable stack of paper. This car has absolutely no rust, save for the small spot on the left front valence panel that is shown in the photos. It runs great, as long as you are not in a hurry. The 1981 cars were a weird bird--the 300D was turbocharged all years from 1982-85, but only the wagon was turbo in 1981. So it's slow. If you want to go fast buy a 1981 380SEL. If you are OK getting passed on your daily commute at an average of 22mpg city/hwy then this car is just fine. The car has a couple minor dings and scratches that I tried to point out in the photos, but the tan color hides quite a bit. Bid with confidence, I have a solid track record of eBay car buying/selling. Good stuff first: This car has a staggering amount of new parts and service done to it in the last three years. It has been outfitted for the long haul and daily commuting (which I use it for), and I trust it to the point that I let my wife use it to drive my son on the SoCal freeways in the summer at 70mph without concern. Among the new items are: Transmission (rebuilt 1 year ago) New brake rotors and pads all around (high quality Bendix parts used) New front brake hoses and full bleed of system, new front brake calipers New vacuum tubes and connections underhood, and new power door lock master control in driver door New A/C hoses, receiver-dryer, expansion valve, hi/low pressure switch and cooling fan switch, and complete re-seal for R-134a Battery Starter (Bosch OEM reman unit, not cheap Pep Boys special) Radiator hoses and all heater hoses New interior driver door handle New tires front & rear, BF Goodrich New fuel feed and return hoses underhood, using MB OEM components New drive belts (all) Recent oil/filter change and differential oil change, also new air filter New floor mats (berber) Typical of the MB diesels, it smokes under hard accel and a little at idle in traffic but once you're moving it doesn't smoke at all. Also typical of the 300 series, the automatic transmission shifts hard when cold, but softens up once it's warm. This model year has a high-idle knob on the dash for cold starts. If you follow the owner's manual directions (and use it) it starts quick every time, even on cool mornings. The carpet and upholstery in the interior is original, and in very good condition considering it's 30 years old and has been driven daily. The driver's seat stitching is starting to finally give up the ghost, but it's not splitting or tearing. Packing shelf carpet in the rear window is faded but intact. The dash has the typical age cracking but they are not so badly split that you'd need a dash mat. The Zebrano wood on the dash is in great shape. The car has a brand new Sony multi-media "mech-less" stereo, which is to say it is set up for folks who use their iPod and USB for all their music, not CD's and old mix tapes from their girlfriends. The stereo has a hidden docking station behind the face that accomodates iPod or USB devices. It's pretty slick. All exterior lighting works, as does all instrument cluster lighting (a rarity in these cars). Also a rarity, the clock works, as does the odometer and trip odo! The power door lock system is fully intact, and it sure tries to work, but I just can't seem to get it to unlock. So it's vacuum supply is capped off underhood. All power windows work, and so does the enormous sunroof. The A/C blows ice cold, and as a bonus it is completely converted to R-134a so it is relatively inexpensive to service if it does develop issues. There's a lot of debate in MB forums as to whether or not R-134a can work in these cars, and the answer is yes, and I'll demonstrate it to you. Heater gets hot enough, but typical of these aging climate control systems, the vacuum dampers between floor/defog don't work well so expect some of your hot air to be warming the windshield. The suspension system is great on this car. Bushings and ball joints are in great shape, front and rear. Ball joints and bushings were done in front in 1998. It drives fantastic. The steering gear is a little worn, but it's not sloppy. Power steering works great, and the car tracks very well on the street and highway. As is expected from these old German sleds, this car rides fantastic and tight. Not a squeak or rattle to be heard; not even any wind noise on the highway. The Bad: This is a pretty short list, and it is accurate; I'm always very forthright with these details for car sales. The engine has an oil leak (if you have a 300D that doesn't leak oil, it probably doesn't have any in it). It's coming from the intake manifold, and is due to collection of oil vapor from blow-by that accumulates in the trap under the air filter. I tried valiantly to fix it, but lost. Right rear drive axle outboard CV boot needs replacement soon. As mentioned above, the central door locks are intact but not working correctly. The map pocket on the driver door is cracked. One of the rear license plate lamps is missing. It's SLOW. The only othe vehicle you can beat out of a traffic light is a 240D. This is a really nice car. It is ready to serve a new owner very well, with no immediate service or maintenance needs. Let me know if you have any questions. I am happy to work with your transporter for out of state shipping, but please coordinate this prior to end of auction. I'm also happy to show the car, so contact me if you'd like to see it. Thanks for looking.