1982 Mercedes-Benz

300SD Sedan

6 Cylinder

Automatic

WDBCB20A9CB022260

Diesel

No reserve. No BS. I bought this as car to take and leave at our 2nd home in Mexico, but then my lady friend found a blue W126 on the internet and wanted it instead. I tried to make my point, but lost. So - after I already spent a fortune fixing this one up - it's for sale. Did not drive it much - it spent most of the last 3 months at Park Place Mercedes in Dallas in the service bay getting pampered. I'm never going to get my money out of it (about $10k) but whatever it goes for, fine - great - get it out of my driveway - it's a constant reminder and taking up space which I need ! Honestly - this was mechanically and interior wise superb car I was going to have fixed up to be a perfect runner so I could leave in Mexico, not worry about it being stolen, have an occasional ding, but everything would work and not strand me. With just a little work - that's the kind of car you'll have. It looks great from 10 feet, not worthy of being stolen at 2 - in other words a perfect chameleon - and every mechanic in the world knows how to work on these ubiquitous engines. Everything on the car is either mechanical or vacuum actuated (even all the locks work). No electronics to speak of - they could have an EMP storm - and this car would be running around all happy. As a regularly used car, I demand that the A/C works, the left window rolls down at Starbucks, it goes when I step on the throttle, stops when I hit the brakes, turns left and right, and in the occasional rain - the tires don't hydroplane - 'nuff said ! I made sure that this one does all that. I also have 1990 350SDL and 1989 420SEL for sale - see my other auctions if not already sold. 165,900 miles. Most everything works. I had it close. Quite frankly, if ever there was a car to finish fixing up - this one is it. No rust that I could find. State inspection last done April /2010. Starts immediately - first turn of engine. Park Place adjusted the valves (yes folks - these don't have hydraulic adjusters - needs valves adjusted every 12 months / 12,000 miles). Fuel system - tank dropped - cleaned, lines replaced, new filters. New injector overflow hoses. Starts on 1st turn. Runs perfectly - no smoke. Trans is the best I've seen in any W126 - just absolutely perfect. New tires (about 300 miles on new Michelin's). Completely replaced new A/C everything by MB June '10 - with 12 month, 12,000 mile warranty. New compressor, drier, belts, hoses, expansion valve. The only thing I did not replace was the dashboard HVAC controller - and I have a new one in hand - just not installed - but as stated - I'm done working on this car. Yes the A/C and heat work fine automatically - once you kick start the system - but it sticks (as do a lot of things in this car until I clean and oil 'em) and the control unit just needs to be replaced with a known working one. You ask - what do I mean by the controller "sticks" ? Answer - one day I get in, start the engine, no HVAC (not no A/C - nothing at all - no blower - nada) - if I press the buttons it comes right on, I reset it back to auto and it works fine for the rest of the day. The next day - maybe it works - maybe not. So I have the controller - someone needs to put it in. I don't even know how to get the dash apart - I usually have all this done by the dealer. More Park Place - they also installed new motor mounts (including all hardware & shocks), new trans mount. Injection pump re-timed and re-sealed. The ugly - absolutely faded and cracked, but original paint. From 10 feet and most angles, it looks like a million bucks - up close - UGH ! No nicks to speak of, and for Mexico - I thought it looked perfect. I've got a couple of close ups to show you just how bad the fade is. Depends on what you want this car for. The great - there's a (no kidding) $2000 sound system in it - if you can figure out how to power up the amp which is in the trunk. I've tested the pre-amp outputs - and they're fine. But zero sound from speakers. And the antenna does work - up and down per the dash control (4 position switch - and the radio has to be powered on for the antenna to work). More great - this is the absolutely bullet proof 5 cylinder 3.0L engine. It will run forever - this one is clean, no leaks, no drips, grease free, compression is perfect (one reason I bought it), oil pressure perfect. Turbo spools up great (but remember - this is the old motor - it takes about 5 seconds to 'git up and go - but then it really goes ! It turns about 3000 rpm at 70 mph. The very good - no dash cracks, no wood cracks on dash that I can see (but then I have 55 year old eyes - so be aware). There is a hairline crack on the right front door wood - you can see in picture - and it's not so visible when the light is not on it full on. But really - overall - very nice wood. Not a rip in the seats anywhere. Very comfortable. No sags ! Excellent carpets. The floor mats did their job. Excellent headliner. More good - all the exterior plastic cladding is in amazing shape - looks almost new, as do the wheels. When I had the tires put on, the brakes are in great shape. The windshield - no sandblasting - good shape. New Bosch wipers. More bad - tachometer works some days, not others. This is the known MB tach amplifier problem, because I can fix it by putting some padding in the top of the amp and screwing it down - which then works fine until padding compresses. Cruise - also intermittent. Same problem both - bad solder joints. I'll include the specs from MB Club on how to fix - but as with everything else on this car - I'm done doing anything to it. A soldering iron, a garage in something other than 100 degree heat, and a car which is not a reminder of what is now in Mexico - (argh!) and in two hours you can have fully working tach and cruise amps. Continuing with the bad - rear windows have a mind of their own - some days they work, some days they don't. Front windows - perfect - go figure. This car obviously was not used. As with other things on this car already done, most likely - take door apart, clean off gunk on regulator, oil, reassemble - and it should work. Left side driver's seat - all motors work - seat will not tilt bottom cushion even though motor running - does move forward back, and back reclines. It all did work at one point - but one day I hit the switch after my lady friend adjusted it for herself - and nada. Sigh ! Sunroof - left side air-deflector retract mechanism has broken end - which means you have to pull it down manually just before sunroof closes last inch. Just bought the part - but as with the A/C controller - I'm done working on this car. Good, nice, but remembering this is a 28 year old, 167,000 mile car. NOTE: This car is also for sale locally. If I get an offer for a lot more than where the auction is, I'm going to sell it and pull the listing from eBay. Either that, or you can always offer me a bushel full of $10 bills. That said - it's a used diesel - sold as is - where is. Buyer is responsible for pickup / transport. Fly down - drive home. Or on two week's notice, I will deliver anywhere (I'll drive it) in lower 48 US states for $750 flat fee to cover expenses and air fare home. On Aug-14-10 at 13:23:08 PDT, seller added the following information: ** NEW INFO ** Saturday - August 14th ** Took it to the dealer to have the sunroof air deflector retract arm installed - they did it in 30 seconds, and didn't charge me - said I spend enough there. Great - if I'd known it was that easy, would have done it myself. Also ... found a large fused wire which apparently leads to the stereo amp in the trunk - not connected to anything - i.e. when we replaced the battery, apparently someone did not hook it up. Hmmm ... when it gets a bit cooler tonight (107 degrees F right now) I'll see if I can't hook it up and get some tunes going. Will post on Sunday if there are any changes.