1979 Mercedes-Benz 300-Series

300SD Sedan

5 - Cyl.

Automatic

11612012009700

Clear

Diesel

Similar to my other offerings this week, this item is being sold because of my venture into a new business. My father has put his foot down- I can not have all three of: a daily driver, a van for my business, and a weekend car for fun. Time for me to grow up, I guess. The weekend fun car has to go.  There is nothing majorly wrong with the car. It runs fairly well, it starts well in good weather, it stops well, it keeps up with traffic, and so on. The body is pretty solid- not much rust for a W116. Pointedly, the engine and transmission were rebuilt at 260k miles, and the car was repainted. This from the previous owner with the backing of a respected restorer of Mercedes diesels. I forget the name. More recently, the thermostat control valve was replaced at Mercedes dealer Contemporary Motor Cars about 3 years ago. It had its battery replaced a few months ago with a brand new Bosch unit.  The car has not been used much- it is a weekend car for me, and I think the grand total mileage I have put on this since I got it in December of '05 is around 2000. She has been garaged most of that period, except for a brief time when it was stored out of doors under a car cover. All that being said, she is not perfect. The drivers seat has some tears and a hole in it. A water leak occured a few years ago and the carpet was destroyed- and removed. As a W116, the car has rust. It is not majorly structural, nor is it anything that can't be repaired relatively easily. The most important rust issue is that the acerator pedals mounting strip the floor rusted. The car is operated with the throttle lever that is locatd under that pedal. It is safely drivable like that- even passed NJ state inspection at a DMV facility. Further, the rub strip on the passengers side rear door is loose.  Mechanically speaking the car has a few issues. First off, the car's glow plugs are shot- it starts fine or with a little coaxing in warm weather, but I'd imagine it is a beast to start in the winter. Second, the car has a fuel leak out of its tank. It will leak when it is above a certain point full until it drains to that point. Its not the end of the world for a diesel car, but it does reduce its range somewhat- and the fuel gauge is not accurate. And lastly, the cars tires are rotten. They have tread on them, and I'm sure the car could be driven a few hundred miles without problem, but they will need to be replaced.  If you are buying this as a Spring/Summer weekend car, she's fine as is- although I'd replace the tires. If you are buying this for a daily driver, you need the glowplugs and the fuel leak fixed. By the way, like almost all Mercedes of this vintage, the A/C is not functional. I didn't bother to fix it on my '95 e-class, let alone on this one. Advice if you buy it- don't, its a wild goose chase.  My reserve is low because of these imperfections. She is, on the whole, a good car. Actually, it's "he", and the name is Gottlieb. Getting rid of this car is an agonizing decision- Please buy it to drive it, not to part it. Additionally, I ask that if you plan on selling it on at a later date, you give me right of first refusal.  On Sep-17-10 at 10:07:52 PDT, seller added the following information: First off, the question that brought this revision jogged my memory. There are a couple of issues I neglected to mention, plus a few positives. First off, the sunroof does not work. It worked when I got the car, and you can hear it clunk when you activate it, but it does not open. Secondarily, the ashtray's frame (the part the ashtray slots into) is held into place by two screws. The sockets into which those screws go were stripped by an idiot at a audio shop when the current radio was installed.  As for the positives: the radio, which is a decent quality Kenwood CD/MP3/Radio, was installed shortly after I bought the car- late January of '05 or so, and has been used as much as the car- that is to say, not much. The speakers are a tad muddy, but music can be played through the system sufficiently for anyone who isn't a total sound-quality freak. And I am not playing down the issue- it really is that small. Secondarily, the cruise control system in this car is the only cruise control in a W116 (except for a freakishly and uneconomically concours-level restored 450SEL 6.9) I have ever seen that actually works.  Since listing this, two questions have come to my attention. The first is in regards to the wheels. The '79 300SD was shipped, as standard, with four alloy wheels, 14", and a 14" full size steel wheel for the spare tire. This car has 3 alloy wheels mounted, the spare steel wheel mounted with a relatively recent tire (I bought it) on the drivers side rear wheel, and the 4th original alloy in the trunk with a bad tire that doesn't hold air too well. ALL FOUR ALLOYS ARE INCLUDED WITH THIS CAR, as well as the spare steely and the new tire, a uniroyal (I think) whitewall with the black side showing.  The other question was in re to the inclusion of additional pictures of the interior. I took the pictures of the outside, and my g/f did the inside. She was otherwise so comprehensive of the interior I did not notice this section of it missing. For this I apologize and so correct the situation.  On Sep-17-10 at 10:26:35 PDT, seller added the following information: The previous revision brought attention to the fact, for me, that I didn't do the engine bay. I'm sorry. This has been a somewhat sad and tearful process and I'm not quite thinking straight on it.