I am with you. From everything I’ve heard from enthusiasts or read about them, and even just experienced in the short time I’ve owned the car, I think they’re great cars. With that in mind, I feel like maybe I should pass it on to someone who can maintain it and bring it back to “perfection” rather than have it deteriorate further just because I want to have an old, sweet looking benz. I unfortunately am drawn to older cars and that seems to carry a burden of high maintenance whatever model I choose. But it does seem the right thing to do at this time would be to at least pick one that is less expensive and perhaps easier to learn on. When I was growing up, my family had a mechanic who was like part of the family. My grandfather was one of his first customers, and I just got spoiled. He took care of me. If I could find someone like that again, then maybe I would be in a different boat. For now, I made my bed and I have to lie in it. Thanks for all the helpful advice. I think I will talk to the guys at the shop again and see if we can work something out and make my decision from there. While they aren’t “Mike, at the garage”, they do seem quite honest and genuine and aren’t trying to force me into doing work I can’t afford.
Don’t unnecessarily give up on this car. Benz’s from that era are not hard to work on, much easier in fact than many that age. Mercedes is dedicated to having parts available for all their older models, and there is an extensive after market parts network as well.
The gas engine in that car has a historic problem with the head gasket. back of the head on the drivers side. There was a design flaw in the original gasket that didn’t have enough material between the water jacket and oil. There is a new after market head gasket that addresses this weak point with metal reinforced grommet. Fluid migration is usually oil into the coolant because of higher oil side pressures.
You’ll notice a gooey mayonnaise like substance in the coolant reservoir and around the cap. Make sure you change the coolant hoses as well as they’re contaminated on the inside. You’ll also want to do a citrus flush of the coolant system.
After the head gasket fix things up as you can. It didn’t get neglected in a day and won’t be fixed up in a day. The 124 chassis is a very durable long running car. If it’s not a rust bucket you’ll get many, many years of service out of it.
Benzman
That was my first reaction too (that some dealer/shop scared her off), but it does sound like she might be in over her head with this car. I wouldn’t want her to end up hating it because it was costing her more than she is willing/able to spend on a car at this point. Assuming she can get most of her money back out of this, she might be better off letting someone else deal with it. Apparently, this one is in the 200K range (broken odometer), so I wouldn’t be surprised if it needed a timing chain and some transmission attention in the next 50-100K miles (based on the overall condition, I suspect it hasn’t had routine transmission filter/fluid service either). Also, if it does need a head gasket it would only make sense to do the head too, so she would be looking at about $2000.
She can always buy another (better maintained) one later. If she has a bad experience now, she may be doomed to reading consumer reports and driving civics forever (a very scary thought). Just MHO.
I don’t think I could ever hate this car. I understand what quality vehicles mercedes are and truly appreciate that. If I had someone locally to help me out and show me how to work on it (I’m a visual learner), I would definitely give it a go. I have already very willingly given all I can give financially and I don’t want to have to take out a loan to fix a car. But becauase I respect the car, I’d like to see someone take care of it. And like Craig58 said, I can always buy another one later. I’m young, One day I’ll have my dream car, I just have to learn to be patient. I discovered the 300cd turbo last night and I hate to say it, but I’m in love. I know better now though, I’m just going to have to wait. Oh and btw, I will never drive a civic. It’s either a benz, bmw, or a volkswagon. Looks like maybe I should pack it in and buy a rabbit.
I sorta think the “restored 69 VW fastback” idea was interesting (cheaper to fix than a benz, and a pretty cool car). The 300CD is a W123 diesel (like my 300D and 240D), and may be just about the best sedan they ever made (1977 - 1985). Again, they tend to require a bit of care and feeding and they definitely need a good pre-purchase inspection. I was just kidding about the civic, really,
Thanks Craig for giving us a realistic picture of Mercedes ownership in North America, and what it entails. When I lived overseas in Asia, these older cars were very popular, since a 20 year old model could be fixed with $20 per hour labour and cheap Chinese-made parts. Any Mercedes is a prestige vehicle in the Far East, and keeping one in immaculate condition ia actually affordable; a paint job was only a little over $1000. A whole industry has develpoed around keeping Mercedes running and looking good.
Well yeah, I definitely won’t ever buy a car again without it being inspected first. My impulses got the better of me on this one. The 300CD will just have to live on in my heart for now. The going rate on ebay (which don’t worry, I’m not looking to buy on ebay, just looking…) seems to be about 12 grand so it will have to be a dream for now. The fastback though, I could live happily with one. I have some well connected vw friends so they could probably help me find a nice one. Do you think that would be a good car to learn on? I’m thinking I will address immediate concerns with the 300E and slowly start looking for a solid fastback. I don’t want to be rushed into making a new purchase. That’s kind of what happened here. Do you run either of your diesels on bio-fuel of veggie oil? If not, would you? That is partially why I would like a diesel eventually. I also just really like the body style of the 300CD.
I am a bit of a maintenance fanatic, but they are more expensive than average to own in the U.S. Keeping an old one nice is still cheaper than owning a new one (maybe $.30/mile as opposed to $.50-.60/mile, considering the initial depreciation on a $60-100K car). However, you can probably drive a perfectly good late model domestic/asian car for $.15/mile, so you are definitely still paying a premium to drive an old benz.
The VW is probably a better car to learn on than the benz, but I wouldn’t want it to be my only transportation (parts for 35 year old cars may not be immediately available). I think air cooled VWs are cool, and they are very simple. If you can afford a second “hobby car,” go for it.
The price of a 300CD is completely dependent on condition. I’ve seen them sell everywhere from $1000 (basically a parts car) to $25,000 (a nearly showroom condition car with just over 30,000 miles that my mechanic sold). The average price is probably in the $5-10,000 range for a decent/nice one with between 100,000 and 200,000 miles. The 300CD (coupe) and 300TD (wagon) tend to be more expensive than the 300D (sedan) because there are less of them around. There is also a price difference between the non-turbo and turbo cars (82 and later for the 300D/TD; 81 and later for the 300CD). In addition, the climate control system on the 80 and earlier cars is a bit of a nightmare. There are plenty of other details to consider if you decide to get serious.
Personally, I do not like running SVO or WVO in these cars; too much risk of expensive damage IMO. I have mixed feelings about running bio-diesel, the manufacturer has only endorsed the use of 5% bio-diesel, but plenty of folks seem to be doing OK with up to 100% (in warm weather). I only use pump diesel in mine. This is the subject of “spirited” debate, to say the least. Check out this forum if you want to talk to some serious diesel benz geeks (I’m “Craig” over there):
http://www.mercedesshop.com/shopforum/forumdisplay.php?f=15
By the way, one of the guys on the other forum is trying to sell what appears to be a pretty nice 300D for about $4500/5000. He’s located in FL and the car looks nice in the photos, I don’t really know anything about it except what’s in this thread:
http://www.mercedesshop.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=206665&highlight=%244500
I cried my eyes out and could not finish all the reply,s . no we will not send you money for a new car just because it,s christmas. I would pay a mechanic to go with you next time and then have him take it to his shop and rip it apart and do every check in the book. take the cost of the repairs back to the seller and deduck it from the selling price. if you want this car. if you bought it from a dealer park it in front of his shop with a list and cost for rapairs each day so other people can see it and he will talk to you about the cost or replace it with another car. take a mechanic. people bitch about the state inspection in pa but as a mechanic I know we stopped major problems down the road.
Wow, that just might be the longest sentence I’ve ever seen.