Considering a 240D

[AdamOdd]

I'm getting rid of my 71 Porsche 911 and I'm looking at a 1980 MB 240D. It has power locks, windows, interior that appears to be vinyl, 225K miles, sunroof, 4 speed manual. There is no rust anywhere; the car has had 2 owners, and I guess it never saw rain. The owner wants $4500. Is that even in the ballpark for this car?

The interior is perfect; no cracks in the vinyl seats, no rust under the carpets, ice cold a/c, and runs smoothly (for a diesel). It looks like it has been covered in plastic wrap in a time capsule. Apparently it's been driven only about 3000 miles in the last three years. Should I expect some kind of problem with the engine as it "transitions" back to a daily driver? Anything I should have done or checked before buying?

Thanks for the advice.

 

[The Warden]

Offhand, everything sounds good except the price...even looking that good, at 225K miles IMHO $3K is more reasonable. There's also suspension, drivetrain, etc to think about...unless ALL of that's been replaced/gone through recently as well.

One nice thing about MB-Tex (the vinyl material used on the seats) is that it generally stays looking good unless it's been abused. That actually largely goes for the rest of the interior as well.

I can't imagine coming across any engine problems during the transition phase, although a few Italian tune-ups wouldn't hurt :Sly once you know the engine's healthy. Gotta get the carbon cleared out of the mufflers and the piston tops, right?

As to checking...I would make sure the suspension and steering are happy, make sure there aren't any rips in the axleshaft CV boots, and it'd be worthwhile to do a compression check just to get an idea oh the health of the engine. Also, find out when the last time the valves were adjusted was, and try to get a feel of how vigilant the previous owner has been with oil changes. Has the timing chain been replaced? The chain will stretch over time if the oil isn't regularly changed, retarding both the cam and the injection timing. The timing chain stretch is fairly easy to check, and should be done every time the valves are adjusted...if you can find out the results of the last check, that would be beneficial.

One last thing...on the front suspension, pay special attention to the guide rod mounts. The guide rods go from the wheel assembly back to a mount on the subframe...and the mounting point at the subframe have a tendency to die. If the rubber in the mount deteriorates, it'll allow the whole wheel assembly to move back...when looking at a car, I take a lug wrench and try to turn a lug towards the rear of the car. If the wheel assembly shifts back at all, that indicates a guide rod problem...which can lead to other front end issues (ask me how I know this )...

Hope this helps some...based on the description, if you can get the guy talked down to $3K, sounds like a good deal to me.

Good luck! Get pics

 

[towcat]

welcome to the site.
$4500 for a 240D? wow.....I knew there was a reason Tom's dad showed up with the cash when I told him $1500 for mime a couple of years back...
before you commit tho, you better take the car for a drive. 240's are great at freeway speeds, but the acceleration from a dead stop is very underwhelming. That was the biggest reason why I got rid of mime. I also had a 300SD waiting to go into service once that thing went away. Couple of years back I had a 190D with a 2.5NA and that thing knew how to scoot even without a turbo...go figure.

 

[Meta6981]

I would have to agree with The Warden's reccomendations. Personally i probly would not pay that much unless everything was extremely clean. It seem the interior is in good working order. Do they have matenince records? How clean is the engine compartment that will say alot about how personal they were with the car. How much oil does it go through or drip at stops (car parked and engine shut off). Aslo do post pictures if you can. Happy hunting and welcome.

 

[AdamOdd]

Pictures are coming

I'm going to pick the 240D up on Saturday (when I drop off my 911 to its buyer); I'll have it for a week so I'll be able to get to know it a little bit & take some pictures. Then I'll decide whether to buy.

 

[Full Monte]

I have a friend with a 240D he is asking $5000 for. It sounds in similar condition to the one you are looking at, except it has only 125k miles.
It seems there are a wide range of prices people pay for these cars. It varies a LOT by the condition of the car, mileage, and popularity of the model.
The other thing that seems to affect prices is the current price of diesel.
If diesel is high, the price on diesels drops.

 

[NapaBavarian]

I have noticed a huge variance in what people ask, not what they pay. When I was looking for a benz I watched CL for several months and noticed something, people would start out with outrages prices followed by "firm" "I know what this is worth" "serious only" "CHEAP!!!" ect ect ect, then after a while the prices would slowly fall untill the car dissapeared...

 

[Full Monte]

When I bought my 300D, there were 20 people lined up behind me to give the guy the price he asked. Maybe it was a good deal, but I don't know how you'd ever know how much people paid for a car, since that is a private transaction.

 

[NapaBavarian]

If the price is fair then that happens, of course if that was that the seller told me I'd take it with a grain of salt, I've heard similar lines and walked away, just to see the same car still for sale 3 months later, but diesel MBZ do have a higher demand than most, likley he had someone if the price was fair.

When I was looking I noticed something, the cars that had a fair price on them sold right away, but the overpriced cars would sit arround for months.

http://www.craigslist.org/sby/car/147152534.html

That started out at $8,000, at least first I saw it.

 

[NapaBavarian]

Hey-

I see your 300D is an '87, that is why the seller had people lined up in the streets, 240D's are desirable, but no where near the lever of an '87 300D

 

[AdamOdd]

I think I like it.

I finally saw the car, it's in pretty good shape on the inside and outside, and the engine runs smoothly. A couple problems I noticed, there are no dash lights and the high-beam headlights don't work, either. And there's a funny rubbing sound that occurs when take off in 1st, or when I move the stick into second at a slow roll (as the clutch is engaged). It makes me a little nervous. But I think it's going to be my new driver.

 

[Full Monte]

Hey-

I see your 300D is an '87, that is why the seller had people lined up in the streets, 240D's are desirable, but no where near the lever of an '87 300D

Yes, it's one of the year models people want. It's a 6 cyl turbo. The weakness is the original aluminum head had a tendency to warp/crack.
Mine has the later model head, so I'm hoping the previous owner had all the bad luck. The car really can fly, though it's not fast off the line.

 

[Full Monte]

I finally saw the car, it's in pretty good shape on the inside and outside, and the engine runs smoothly. A couple problems I noticed, there are no dash lights and the high-beam headlights don't work, either. And there's a funny rubbing sound that occurs when take off in 1st, or when I move the stick into second at a slow roll (as the clutch is engaged). It makes me a little nervous. But I think it's going to be my new driver.

You will notice a lot more small problems after you buy it. These vehicles can nickel and dime you with a myriad of small problems. I guess it's better than big problems with the engine or tranny.

 

[The Warden]

A couple problems I noticed, there are no dash lights and the high-beam headlights don't work, either.

Did the blue indicator light on the dash come on?

Regarding the dash lights, there's a rheostat that controls how bright they are, and the rheostat tends to get dirty contacts. There are two knobs on the instrument cluster. The one on the right adjusts the clock; the one on the left is the rheostat (turn it to either side) and the trip odometer reset (push it in). If you turn it some, you'll PROBABLY see the dash lights flicker on and off. The rheostat's pretty easy and relatively inexpensive to replace, or some people just use a jumper wire to bypass it since the dash lighting on the 123 chassis is rather poor.

And there's a funny rubbing sound that occurs when take off in 1st, or when I move the stick into second at a slow roll (as the clutch is engaged).

It'd be a good idea to check the flex couplings on the driveshaft...there's one flex joint at the tranny and a second one at the differential. These are not traditional U-joints; they're more like steering rag joints. There's also a "normal" U-joint halfway on the driveshaft at the center support IIRC.

Any pictures?

 

[Michael Fowler]

Sounds like a nice car. But at the asking price, you should expect COMPLETE service records.