I am ready to finalize the deal on a 93 300D. Although the car looks fine and drives OK, I felt it is a little sluggish at initial pickup. Turbo does kick in. Car has 127,000 original miles. Also what other issues must I look out for? Any specific doodads that might be bad as a feature of the model? Thanks in advance.
I recently acquired my first MB and first diesel in the form of a '92
300D. I perceived the same sluggishness from a standstill. My mechanic tells me it runs great so I've gotten used to it and adjusted my driving technique. What it lacks it jackrabbit acceleration is more than made up in fuel economy, handling and highway performance.JD
What kind of deal are you getting?
Thanks JD, Any other weak points of the car I should be watching out for prior closing the purchase? Ant repairs that you might have had to make since you have had the 330D?
I got mine pretty cheap so I expected to put some money into repairs. Drive line flexplates and carrier bearing were addressed by a rebuilt drive line, had the IP re-sealed, replaced the fuel thermostat and replaced all fluids (trans, brake, power steering and coolant) just on general principle and because the service history was way out of date. The car is rust free and in good structural shape and the interior is very good. Cosmetically, the clear coat is crazed and the only estimate to date has been for ~$5000 to fix it. A good polish and wax went a little ways toward ameliorating the problem but it's no cure. I can see driving this thing for another 10 years so I'm not terribly concerned about repairing/maintaining it. I expect a timing chain is in my near future since it appears to have the original still in it with 222,000 miles; roughly $750 from my gem of an indy MB shop, GP Motors in Everett, WA. All told I have around $7200 in this car and while I'm not terribly knowledgeable about the market for these cars, I feel like I'm ahead of the game so far. I got the service manual and I'm starting to feel more comfortable wrenching on it, something I never wanted to mess with on the '05 Ford Taurus that the MB replaced.
JD
clean 127k and almost new rubber. No leaks. A/C blows cold. I am putting it on the road tomorrow. Will keep in touch. I have a 80 mile rt a day! So it was more a requirement to look into this and then if i find everything is fine, then perhaps WVO supplementation.
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