1983 Mercedes-Benz 300-Series

I love the quality of the car. It is well built and dependable. It is easy to work on so I, not being machanically inclined, can work on it. It has all the features of a newer car and not the higher price tag. The ride is tight and smooth. It has plenty of power and is fun to drive.

Like most 26 year old cars, this 300SD had plenty of problems; many window & seat motors were dead, the A/C was long dead (belt cut off years ago) and normal wear & tear. It also had a major fuel leak-the returns & cigar hoses needed replacement. Brakes are worn. But even after putting money into it to get a sticker, it's a reasonably priced, comfortable vehicle. the original motorized antenna was dead, too.

Make sure the body is solid, and check brakes & exhaust, they're expensive to fix. The 5-cylinder diesel engine is hard to kill, but be sure it runs clean. The A/C and radio die quick on these cars.

I love German automobile and when I seen this vehicle on the market I had to have it. This vehicle was crafted during the over-engineering days and it clearly shows. 26 years later and this car still drives like it just came off the lot. The car is heavily rusted as if it was sitting in the bottom of a lake however, the seller has all the replacement parts and made the deal even sweeter.

Have had the car for 2 months, calipers have had to be replaced, engine is leaking oil, speedometer
broke, exhaust smokes, springs on drivers seat sag badly despite the seller saying the opposite and there are large dents in the roof of the car that were not disclosed in description.

This is my second Mercedes and this one is better. It has a sporty touch being a 2-door coupe, and is loaded with all power. This car was restored and while the mileage stated was 139K, there was probably more than that actual. For a big car, it handles very well. The 3.8 V8 has plenty of get up and go.
Be careful with timing chain, it won't last more than 100K miles. Always insist on service records for this. If it goes, major head and engine damage. These cars hold a good value for one in very good to excellent condition. Best to know a mechanic who is familiar with Mercedes for little gremlins that pop up from time to time.

The seller was very help full . sold me the car as a professonal . Car seems to run fine I was not disapoint at the car looks

Ok...Here's the Deal. I bought this car as I do with any other used car. I pay as little as possible. I try to buy a car that is known to either have a good value or will be a long lasting car once I completely put all new parts on it. I replace as much as possible, new alternator, starter, battery and cables, usually exhaust, breaks, pads, rotors, tires, radiator, water pump distributor, etc, etc. That way I need to worry about nothing for years to come. So it's a $600.00 car and will invest $5000.00 to $7000.00 but it's not $30,000 for a new one. If you have that kind of money fix up an old one, get a warranty for your work...and the car will actually appreciate instead of depreciating. I'd much rather buy a cheap Mercedes and even put a new or rebuild the engine as it will last 10 years or more. The body is in great shape, so I save money and it is worry free. So always get a used car that does not need body repairs to look good. Use all of your money on the engine, tranny, front and rear end, exhaust, breaks, and tires. That is how you do it right. Like I said, in this day and time if you cannot afford a new car, get one cheap and start replacing parts. Take it to your mechanic, get a complete diagnostic, and start with the neccesities first or critical, and then as you can afford just get new parts. On a Mercedes, you should save back $.35 cents a mile for future repairs. If you do this...you are guaranteed, not to get caught not having enough for major repairs. But they do cost you more money to maintain than a ford or a chevy, per say. The comfort, luxury, performance to me are well worth it though. So in summary. If you do buy a used Mercedes...be preparred to save up at least $3000.00 in your first year or so...just in case...if you get the engine and tranny good, beware of carburator issues, next is thier windows, moonroofs, and a few other things that may nickle and dime you down the road. This will be my 3rd Mercedes. I need a partial engine rebuild here. Then start saving to get the rest all new as soon as possible. Get full coverage as they will appreciate if you can get them to near mint or mint condition. Do not get a Mercedes that is rusted out as now your looking at spending double your money to get it nice. Who wants a nice running Mercedes that looks like a rust bucket, your kinda defeating the purpose of why you get a Mercedes. It's a Status Symbol, a Statement that you want a luxuary car that performes and has great safety features, trust me I was in a wreck with one and it definately saved my life. Also they are hard as heck to break into. I had a 67 that was almost impossible to get into. So if you have around $5000.00 to $7000.00 that you can spend in say 1 to 3 years - get one that is rust free and get it in the shop and start getting it new as fast as possible engine and tranny wise, breaks and tires. Then keep on eye out on the windows and moon roof as those will go bad.
Mercedes do not have a lot of love in america as far as book, but the true Mercedes buyer can appreciate yours if you ever re-sell. KEEP ALL OF YOUR RECEIPTS. GET THE WORK DONE BY A CERTIFIED MERCEDES MECHANIC - AND GET YOUR WARRANTIES. GOOD LUCK TO ANY OF YOU GETTING ONE. I DO NOT LIKE DIESELS AS THOSE CAN BE MORE DURABLE, BUT THEY CAN ALSO COST YOU MORE IN REPAIRS AND HAVE LARGER REPAIR COSTS WHEN THEY GO DOWN...AND IN THE WINTER CAN BE A REAL PAIN. ALSO GET ONE WITH NICE INTERIORS. THIS CAN TELL YOU A LOT ABOUT THE PREVIUOS OWNER. F&TIQUE

I bought it to have the SVO conversion and I've heard that this engine is both reliable and strong, which I can confirm. I drove it straight from LA, CA to SLC, UT, and there's a whole lot of mountain terrain and many climbs. It was actually a bit hard for me to keep the car at the 60 mph speed limit, it felt like wanted to climb faster all the time (the turbo is a very nice feature and when it kicks in, the car takes off) even though it's a tad slow in the pull-away. The styling is nice and once I gave the car a wash it turned several heads. It's giving me great fuel economy (30-35 MPG once I replaced the air filter which was as filthy as I've ever seen one) and I'm so happy to go back to $25 a week for fuel, even though diesel is more expensive than regular gas. I'm doing an SVO conversion so that's only going to get better and in the end the car should be able to pay for itself (bought it for $2150). I'm glad I bought it even though it had a couple of minor drawbacks. First, well, "It's a Mercedes", which is the reason most mechanics will give you for charging obscene prices for small repairs. Most places wanted to charge me between $85-120 for a simple oil change citing the said reason. I changed it myself and found that it's even easier than my other car ('87 Caddy Brougham) since the oil filter is inside the engine compartment as opposite to underneath the car like in most cars. This car is a breeze to be worked on. Even though i got the car for a really nice price, parts for these cars don't come cheap.
The engine has many brand new parts and it looks rebuilt,(not complaining here) there's a number of odd parts in the front that suggest that they were put in in a hurry and they dont quite match the car; I had to replace those. The tranny is kind of rough between 1st and second gear.I'm now having a problem with the fuel pump, which is limiting the speed to 70mph, and those don't come cheap either. The seats are okay; the headrests are in a perfect position, however, and they feel great, but the seats are somewhat below what i expected, although this can be due to the fact that i also drive the 87 Caddy and those seats are beyond anything I've seen, so maybe I'm being too harsh here.
Side note here: if you've never driven diesels (like my own case) the car will seem underpowered and slow. Upon deep investigation on numerous mercedes websites and forums I found out that these cars are supposed to go slow at first as diesels don't give you immediate acceleration when you press the gas pedal, as in gas vehicles, but rather set the maximum throttle available and the engine rather accelerates at it's own pace. That's the way it's designed. Once the turbo kicks in, however, these are very competent highway cars and will feel at home well above any legal speed limit.
All in all, a great car to own, economical, yet powerful and fast, and I think I absolutely got my money worth for the car. If this one died for some reason i wouldn't hesitate to buy another one; I'm loving it.

I am told that the car can be fixed and will last 10 more years and that this car is the best car ever designed... OK. But this is the 5th 300-seriese between 1982 and 1985 that I have bought. It is time for me to start fixing them.

The thing I love is that this car has a lot of followers. I can get suggestions and good advice from the diesel-heads and the 126-lovers. I plan to fix and paint one an continue until I have three running in great condition. One has a rusted and cracked frame... so it is to be used for parts, and the other is a 380SEL, gasoline. The last car, FL Dealer, was over-priced. A web-buyer should not spend more than $2500 for a perfect car. Then pay more if the car really is perfect. To send fixup advice or receive a list of issues and step-by-step repair, send email to ckjohnsonp@yahoo.com

The vehicle is in much worse shape than discribed. When I got it home from Metropolis, Il to St. Louis, MO it blew oil out all over the drive way. I am very unhappy about the way it was described to me. I was told by the owner drove it every day to work and back..... I doubt it because the title was not in the persons name from whom I bought it. If I could get my money refunded, I would. I've got to take it to a mechanic and determine if it's salvagable.