1981 Mercedes Benz 300D W123

1981 Mercedes-Benz 300-Series Description

The interior is lovely, seats and carpets are in excellent shape, drivers carpet only one with stains, headliner is very fine but for a small cut about 3/4 of an inch long above back seat. Dash is in great shape, as are visors, all the wood is intact. Trunk is in excellent condition including carpet. Climate control works. Comes with a plethora of parts- new oil lines ( bought for another car I sold), windshield gasket, chrome replacement bars for grill, new ignition lock cylinder, ignition lock switch, various filters, and etc. I have installed:
New Bosch Alternator
New Lower pan gasket
Oil change
Oil filter
Power steering pump filter
Diesel injector pump shutoff valve
Vacuum shutoff valve at ignition
New used vacuum pump
New thermostat and gasket
New alternator belt
New tie rods
New Passenger idler arm bushings and bolt
Professionally installed new/used transmission works great at 208,473 miles, new modulator valve filter fluid and seals, along with new oil pump drive bearings, new injection primer pump at same time.
Needed upgrades for perfect vehicle, which the price reflects:
Mechanic neglected backup light switch on Transmission, I have never investigated what was left undone.
needs shocks, steering dampener
drivers side pitman arm bushings and bolt need replacing, then an alignment
at 36 years old I would replace all suspension bushings- control arm bushings, sway bar links, etc.
new check valves throughout vacuum system- door locks and shutoff work at 75%, shutoff valve, which is new, works, installed tested vacuum pump, when it does not immediately shutoff it only requires to hold rpms slightly up for a moment to overcome other weak points in system then shuts off. Most of the time it works as it should.
Oil leak at oil return tube, needs o-ring and new check valve. Check valve accessible from inside lower oil pan, I did not know this when I replaced gasket or I would have done it!! Absolutely NO metal in pan or at drain plug!
Needs Valve adjustment( this is a regular service on these diesels)
Drivers window motor is burned out
Passenger rear window motor tests good but did not work when purchased, works when you mess with switches, removing and reinstalling then stops again. I believe it has something to do with drivers window motor, seems like window motors share power diagonally but have never verified
Antennae mast kept running up which may be related to next item, so unplugged ground
original owner installed hardwired phone which messed up wiring to speakers, causes a backfeed so fuse is unplugged or radio stays on when original stereo dial is in off position. This fuse serves interior lights and clock which work otherwise.
Clear coat is excellent, except on right front fender where a few flakes have appeared
Small dent on same fender
Very small dent on one door, cannot capture it in a picture
Hood Insulating blanket needs replacing.
Windshield leaks at drivers upper corner when rain is hard and protracted
Anything rubber is old: door seals, motor mounts, hoses and lines.
Front tires needed as it was driven by its former owner with a bent tie rod.
Air conditioning pump has been unplugged since I bought it, and belt is removed. I have no knowledge of its condition.
Cruise control does not work. I have no knowledge of the issue.
battery tray is rusty and conveying rust to immediate contact point at firewall, again, typical issue. I have owned 4 sedans and all have had this.
For a while, I was into restoring these old Mercedes. This is by far the nicest one I found when I was buying them. It is just a short walk away from being not just beautiful, but mint. I often get compliments for her around town! From experience I can say that all of these issues are typical of these cars at this age unless they have been carefully maintained and garaged for their lifetime. Buy carefully if you really want one but have no mechanical experience with them. Many people fail to report these things because they just do not know as they are not mechanical, or, they leave it up to the buyer to inform themselves. If you do not see many issues disclosed in a listing, without a plausible reason, please use this as a reference and inquire specifically about the items.
Please ask me any questions, especially if there is something I have not addressed here.
Remember, this is an as is sale. I have tried to be as thorough in my description as possible as to my knowledge of the car and know from experience that a car this nice with all the upgrades done is a 5,000 dollar car, and even some of those listed are going to have many of the age issues elucidated here! None of these upgrades are expensive or difficult, ( drivers window motor is the only pricey item, unless the cruise control acutator is bad and you want it functioning with a new, not used, one), they are easy home repairs with inexpensive parts if you have some mechanical know how. Buyer is responsible for shipping. 500.00 Deposit required within 24 hrs. Please refer to photos at the following link for a more extensive photo file:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/j96324a08xg2gys/AAABaB4sIYPApuW_gYK1BaCpa?dl=0