Here is a 1983 Mercedes Benz 300 TD Turbo Diesel Station Wagon. It was purchased by my father from the original family in the mid 2000's from the New England area.
He purchased this car due to the highly sought after 5-cylinder, 3.0 Liter, OM617 turbo engine. These engines and transmissions are known for making 1 Million Miles with no overhauls. He added his own WVO system, however he never ran WVO. He only ran new, expired food grade Vegetable oil. He used the tube in tube type system and it worked very well. You would start the car on diesel and once the car was up to temp, then you switch over to VO, then switch back a couple of minutes before you shut it off. He ran that system for about a year or so until the supply of new, cheap (he was paying $0.50 a gallon when he bought 500 gallons at a time) vegetable oil ran out. After that he was to the point that it was getting hard for him to get in and out of and he stopped driving it so much. Dad passed away in 2015 and it hasn’t been on the road since however I do start it up every month or so and drive it around the block.
The car fires right up, even on the coldest of days. It ran and drove fine when he was driving, but it has not been on the road as a daily driven vehicle for about 2.5 years. One thing that I noticed it start doing last year is it doesn’t turn off with the ignition key. There is a manual fuel shut off on the engine that has to be used. I did some research at the time and it is a common issue and a fairly easy fix, but I never did.
There is some rust on this car and I have tried to include this in the photos. The clear coat is peeling on the hood, it looks to have been repainted at some point. Most of the rest of the car looks to have original paint.
The interior is pretty decent, but not perfect. Like the rest of the car it is 35 years old now. Overall the car is has a lot of potential and is somewhat sought after. I feel that I have the car realistically priced for what it is and what it will need to make it a nice car. Please make sure you ask any questions that you might have before your purchase. I want to make sure that the car gets a good home and buyer gets a good deal. I will gladly try to answer any questions that I ca, you can call me at 614-563-0877. Please no calls after 10pm EST.
There is an extra set of wheels and tires that go with the car as well as some other parts.
These are somewhat rare machines in the United States as they were only brought into the U.S. from 1978 to 1985. This is not a pristine car, but it does have a LOT of life still left in it, and it still gets good fuel mileage.
Recent articles from Bloomberg cite them as one of the best investments to be made now before the market goes REALLY high, interest has certainly boomed in the last two years.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-12/the-vintage-mercedes-station-wagon-is-the-car-that-will-never-die
Hagarty Valuation is also showing a steady increase in value at almost $10,000 average with no signs of stopping anytime soon, as does NADA who is showing average retail now as $8,550.
Now this car is by no means a $10,000 car. Its really not even a $5,000 car. It is a reasonably priced car that will give you many years of usage, at a great value while still holding or continuing to increase in value.
Non-refundable deposit of $500 due within 24 hours of sale. Remainder of balance due within 7 days of closing. Buyer takes care of shipping.