Too young to die!! please advise this young MB lover
We bought our 77' 300D with 67000 mile on the clock, near perfect condition in CA. It was converted to run on WVO by the garage that sold the car.It ran super smooth for the last 3000 miles with nice 200 mile runs no problem.
Then last week at the start of our journey we saw the oil pressure drop completly. (It was fine the night before and had full power)
We stopped and checked the oil level it was fine i checked with the person we bought the car from he said if it wasn't making any strange noises that it could just be electrical.
It was not making any strange noises, so we cautiuosly started again where it seemed fine on the freeway but for only about one minute then it lost power and we had to stop on the emergency lane.
We towed it to the 'German auto' garage were we left it. We rented a car and headed on for our week long trip. A week later we heard from the garage they couldn't turn over the engine and assumed it had siezed!!
He estimates approx $8000 to rebuild the engine and is looking into another engine for replacement.
We really were not ready to have this happen thats why we paid a premium price $9500 to have a car with 67k so that it would be like driving a 'new' car feel and a chance to last a very long time.
The garage that we bought from has told us he has a engine that we could replace this one with and will let us know on a good price for us and a mechanic to do the job.
What can we do? I am new to buying, repairing MB's escpecially in the US and never had to deal with such a $$ situation.
Do i have any rights for anything from the garage we bought the car from?
What should i say that could help the dealings?
what $ should i expect to get a rebuilt engine for and how long would that even expect to last??
Are there any check points to go through before really giving up on the engine?
I would really apreciate all the help i can get to not be stuck with a very very expencive 77' or give up the great body for scraps!
love and peace
moose
There is no possible way they need $4000 in labor and shop supplies. Even if they can't get a core refund for the engine, there is no way it should more than $5500 for a complete job in an honest shop.
__________________ 1980 240D 3.0VNTi 220k miles Modifications (Link): OM617.952, 4-speed manual, GT2256V VNT turbo, W115 300D intake, ALDA/EGR/rack limiter removed, 3.46 diff, 15mm rear sway bar, Amsoil bypass oil filter, Mobil1 5W-40 synthetic oil and 15mm rear sway bar.
Wow my friend sorry to say it but I think you got reamed on that car at $9500 bucks. A low mile car is nothing if it's not maintained.
Did you buy it from a guy in Santa Maria by chance?
There are much cheaper engines out there. My mechanic will do all that work for much less than $8K although if you want to pay him $4k in labor he'd be your new best friend!
Did the oil pump fail? Perhaps the timing chain guide rail had a chunk fly off and jam the oil pump?
What exactly do you mean by "lost power"? Did the engine make any noise or did the engine just slow down to a crawl? The engine shouldn't sieze like that if it was properly lubricated. Did they actually say what was causing the seizure or did they say it was just damaged?
Thank you for your interest.
Yes i knew the price was very high for the car but i guess i just trusted good nature too much. How are we ever to know how well maintained a low milage car is? I would love to learn...
and yes it was from near Santa Maria well Nipomo. you probably know it as diesel oil conversions.
I shall keep you in mind once i get some more clear understanding of what is needed. would you mechanic friend be able to diagnose the problem if so please let me know how to contact him. I have as feeling we may all know of the same circle of MB lovers.
thanks for you advice.
moose
That mechanic is a crook! Get your car away from him ASAP and call the better business bureau.
EDIT: Then find somebody who will remove the engine and pul the crankshaft to have it reground. With the crankshaft reground, you can replace the bearings and the oil pump and the engine will be good as new. You should be able to have all this done for $1500-$2500.
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1988 Volvo 740 GLE
1997 Saab 900SE Talledaga
Last edited by Stevenpfaff : 05-30-2006 at 11:27 PM.
I don't know. I can only guess they are real low mile cars which look nice but are far overpriced. They are riding that low mile ebay mania phenomenon. In moose's case clearly the engine wasn't gone over with a fine tooth comb although should it have been a bearing I think that would have been hard to detect but how many main bearings have you heard breaking on MB diesels at 60,000 miles? That sounds suspect without running the car down on oil.
how could you run a engine with 60 thousand miles low on oil mine goes 3000miles and USES A HALF A QUART . i feel sorry for this guy and if i was him i would take this guy to small claims and aleast try to get 5000 back for the engine rebuild. i my self would never buy a car off of ebay!!
I apreiciate your support, thank you.
At first meeting i felt he was pretty good for his word. it was the only low milage car the others were 150k-250k+. we chose this car because it was i great condition inside and out it didnt look like it had done as many miles as the others but what do i know? slowly may be a little more.
I dont want to talk bad about him till i hear what he has planned for me and i have had a second look.
is it easy to check the shaft and the bearing that you mention??
moose
A low mile car is nothing if it's not maintained.
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