[Guest (MBNZ)]

A friend of mine is looking at buying an early 80's 300 TD wagon. What common problem areas should he look at? TIA.

 

[Guest (MBNZ)]

Any early 80s diesel benz is a great car, espically the fact that old diesels do not have any sort of emission control system so you wont have to worry about the car suddenly dying on you in the middle of the road. I guess the stuff to watch out for is under body rust, take a good look at the suspension components, to make sure they havent been rusted through. The car would not be a cold winter car, espically in a city that uses salt, because the older ones have trouble starting in the winter, they tend to rust pretty quickly and have terrible traction on snow or ice. Most early 80's Diesel benzes should last up to 400k miles if they have a clean record and not have been abused. The transmission does shift roughly in most of these cars but its nothing to really worry about. Do a compression check on the engine to make sure it isnt at the end of its life cycle. Thats all the issues I can think about that I have encountered with my car. Good Luck!

 

[Guest (MBNZ)]

I have been driving an 85 TD for over 6 years<br> Bought it with 60K miles. Now has 217K<br> Very economical to run. If oil is changed every 3k, new battery & tires every 3 years.<br> Problems have been suspension, rear shocks are very expensive but system has some less expensive components that can fail as well. A/C needed new compressor. Get a factory one rather than a rebuilt from the parts store. Costs 3 times as much but lasts longer. All other is pretty routine, like brakes...