A little of subject but elipster how do you like your old diesel benz? My brother is looking for a diesel vehicle, he just wants something cheap and reliable, $1500-$2000 range. Easy to work on and good economy are also pluses. I have been looking for him but since I have no prior diesel experience I don't know what vehicles are best to buy, and he doesn't want a money pit. Thanks
Your timing is impecable. I'm selling mine. I'd want a little more for it though since it is an S class.
Quick run down:
Make sure anything you buy has good compression. It should start right up.
It should not smoke excessively. A little is normal and healthy (for the motor <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/shiner.gif" alt="" />) but plums of black are not good.
240D this is a 2.4 liter 4 cylinder. It is slow... I mean really slow. It gets like 27+ miles to the gallon and will take a blistering half minute to get to 60 if it's flat. On hills, you will never get there.. until it's flat. It's very utilitarian.
300D If before '81, it will be a non-turbo. A nice car, more power than the 240, but still pretty slow. If after '81, it's turbo charged and that adds like 40hp. I mean it's a night and day difference. (had one non turbo) I would highly recommend a turbo model. You can expect about 24mpg out of it. One downside, the gearing isn't as tall and sound insultation not as good as the 300SD's is so the engine starts to roar as you hit 75.
300SD. This is the full size benz. It is also available in the "L" (SDL)body where there is 6 more inches of leg room on the rear seats. I didn't get that car becuase beasically, the SD is big enough for me as it is. This is a real road car. Mine pulls the Grapevine like it isn't even there and the AC has no trouble keeping her cool in the central valley mid summer. I get 23mpg and I average 75 on the freeways. It is much quieter than either the 300 or 240D and is much more refined. Taller rear end gearing means lower RPMs at high speeds.
Anyway, hope this helps. I'll cut your friend a good deal if he wants to check it out. PM me and I'll let you know what works, what doesn't, repairs I've made, etc....
All of the cars have completely mechanical motors.. no electrical accesories that are critical to operation. (no computers, fancy electronics...) I lost the alternator 3 hours north SLO and drove with a dead battery into town where I could fix it. They are all easy to fix and the engine compartments are uncluttered.
People think my car is done for with 248K miles. Well it uses between leaking and burning a whopping .5 quart in 3K miles and runs very strong. Taken care of, the motors can easily see 400K and som even 500K.
Frank.
