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I found a dirt cheap 1983 mercedes 240 D (not turbo) that I thought might be a good deal for my daughters to drive for a while. I do not know anything about them. Are the decent cars? Anything that I need to watch out for? If we get 20,000 miles out of it without too many repairs, I will be happy. I do not remember the mileage, it was less than 200,000 and more than 100,000.
They are built like a tank, they will go about forever if well cared for (mostly use a good Diesel type oil, change it often enough) and "while they aren't very fast, they sure are slow".
I had a buddy with one, he managed to blow one engine, loosening a pre-chamber or something like that, by running it too hard on a hot day (not certain the heat or pushing the car had anything to do with it really, but these were the circumstances of the failure)
Probably a good car, but, as I am always saying, make the kid invest some equity in the car, else they won't take care of it at all. If it's presented to her as a free, disposable car, she will trash it posthaste. If you supply it as a free, disposable car that is shared between several adolescent girls, I'd suggest using it in a demolition derby instead. It will last longer and there are no insurance implications.
Ditto what Mitch said... excellent cars and will last 1,000,000 miles if properly serviced. I have a 80s Mercedes myself and have had others in the past. Super cars. Stay away from 1990s Mercedes... the 1980s are fine.
This is what my teenage sons got for their first cars ... 123 chassis 240D MB's. Built like tanks, slow enough to keep them out of trouble on the road, and low 30's mpg fuel economy. Great handling, great brakes, safe cars ... the same machine as the upline 123 chassis cars with much more horsepower. Very comfortable cruisers on the road at 70-75 mph.
Absent any real problem areas with your car, they only need clean filters ... oil, fuel, and air, with clean fuel ... to run many 100's thousands of miles. Also, keep the injection pump oil reservoir filled up to the level plug ... there's a "red breather cap" on the pump where you add oil for the back section. Keeping the throttle linkages well lubed will make the car a lot easier to drive and deliver all the power it has (about 60 HP at sea level).
It's important to drive them moderately from a cold start through warm up cycle, and not to "race" the motor at any time. Start it up, keep it at low rpm, and drive it until gently through the gears until it's warmed up. At that point, you can use as much throttle as you want in each gear, although driving it with a progressive throttle loading as it revs up will deliver the best fuel economy.
I put a 26 gallon saddle tank in the trunk ... shaped to fit behind the rear seat ... in these, and the cars have a 1300-1500 mile cruising range. That comes in handy when you can buy diesel at a lower price in one area and travel. I used to pull a small sailboat trailer from the Rocky mountain area to the West Coast, where fuel was much more expensive, and didn't need to stop for fuel until well back on the return trip.
I sold close to 50 of these cars for student/college cars. All turned in a lot of miles, and were very capable cars for adverse weather driving. Even the ones that needed valve jobs at close to 200,000 miles (the valve guides wear oval and cause the motor to burn oil) were worth the money to do that work and keep on the road. Very simple, sturdy, reliable ... and very easy to work on.
It is not a good car for a young girl, or anyone for that matter. They are not just slow, but dangerously slow. We are talking 67 horsepower in a 3,000 pound car. They do run forever, 500,000 miles with no rebuilds are common. The problem is it literally will not get out of its own way. Teenage girls are probably the worst drivers and are likely to pull out in front of someone on a left turn. In this car, they would get hit. I posted a link on a 0-60 run of one of these car, it takes over 30 seconds, and this is the stick shift!!!
I had a 1984 Mercedes 190D diesel 4dr. Also a 4-cylinder, non-turbo, automatic. I thought it would be dreadfully slow and it was, but not to the point of being dangerous. However, the 190D is slightly lighter in weight and has a whopping 72 HP versus 67 for the 240D. Initial take off was slow at low rpms, but once you got going and higher RPMS, it would keep up with anything on the road.
Just teach "the girls" not to pull out in front of anything closer than a half of a mile.
Last edited by Tennesseestorm; 03-04-2009 at 10:34 PM..
We had one mercedes diesel that had 285K on the engine. Diesel engines last longer. I do believe that era of MBs had transmission issues though. One of ours did, and we were told they were known for that but I believe it was late 70s era. Yeah it was slow, we had the big turbo one which was better. We had to sell it for $$ though. MBs - older diesels were great great cars. We have had several. they were tanks.
We had one mercedes diesel that had 285K on the engine. Diesel engines last longer. I do believe that era of MBs had transmission issues though. One of ours did, and we were told they were known for that but I believe it was late 70s era. Yeah it was slow, we had the big turbo one which was better. We had to sell it for $$ though. MBs - older diesels were great great cars. We have had several. they were tanks.
Yeah, the gassers are good ones too, however, timing chain/guides/rails/tensioners are critical on the V8 models. I had a 1985 380SE with over 275K miles, original engine and transmission and my transmission still shifted perfectly.
One thing about the MB of the 70s/80s transmissions is that the shifts are adjustable by the boden? cable and also, some run off of vacuum, so sometimes its as simple as that, but many think they have transmission problems instead.
One of my cars is a 1988 Mercedes 300SEL, (this is the extended wheelbase S-Class model), but its the inline 6-cylinder model and they are bulletproof engines, but headgasket issues were common issues on these... thankfully mine was professionally replaced before. I have 156K and my transmission still shifts perfectly too... for know. lol.
I almost bought a 1985 300D (turbo diesel). It had a good deal of pep. I wish I had of bought it.
Last edited by Tennesseestorm; 03-05-2009 at 11:09 PM..
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tennesseestorm
Just teach "the girls" not to pull out in front of anything closer than a half of a mile.
Do this !! (and go for the 240D)
I also made a rule that my teenage drivers COULD NOT turn left or cross a local 2 lane Highway that has many accidents. There were traffic lights or underpasses within a couple miles of where they had to turn, so they had to take the 'scenic' and safe route. They had a bit more 'cognizance' when older. Girls can be especially 'distracted' when driving.
Mine had to drive 52 hp VW diesels (I got them A2 Jettas... '85-'92) They were pretty safe, tho they each got speeding tickets... (both for 30 in a 25zone)
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Initial take off was slow at low rpms, but once you got going and higher RPMS, it would keep up with anything on the road. 
