[V8] Mercedes 300TD

Wed Dec 15 07:46:39 PST 2010

Yeah, but I don't think you can pick up an Allroad V8 for three to four 
grand....

And it is more than that.  I have annual excise tax to consider also, and
the newer the car the higher the excise tax, even after it gets to the
bottom of its depreciation.  The excise tax in the 100CS is pretty high
actually, because its original MSRP was right up there in ridiculousland.

Roger

-----Original Message-----
From: kneale at coslink.net [mailto:kneale at coslink.net] 
Sent: Wednesday, December 15, 2010 10:34 AM
To: rmwoodbury at roadrunner.com; v8 at audifans.com
Subject: Re: [V8] Mercedes 300TD

Or find yourself an Allroad with the 4.2 V8.  The tiptronic is supposed to
be more robust than those in the A6/A8.  You'd have the Avant advantages, a
suspension perfect for your environment, quattro and the V8 engine.  It has
a timing CHAIN so you don't need a TB replacement.  Aftermarket suspension
airbags can be had with lifetime replacement guarantees.  It's true Audi
falls way short of Mercedes in supporting older cars.  A few years back I
had a Mercedes from the 1950s and needed keys for the doors (different from
ignition).  Local MB dealer sent the VIN to Germany and a couple weeks
later I had new keys.

Original Message:
-----------------
From: Roger M. Woodbury rmwoodbury at roadrunner.com
Date: Wed, 15 Dec 2010 09:27:55 -0500
To: V8 at audifans.com
Subject: Re: [V8] Mercedes 300TD

And I thought I was getting old!  You guys are slow.I saw this car the
instant it hit BAT!  

Yes, yes, sort of nice enough. A California car I guess so it won't be
rusty, and it is a late manufacture so that is cool.

But right now in Memphis there is another one that I think is nicer.  It is
an earlier car though, but is a one owner with all service records intact.

Look here http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem
<http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320629143392&
viewitem=&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT>
&item=320629143392&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT

Bidding is already at $8100 and I won't be surprised to see this go for big
bucks.twelve grand, maybe.

As one of the posters on BAT remarked, one of these in pristine condition
could be the last car you'd ever buy.  There certainly is something to the
fact that parts are supported completely by Mercedes, and will be.  With a
halfway decent independent mechanic, the car WILL run forever.

Now, having said that, here in Maine diesel fuel is more expensive than
premium unleaded, which makes these Mercedes diesels not all that
inexpensive to drive on a daily basis.  Overall, once one of these is sorted
out it will be remarkably reliable and thrifty forever.

My wife's 100CS Avant just runs.  Moving well past 155,000 miles now, it
will likely run forever, too.  It has some little issues.electric window
regulators, rear hatch release, cruise control inop, cranky recirculating
valve, and an A/C compressor with bearings that are sometimes quite loud and
which I thought would fail two years ago..now they are silent again.  The
car uses a quart of oil every 900 miles as it has for ten years.  It has
been maintained to within an inch of its life and with Quattro is far better
value than a 300TD.

So, yes, I'd love to have a very nice 300TD, but the Audi Quattro is a
better value for where we live and what we need the car to do.

Considering the age and mileage on the Audi I have pondered what we might do
if we had some sort of catastrophic failure.  If something like the
transmission failed outright, or needed to have an overhaul, would I do it?
I guess it depends.  If it cost under five grand to do the transmission, I
would rebuild it because the rest of the car is so well known to me that I
cannot replace it for that money.  When I had my first V8 auto transmission
rebuilt it was eight grand total, including a new pinion gear that was
megabucks by itself.  I won't do that again, because I know that I can
replace the 100CS for less than that, just buying one of these Mercedes
wagons, for instance.

Incidentally, these old Mercedes 123s can be very difficult.  IF there are
any issues with either the pneumatic door locks or the HVAC system, they
will get VERY expensive VERY fast. There are at least a gazillion rubber
grommets that help to hold the a/c plumbing together in back of the
dashboard, and none of them are accessible.btdt..so I would approach one of
these cars with GREAT fear and trepidation.  Certainly a car that has
shrunken vinyl coverings on the window pillars is one that has been VERY hot
inside over time, and that means that a lot of that sensitive German rubber
used in those gazillion rubber grommets may be hard and about to fail.

Right now, my wrench has a '98 A6 Avant with 90k on it that I could have up
and running for less than three grand.  It needs my wrench to spend some
time making sure the main electric harness is wired in properly (since his
monkey lad did it poorly the first time), and it needs to be put back
together inside, AND thoroughly cleaned.  IF I needed one, I would buy that
now, and I have thought about it jus to put into the bank..nothing wrong
with the car that a little tlc and cleaning won't make into something almost
new.  Quattro:  better than rear wheel drive benz anyday.

Roger

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