[Vwdiesel] Mercedes diesels.

[William J Toensing]

Would I be better off modifying a Mercedes 300D or SD to run on waste vegetable oil than a VW? If you get the waste "French Fry" oil for free, MPG should not be an issue. However, a lot of these Mercedes diesels have from 150,000 miles to 350,000 miles or more on them. Therefore suspension components, steering, door locks, electric windows, cruise, A/C could be wearing out, I would guess. How expensive are these parts compared to VW parts? I would suspect higher. I have never owned a Mercedes so I do not have experience with one. However, from other sources I have read, the 1979 to 1985 Mercedes 300D/SD seems to be the most popular car to run on waste vegetable oil, & there seem to be more WVO conversion kits available for these Mercedes diesels. I suspect a number of you have had experience with these Mercedes diesels & have chosen VWs over the Mercedes. Encourage or discourage me from buying a M Benz diesel. Should I modify my '81 Dasher diesel wagon for WVO or keep it stock & just run it on diesel/biodiesel? Also, you from the rust belt, where are these Mercedes diesels prone to rust. Many of these cars have spent time in the rust belt back east before driven to Calif.