1990 MERCEDES BENZ 300D

Description for Mercedes-Benz 300-Series 1990

For sale is my 1990 Mercedes 300D.

The engine is a 2.5 liter 5 Cylinder Turbo Diesel with 350.000 miles on it. It's in perfect running condition. These engines are possibly one of the best Diesels that ever existed. They are known to run in excess of a million miles. Basically indestructible as long the oil changes are done and the cooling system functions properly. I'm a Automotive technician by trade and own this car for over 6 years now. It's still my daily driver and has never let me down. I change the Oil every 3000 miles and only use Mobil 1 full synthetic. Everything mechanically works perfect on this car. New battery and almost everything on the suspension system is new as well. The fuel mileage is excellent. I get 30+ MPG city driving. This car is a very cheap and extremely reliable transportation.

As far as the body goes I have to tell you it won't win any beauty contests. It has dents and nicks all over the place, the paint is pretty dull and it has a rear end damage. The trunk is held shut with a strap. It would need a new lock mechanism and some body work to fix. I do have a used rear bumper in a different color. I'm not going to put it on and I'm not going to do any work on it, so don't even ask.

The interior is in fair condition, nothing it ripped out. The automatic door locks don't work and neither does the sun roof. AC sometimes works, there is a small leak on the AC Compressor. I usually fill it up once a year. That's the cheapest fix to get the AC going. Some of the flaps in the Evaporator / Heater core assembly don't work. That's a notorious problem with older Mercedes Models. It's a rather extensive repair and I don't have the time nor money to do this. I've lived with this for the past 6 years and got used to it.

As far as the engine, the turbo waste gate actuator isn't working. I fixed the waste gate into closed position and installed a boost gauge inside the car. Mercedes sets the waste gate to about 13-14LBS before it opens. Under normal driving conditions the boost is around 4 lbs. The max boost I ever got it was around 20Lbs, with the car fully loaded, pedal to the floor and uphill. So there's no problem that the waste gate is always closed. The engine can take short periods of over boost without problems. Off course being a diesel with high miles there are the notorious oil leaks. But not to the point that anything actually drips on the ground. I keep the engine bay clean and always monitor if anything goes wrong.

The transmission has a somewhat hard shift from 1st to 2nd gear. From what I know there is a minor problem inside the transmission that causes this condition. It hasn't bothered me for the past 6 years and it doesn't get any worse either.

About 5 years ago I replaced all mayor suspension parts, like front struts, rear shocks, control arm bushings and so on. The car drives strait and to my knowledge doesn't need any suspension repairs at this time.

Some interior electrical functions do not work. The central looking system does not work. There are also problems at the door looks. The key only opens the passenger side door. It's simply due to wear on the locks.

To sum it all up, this is just a very basic, cheap and reliable transportation. You're not getting a new car and like with all older high mileage vehicles there are going to be things that aren't working. So please understand what this is so there are no bad surprises. I encourage to contact me before placing a bid. I'm selling this without any warranties and in the condition as is.

Thank you for looking.