! YES ! .
In addition to making _CERTAIN_ YOU personally look under the car (I use indie Muffler Shops , they'll usually be free or $5 to hoist it up as long as you want) for rust holes & bubbles , be sure to pay close attention to the dashboard heater controls ! vertical row of 5 buttons means $$ !! hassles ! headaches ! no heat ! no AC ! round dial heater controls is good , a horizontal row of buttons is O.K. too .
Don't worry about the turbo , it's not that important , many 300TD's don't have them regardless of year model because these uber popular wagons were direct imported often and most Direct Imports didn't have the turbocharger .
The SLS system is a bit of a PIA but parts are available , if it's dead , (rear end sags down) expect to dump in $1,500 to fix it right and then it's _done_ , annual fluid & filter change & forget about it , except when you're jammed full of stuff and the car doesn't even notice..... =8-) (it's a wonderful system) if you're Mechanic like to tinker , the ofter dead SLS control valve can be taken apart and rebuilt , more $ in labor than parts .
_ALL_ 30 year old vehicles are by nature , ' fixer uppers ' ~ the trick is to buy one in good shape you can begin driving NOW and sort out the niggly little things during routine servicing .
Keep looking ! I love the one I found for SWMBO , it needed some things (paint mostly) but has been worth every penny I've invested so far .
I hope this helps , I can go on but this is maybe too long already .
-Nate
Re: Mary's Next Mercedes
Thanks Nate. Hubby doesn't want a fixer upper next time, so we will likely find
one that has been garaged and lovingly cared for by an MBCA member or something.
Neither of us are mechanically inclined, so we will have our resident diesel
head/old Mercedes mechanic check out any 300TD wagon we find just to ensure the
vehicle is in god shape. I know the SLS is sometimes worn out in the old wagons.
Anything else to look out for besides rust? Man, these W123s are wicked comfy
for road trips. Is that because they were designed for "luxury" or??? Anyhow,.
have to wait til next year when the Toyota is paid off to look at 300TDs.
Mary
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