Comments: 1-15, 16-21
Most problems are age and mileage related - bearings, vacuum (rubber) hoses and diaphragms, etc. The engine and drivetrain are in perfect working order. I live in Florida, but the car is from Penn originally, and it's in great shape.
Some major items fixed:
Tie rod ends, misc. bushings - $500 - 270,000 miles.
A/C vacuum system and re-charge (major overhaul) - $1,200 - 261,000.
New head on the engine - $2,500 - 225,000 (in records).
Other than that, it's mostly been minor items ($50- $350) for comfort and convenience items.
Also, forget the dealers, who are ridiculously expensive. If you're in a larger town, there will be a Mercedes specialist who will do better work FAR cheaper. Mine charges $60/hr for labor, and lets me bring my own parts. WOW!
This car is amazing. We call it "the beast" because it takes abuse and keeps on ticking. 14 years old, 271,000 miles, and the IDEAL daily driver.
It's important to buy one that has been properly and regularly maintained, as an older S-Class that's been neglected will easily cost more to get back into perfect order than it cost to buy. I consider a car with accurate and complete maintenance records (mine is one) much more valuable than one without.
If you're looking for a car that will provide a lifetime of service without killing you in maintenance and repairs when it gets older, do yourself a favor and consider a 1986-1991 S-Class Mercedes Benz. The gas models will be more expensive to buy and maintain, and the diesels will last forever. I plan to will mine to my grandkids, and I'm only 30.
Great review,we just bought a 1986 300 sdl, its great to see a great review.
I have a 1987 300SDL and it is a wonderful car especially on the highway. I bought it used and have accomplished some needed work which included repainting, tires, stereo system. I now have 156,000 miles and the engine runs OK. I plan to replace the injectors and glow plugs because she burps a little on the highway. It is noticeable at night in the rear view mirror, but seems to usually occur after my wife has been putt putting the car in the city. These cars were meant to be driven on the Autobahn and are geared accordingly. I have found that by putting the car in third gear and running it for a few miles on the highway it clears out most of the cobwebs. Someone wants to buy my car, but after reading some of the articles here I think I better hold onto it. My fuel economy is about 25mpg, but I think replacing the injectors will help this to improve. I have read that in Europe injectors are replaced/rebuilt after about 60K miles. In speaking with the local dealers they say they replace them when they go bad. Sounds kinda fuelish (pun intended) to me considering that when the injectors go bad they usually ruin a few other parts in the process. Well that's my two cents worth for the common good. Happy Motoring.
HI,
I appreciate your comments on the 1986 300SDL. I currently own my 5th Mercedes, the 1980 300SD Turbo Diesel with over 400,000 miles on it. It is time to upgrade so I have been looking at a 1986 300SDL, but know little about the SDL. I have read that the cylinders crack and need replacement as one article pointed out for $2500. Please help me out so I know what I am getting into with the SDL.
Thanks,
Ron Ataide, Fresno, California.
The cylinder heads in the 300SDL's are prone to crack, but only if the car was overheated at some point. That is their only weakness. They are every bit as tough as an '80 300SD, and the best part is you don't have to adjust the valves every 20K miles.
They are much quieter at speed than the five cylinder and the engine is just as tough. With ludicrous amounts of rear seat legroom, you'll never be short of space.
Great review.
Great to see others with a Mercedes 300 SDL that like them. I have just bought a 87 300 SDL and it came with ever record from the day the lady drove it home. I have very little to do on the care, some cosmetics and fog light lenses. I have 180K on this and it has had the head replaced not due to cracking, but someone broke a bolt off a few years ago and they destroyed it trying to fix that, in talking to my mechanic he said that he has yet to have to replace a 300 SDL head due to cracking. I am also going to replace the injectors and glow plugs as they are the original ones and with 180K I think it could not hurt. The biggest thing I was told about these cars is PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE!!! Change the oil, change filters and flush the trans every other year and you will get a lifetime out of it. After the initial cost of $5000 for the car I feel I can spend $1000 a year to keep it going and still come out on top.
I've got a '86 300SDL I bought 7 years ago (1987) with 119,000 miles. It now has 230,000 and still runs like new. I have not had a major repair bill the entire time although I've spent over $1,000 getting the automatic windows repaired. I always get the oil and fuel filters changed every 5,000 miles. I've never had a problem with the injectors (yet) and they are still original. I plan on keeping this car until 2013...at which time I'll post again and let you know how well it's running!!! By the way, this car is as fast off the line as most cars and gets better gas mileage than my ex wife's Toyota!!!
My friend purchased his '86 300SDL about 2 years ago and when I saw it and heard all about diesel, I was sold. The problem for me at the time was finding one available for sale in good condition here in Hawaii. Well just a little over a week ago, I struck gold. I purchased an '87 300SDL with 170,000 miles. A single family has owned the vehicle since original purchased and has passed it down from mother to son. This gentleman was going to give it to his son in college, but the offer was turned down so he put it up for sale. The day the ad came out in the paper, I saw it, called him up and bought the car on the spot after all the formalities. This car is in excellent mechanical condition and has been regularly maintained at the local MB dealer with records in hand. The only caveat was that the sunroof doesn't work. No big deal for me. I've owned other vehicles with sunroofs and I never used it then and don't plan on starting now. The interior is immaculate considering that this car was the spare and was driven only when the relatives came to visit and they needed to drive them around in a larger sedan. Dude! I mean DUDE! And at only $3,200.00, I knew that it was one of those deals that would never happen to me again any time soon. So at the age of 35, I now have my 300SDL, and I plan on having this car for the rest of my life.
Is this 300sdl running a manual? I have yet to see this before and if it is I will be more enthusiastic in owning one of these beautiful pieces of German engineering... Please contact me at krawsczyn@starband.net.
Hi. My family has 2 of the 87 300 SDLs. My grandfather bought them both back in 1987. He died two years later. One of them had been driven by my grandmother on road trips between Alabama and Georgia and the other was literally was driven only occasionally over the last 17 years. The first one has 55K miles and the second one has about 140K miles. I now drive the one with higher miles and absolutely love the car. My mom is driving the other one. These cars perform better than the 300 SD with the 5-cyl engine and are slightly quieter. My mother drove one of those for years also.
I will say that the turbo charger on the one with higher miles does not feel as powerful as the other one, but the acceleration is still very acceptable for a diesel.
These are great cars if you can find one. Much better than the 350SDL I am told.
I agree with all of the comments mentioned above. I have a 86 300 SDL that was originally from upstate NY and was in good condition except for some rust spots here and there. The tranny and engine is pretty solid and has 300,500 miles on it. I do oil changes every 4-5 months since I only drive about 5-6k a year. I have another car I use for work so I don't end up abusing my baby. :) I will keep this car for many years to come and will NEVER SELL IT! LONG LIVE MERCEDES 300 SDL! A CLASSIC CAR!
I had my 1986 300 SDL for 14 years. The turbo had to be replaced twice. It was annoyingly slow, going from 0 to 60 by Tuesday! But it was great on fuel and undeniably luxorious. I ultimately tired of its languourous pace and acquired a new 1999 v-8 gasoline E-430 which I still have. Now, this is a rocketship!
Dear Diesel lovers.
I first bought my 300SDL 11 years ago. The car was 10 years young when I bought.
The condition was so perfect for me especially with 114K miles & the car still running
So smooth and powerful, especially after I use to driving 190D with no turbo in Chicago.
In 1999 I was so young at heart and tried to drive the car like it was a new car. Not
Long after that I had a bad transmission because it refuses to change the gear. (I was
At 40 sharp back then),.So we had to replace them with a rebuilt one and the core was
Traded in. So the Secret for this lovable car is to drive appropriately and enjoyably I believe
The car will last for ever. My wife and I and my two kids use the car (loaded with all the tents equipments, personal effects and foods) at one time gone around the country
Over more than 40 states from Chicago IL, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston TX, Columbus Ohio, New York states, Maine and return to Chicago in thirty days. It was so
Unbelievable. Now my daughter has graduated from college and my son just entering
College on that lovable 300sdl with smooth ride and he loves the car more than anything, the only weakness is that he does not clean the car like I do. By the way the car now has almost 214,000 miles today and still going strong.
The only worry I am concerned, is that the local MB garage told me that he sees some rusts in the under carriage of my SDL, but I still believe that he will still deliver my son until he graduates. My advice don't bring the car to a dealer for trade-in, they will definitely insult you. just drive it till he fades away.
I just purchased a 1986 300 SDL. I did some research looking to run bio-diesel in the car and kept coming back to this model. I wanted something safe, large enough for my family of four and, heck, a classic, why not? The Mercedes engines can run for 400,000 miles if your good to them. The car has only 124,000 miles and had been garaged. No rust, engine is spotless, interior is still very nice. This model has the turbo and is a highway dream car to drive. As any 20+ year old car I have some electrical issues with windows and this and that, but I am thrilled still. I am
looking forward to driving it for many years.
I bought a 240d. I loved the car so the next was a 300d Turbo. Loved that car. My wife bought a 87 300 SDL with 190,000 miles. It now has 243,000. So I bought my own 300sdl. Had 102,000 and I paid $6500 for it 5 years ago. It has 180,000 on it. My friend has an 87 and it has over 500,000 on it, looks and runs like new. I love these cars, but you do need a good independent tech to take care of them properly, and I have him. Long live the Benz!
Hello, I purchased a 1987 300-SDL 5yrs ago.
I never drove the car hot, but on a road trip I had trouble, the car started to heat up so I shut it down right away.
I took the car to my M.B. Mechanic and had the motor rebuilt and head replaced, It had 5 visible cracks. This cost me $4400.00. I love the car that much. I now have 296,000 miles and the car runs perfect, replaced A.C. compressor and dryer tank R-12 recharge 3yrs ago, Still Ice cold. I will drive this car for the rest of my life. My friends love the room in it and we always take it on our cross-country road trips. I average 27.95mpg overall city-hwy. Happy motoring hope to see you in your 300-SDL.