Greetings, this is my first post here, but I am not really new to diesels. However, I am new to MBs.

I am looking to buy a 1980 MB 300 SD (W116). It has 158K on the clock and looks to be in impecable shape. The car has been MB mechanic owned and maintained for the past few years of its life and the owner decided to get a VW TDI and has since retired the MB.

Is there anything I should really pay attention to when looking at these things?

What type of maintainence issues can I look forward to?

What are the routine maintainence schedules, items, and intervals?

Will an ACC (auto climate control) vacuum leak (possible) lead to other issues? I know that the vacuum system was tied to the auto tranny in later models, but how about the W116?

Thanks for the insight.

Feel free to advise me on anything you think I should know.

Thx,
Mikey

p.s. here a pic for interest...it's been sitting on the edge of the property for a few months:
http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid91/p8be1e33a31c3112189fd67411d360558/fa6ba0a1.jpg

Hi Mikeyworks, welcome to BenzForum. Items to look for which would impact the price, RUST anywhere, window seals (front & rear), bad horsehair pads in the seats (my bet is the rear seat pads are gone and perhaps the MB-Tex material may be damaged as a result), and the ACC servo. One other potential problem area would be the sunroof, but since this is a 1980 W116 it likely does not have a sunroof. Good luck. Keep us posted.

Items to look for which would impact the price, RUST anywhere, window seals (front & rear), bad horsehair pads in the seats (my bet is the rear seat pads are gone and perhaps the MB-Tex material may be damaged as a result), and the ACC servo. One other potential problem area would be the sunroof, but since this is a 1980 W116 it likely does not have a sunroof. Good luck. Keep us posted.

1. No apparent rust anywhere...that's a big thumbs up!!!

2. Window seals...the front window seal may be leaking. The current owner mentioned that water seems to be coming in somewhere...and has removed the floor carpet. It does have a small puddle of water in the rear floorboard (on a slope channeling it all that way)...but the puddle is not that bad and it's been a very wet year. Heck, my Ford Ranger leaks too, and I am used to that!!!

3. Horsehair pads in the seats...I will sit in them to see how they feel. The material/covering looks like it's in great shape. The drivers seat felt fine when I sat in it the other day.

4. What exactly about the ACC servo should I check for? How do I check this?

5. No sunroof, no problem with something that's not there.

Thanks for the advice...keep it coming!!!

Mikey