I've been considering buying an early '80s 300D with a manual trans for my wife, and I'm wondering what the cost of owning one would be. I know the valves need to be adjusted pretty often, but other than that, is there anything to look out for on these cars if they've been well maintained? Are parts like brakes, injectors, injector pumps, etc hideously expensive because they are mercedes?
Basically wanting a cool older car to make nice and have a reliable ride that gets decent mileage. Thoughts?

 

There are a couple other threads on this topic... my advice is to stay away from the early 80's models. Find a late 80's or early 90's model instead (201, 124, or 126 chassis). The early 80's models will get mid-20's MPG, late 80's will be upper 20's to low 30's. The early 80's (123 chassis) might have that retro look, but believe me, they are not particularly fun to drive, and have no modern safety features (no ABS, no airbags) and handle like a cargo ship.

Cost of ownership is similar either way. Injectors can be rebuilt, injection pumps rarely fail and usually just need to be re-sealed, brakes/suspension/etc are all available from aftermarket vendors like AutoHausAZ for decent prices. For dealer-only items there are places like parts.com which will sell genuine MB dealer parts below wholesale. The biggest problem is knowing which brands to avoid, there is a lot of Chinese garbage on the market which people buy because they are 1/10 the cost of the OE/OEM item. Avoid URO, APA, FEQ, Hamburg, Trucktec, and a few others like the plague. There is a comprehensive list on 500Eboard.com, search there for "vendor quality list". If the price is too good to be true, don't buy it. There are a pile of Uro horror stories on the PeachParts forum if you want some entertaining reading.

 

Great info. Especially about the aftermarket parts.Thank you.
I know the 123's are a tad underpowered to say the least, but that is of no real concern to us. They just look so much cooler than the later models. And the simplicity factor of the OM617 really appeals to me.