This Old Benz with Kent Bergsma: The Diesel Runs! What's it Worth Now Part 2

[@bobjohnson205]

It's good to see Kent giving this Benz a thorough inspection BEFORE taking it out on a public road! So many of these 'KZbinrs' just jump in and go. That puts themselves and everyone else out there at great risk. Keep up the great work, Kent! 😊

[@noseeum6385]

Interesting flashback for me watching Ken assess a cars value. I purchased from Ken about ten years ago a 1984(?) 240D four speed manual windows with two different front seats, a spare diff and 4 used tires he kindly put on it when I told him I intended to drive it back across country to the Savannah Ga area. He cautioned me that it might not be a good idea and he was right; it wasn’t a good idea, it was an awesome idea. Ken is a very interesting man with an equally interesting background. I have a picture of him in his youthful days as a missionary pilot he sent me. If you ever get the chance to chat with him it will be memorable. Great to see you again Ken.

[@keno77]

Previous $500-1500 with a working engine, now after seeing how good the engine and transmission is, I rise the price to $3000 those engines are very expensive when they are working as nice as this one,it started just by touching the key, amazing.

[@milfordcivic6755]

"This Old Benz" is a great new name for your show Kent. Hahaha

[@domasch3k]

"this old benz" mit kent bergsma ist definitiv ein format was ich immer schauen würde😊

[@marksamatuerfloridavideos]

Kent. I've owned and restored 3 Mercedes out of the 29 cars I've done as a lifetime hobby. Buy it for $1500-2500 and turn it into a driver. I know how expensive it can be, but you're the guy who can prevent it from being dismembered. Use your vast inventory of spare parts, do your best to identify, stop and fix the rust. put in spare interior parts, fix the dash, and have a friend take it down to metal, address the dents and paint it. How many miles are actually on it? Save this jewel in roach clothing. It's one of the finest cars ever made. Record the restoration. Please take this project on. I appreciate what you do. Mark retired in Florida.

[@taz300mix]

Just saw both vids on this 300SD. Looking at part one only... would have offered $750 MAX based on appearance alone. After seeing part two... that offer goes from $750 to $2000 and I would use it as a driver/ commuter and not even concern myself with the bodywork or the interior. With any older car there are the regular "wear and tear" things to be addressed. SOLID engine and SOLID transmission, good suspension and braking. This is one of those cases where "one person's trash is another person's treasure", the jewel at the bottom of the rock pile, etc. By the way that engine is most likely a factory crate engine from Germany. Keep it as a "commuter with character" ;-)

[@blindhog2756]

Most of us that love these old diesels, are too old to keep them up. I had a nice 300SD,that was lost to a crash.

[@VNAV_PTH]

I can see how those mechanical parts could find a new home. If I was in the business it is worth a lot more after viewing part 2. After part 1, I honestly thought someone needs to pay me for leaving with the car. I think you are the best suited person to determine how much it's worth, for you.

[@pd4655]

My previous offer was $1500 (with working air conditioning, mechanics, and assuming it had a well functioning transmission and vacuum system). I would up that amount because the ride was verified to be smooth, the rust is limited (and only cosmetic), and the drivers side window shows to be in working order. I would happily pay $2000 if I was in the need of a vehicle. To me, this vehicle would serve as a suburban city beater and I would make no cosmetic repairs at all; it shows a lot of character and I very much enjoyed this video.

[@MalcolmLambe]

Rust "only cosmetic"? LOL. It's major mate. Unroadworthy.

[@TireSlayer55]

Yeah that rust in the wheel wells is encroaching on structural areas.

[@bokosdieselgarage]

2-3k given how extremely well this one runs/drives and it appears to have a factory rebuild engine. I’d swap the whole drivetrain in to a nicer 300SD car and have a really good one.

[@notedx10]

i want it! I don't care if its not pretty on the outside but I do prefer a rehabbed interior. Fix any mechanical and I'll make you a fair offer

[@JRBRestorations]

WoW!!!! In the previous video I said if it runs and drives, $500. I now say the way the engine runs and transmission shifts, I would pay $1000 to $1500. This would make a fine beater car. Safe, excellent fuel mileage, cold A/C... The suspension does not look that bad. A trip to the wrecking yard for interior bits and pieces, and it would be a great daily driver/beater. Or an engine and transmission swap into another car! I cannot believe how dry that motor is. Could it be a Mercedes rebuilt engine? Fantastic video. I would buy it and make it comfortable to ride in and not worry about the aesthetics.

[@MalcolmLambe]

What a shame it's so rough. But that engine and trans is a bonus. Good buy at $1000.

[@Johnathan_Waters]

This car really runs great! Obviously the value increases with things that work, and work well. With the rust, i would say it'a worth no more than a couple grand!

[@chopperduel]

Put the drivetrain in a high mileage but cosmetically nice car. That body and interior are done.

[@openhighwayproductions]

Sadly, it is worth more in parts than as a whole car at this point.

[@johnadona3014]

it can be fixed, fabrication. Skills and know how

[@josephvaldora49]

I wouldn’t pay anything, because I’m not in the market. However, seeing this car start, run, steer, stop and have cool air makes it worth maybe $2200 as she sits. Anything that runs and drives is worth that.

[@robertharris7027]

I would like to see a start with the hot engine (-> hot oil). From my experience with these old Mercedes OM the cold start doesn't tell anything since the thick and cold oil helps at the compression. With hot and thin oil the picture might change.

[@jenslemanczyk3601]

This W126 S-Class is for Germany possible to make . The rust what i have seen is much but not so much and mechanical is normal work in this condition. Engine is very good and the rest is work . So I say 800-1200 dollars will be okay .

[@adelkheir]

I can tell that this engine is a factory rebuild; the valve cover gives it away.

[@kp1804]

Mechanically looks fine. It's worth to be restored!

[@lilripsta1995]

Sounds beautiful

[@keving8026]

B.C Canada, first thought was $500, without unknown engine. Now I would think up to $2500 as its a good runner and it has less rust then most Canadian cars, it would be considered "clean" up here.

[@anthonyantosiewicz6412]

The drive train looks to be in great shape, the rest of the car is another story. It might be worth throwing a few bucks into for a local driver if the suspension and the rest feels good to you. As far as a full restore goes.....that going to be a lot of work. Maybe a candidate for a rolling restore for someone.

[@brettmaddy9525]

Keep it!!! Just do a make it look good. Not complete restore and shes a great daily driver.

[@komoru]

It's worth whatever someone will ultimately pay for it for THEIR needs, after factoring in the cost to tow/drive the vehicle to their location. I.e. if one of YOUR customers has a nicer car with a blown an engine or a transmission and is looking for a known good donor engine/transmission, then you can offer $500 for the car to offset your labor cost for removing the transmission/engine and selling whatever else you can pull off it within reason on your website. And for you the towing cost would be zero since the car is already at your shop. Perfect scenario. So for your restoration shop, it's a no brainer to have a good donor car like this on hand, because you can upsell that engine to one of your customers for $1800, provided you check the compression, and then you also have a good transmission you can sell to one of your other customers in the future as well. But if someone is not a shop and wants to buy the car for transportation, then there's definitely a market for it. It'd be a great first car for someone's kid, or for someone on a lower income and simply wants to get into the world of these older Mercedes. I think someone looking to daily this car would be willing to pay $1500-1800 for it, even with the ugly as the bodywork and rust. It's not going to be a forever car and it's not going to be a car worth restoring but someone out there can certainly use it for a few years as basic point A-B transportation.

[@morganmcdonagh2663]

It's really not bad...I've seen newer cars with much much worse rust. If that car was anywhere in Europe it would be 10 times worse than this....and people would restore it.

[@lordstixofthetwigemp]

Mechanically the car is a good driver. The rust is relatively minor and might be a good way for someone to learn how to repair and do body work themselves. I would pay 1500 to 2000, maybe a little more. I would maybe fix some of the rust, but leave it ugly and just drive it.

[@kenthounds9508]

I'm no mechanic but I've been under / in some old British stuff over the years and we'd say that runs "as sweet as a nut". I'd put good money on that engine / box / rear diff all having seen work - those propshaft rubbers look too good to be original. But the inner arches / sills - its maybe too far gone with the fire damage. So its what the engine / box / drivetrain parts are worth really. Someone who's got a nice one with a poor engine - worth a lot to them right ? If it was mine and I could weld a bit....hell I'd grind out and patch up the arches as best I could, steam the underside off and give blast it over in rust proof, throw some seat covers on it and just use it as a hack. (Sorry, if Hack didn't make it stateside - its a term my dad uses- who was in the trade - for a car which doesn't look great, but runs great and you just run around in it and if stuff happens to it...who cares. You hack about in it.)

[@stanglincoln1659]

I would pay $2000 For it it would be cool to drive it on a weekend and fix it up a little bit

[@diecastlifeanddeath4528]

Based on the valv cover, this is a Mercedes Remanufactured OM617. Hence why it runs so well. I don't feel qualified to offer and pricing opinion.

[@georgejohnson1498]

The engine sounds top-draw, and I bet there are hundreds or even thousands of dollars of good parts in it, but the corrosion is a disaster. It would make a wonderful donor car for one with a good body and ruined engine. Best wishes from George in Herefordshire.

[@jmdean_]

Yeah that baby runs great!! Redeemed itself from the rough body. Is that valve cover one of those Factory Rebuilds you have mentioned??

[@Thankyou_3]

Mechanically looks better than the body. The body is pretty much a write off.

[@scotash7915]

Was at $500. Now, I’d go to $1,000-$1,200.

[@Gr3eGo]

Engine is good, transmission is good, car is worth at least 2000, even more I think.

[@beachfront2812]

A number of people imply that these diesels are $5k to 7k cars in good condition. I would like to know when these cars come up for sale at that price. Where I'm from these bring 10k - 15k in decent shape. There is meat on the bone with this car.

[@bokosdieselgarage]

Where are you? Just about anywhere in the US you can find a good clean one for 5-7k. I have several nice ones I’d sell for that price.

[@juhoreiss4691]

Its rare to find that good condition 123 here in finland. Always missing a floor or somethinf😂

[@zach359]

Original was 500. I’d go to 1,200 for that engine and transmission. Over all real decent for parts

[@johncunningham4820]

It's actually Remarkably Good for something THAT OLD . Freeing that Brake may have been as simple as A HARD push on the pedal . And the Driveline is As New .

[@rhiantaylor3446]

The value is in the engine and trans of course - I wonder what it could go in, short of another aged and probably rusty Merc ?

[@TireSlayer55]

Looks like a (mostly) good drivetrain in a body that's just been used up. Not worth restoring the entire body and interior along with replacing every possible wear item to put this car back on the road. Definitely a good parts car though, I see lots of useable individual parts there.

[@walterstrahota2956]

Based on parts one and two I would say $1000. It’s not worth fixing, it needs too much and it’s not a rare or valuable model. If you want a driver find one in better shape to start with. You are in a better position to know the demand for the parts that can be salvaged . If you need an engine or transmission remember lots of labor needed to swap them out.

[@cjmillsnun]

My thoughts. Mechanically it's not too bad. Body wise it's hopeless. For those saying they would use it as a "beater", I would not because of the corrosion. It's a parts car and should be priced accordingly

[@gianmariamalmesi4133]

I stil wouldn't offer more than $450 which is on the upper range of my previous evaluation ($225 to $450), it still need more than a 10K (paintjob excluded) in order to be in minimum running conditions.

[@CL500MBZ]

Good show. I would pay 950 and part this car.

[@RonaldLewis-e5s]

Hello Kent. Would you happen to know where I can purchase the Bowden cable for my 1995 SL 500. I can’t seem to find this part anywhere. Thanks in advance

[@glotube1028]

I would give 1500 and make it a good daily driver. Used cars are expensive look around for 1500 on market place, you don’t get much. Buff it up and sort it out, find some used parts and enjoy a great mechanical car.

[@Engineerd3d]

Realistically this is a great parts car. The body is rough and so is the interior. These two factors make this a non starter. Up in the north east it’s a 1000-1200$ car. I have seen these as low as 500$

[@virutalnewscenter]

800.00 to 1200.00, the lower the better. Then it becomes a parts car, or a loaner car for your good customers.

[@22fret]

How's Digby doing? Still around?

[@Mercedessource]

Nice that you should ask. Digby was a good friend. He is now basking in the sun. The new owner had it shipped to the Caribbean, and it is still cruising around Curacao - the only 300D on the Island

[@22fret]

@@Mercedessource Nice place to retire... 😄

[@richfarfugnuven6308]

Never spend 10k to restore a 6k car...

[@offgridmangogrower]

Like to know the source of the purge or fuel cell…..?

[@Mercedessource]

Here is the source. Click on the link: mercedessource.com/store/search?keys=diesel%20purge

[@big_george_nyc]

$1500 previous 500 great engine

[@richfarfugnuven6308]

Ideally, you would find a nice car with a bad engine and just steal the engine out of this and trash the rest...

[@darolfitch8917]

Previous $500. The car could be saved, but at what cost? I'm staying with $500. The engine and trans are worth that, but they have over 300k miles on them. So to me I thinks it's a parts car. Yea still have to disassemble it and that cost money too. It's too bad that the car is in so rough condition. The owner knows it's beat up, otherwise he would have given you a starting price.

[@MichaelLee-gb7hb]

Previous $500. Now $1,200 since car is running and shifting.

[@jw33]

Most of the car is junk, but it seems like the drivetrain would be a solid donor for something in better shape. I would not spend time/money repairing the chassis. Someone has let it go to far to be worth saving.

[@robertcasserly9967]

Love to watch your videos. Very informative 👍

[@12pagani]

This would be an amazing donor to a great car that has a bad engine. The body alone is a complete write off and that interior is pretty far gone as well. Now I go to pick n pull yards and could definitely redo that interior and make it really nice for about 700 bucks but the body of this car is gone. Salvage the mechanicals and spares worth saving and transplant into a deserving body/interior, being it’s a w116, w123, or w126

[@johnbower5732]

If it runs and drives and the ac works it's worth 2000 to 2500

[@edmctug8800]

I've seen worse . Good cheap local driver cars worth 1500 2000 usd all day long if engine running good

[@edmctug8800]

$2500 I'd take it on as there getting rare

[@hingebird]

Not a Mercedes expert. I’ll pay a fair price for an engine and transmission with 300k miles. And find a good donor car. Too costlyto repair the rust and do a full repaint. Looks like there’s rust on the shock towers and the undercarriage where it meets the suspension so it might be a safety issue as well.

[@paulyandle6081]

A Mercedes style "rat rod".

[@daanmollema6366]

Engine alone is worth like 600-1000$.

[@gerry-p9x]

A beater eith a heater....offer 800bucks. Fo minor off the shelf parts filters and flip for. 2k.....great commuter car ND USE FOR TRAIN STATION PARKED

[@WillShowmaker]

lol that’s every car in Illinois

[@jonkvh]

Still $1500. Why? If you offered more because of a good driving experience, you're just a charity. Driveline was very dry from leaks & staining, but someone still has to deal with the rest of the vehicle.

[@chalesnu]

I agree that $1k or $1200 is fair. This car is basically a good engine (much better than mine) and an apparently solid trans. However, to do anything with that engine and trans, you will need to detach, pull it, store it, then sell it. The rest of the car will have minimal parts that are ok to good. Selling off and disposing of those parts will be break even at best, though a shop like Kent's will probably have some efficiencies. The engine is not a rebuilt one. They go for above $7k. This one would sell for $3-$5k as-is. So you need to keep the price down on the vehicle to make this purchase make sense.

[@jamesluciani3284]

$2,000 due to engine and trans!

[@cardiffchris]

Looks like poop - 500 Runs great and A/C works - 2500

[@worldofrandometry6912]

700 and still 700.

[@riannevanrossum2912]

Fix it

[@1runyen]

I stand at my original offer of $500. The cost to bring it back to its former glory is not going to be cheap

[@captainmorgan7386]

I'm keeping my original bid of $688.00

[@torstej]

This is not worth restoring, I have seen examples on bringatrailer going for around 10K$ without these severe rust issues. Still, for 1000$, it would maybe be a nice parts car for a southern rust free car with broken engine.

[@arvidsamuelsson]

It has run over 300 000 miles. The body is just too rusted. We never got to see all four jack points. On all Mercs from the 80s the jack points do tell a lot about how rusty the rest of the car is. That engine looks ok and sounds ok, no leaks. The car could do as a parts car. To restore it is just too much work and money. In my opinion it's still a "walk away" car. 😒

[@prabirmehta1089]

Initially suggested $0 but think it's worth $500 if you restore it.

[@Cris_MUC]

...the price depends mainly on the market price of the area, what this car is good for: engine and some parts, in Germany it would not pass inspection, so not road worthy, but also here it strongly depends, if somebody needs a wonderful engine, then that's a minimum, plus maybe doors, wheels and some other parts, to fix the car aesthetically would be so expensive that it makes no sense, also it needs real-estate where you can put it until you crop all parts, then you need to get rid of the rest which can be very expensive in a city as Munich

[@mitch300sdl]

$800

[@QsTechService1]

$4,500 lots of good parts on there if anything

[@Stephen03S600]

306,000 miles and a rotten body. The engine seems amazing and the tranny shifts crisply. $700-800. Interior is medium at best.

[@OnTourWithPattiSmith]

Car is worth nothing, decide how much you’re paying for the drivetrain. 💯

[@mnbsay9548]

I’ll take $500.00 to haul it to the local pick-n-pull and then sell it to them for $200.00. &700.00 for a couple hours of work, not bad 😊

[@johnadona3014]

It has a cracked dash, thats a deal breaker for me