1985 Mercedes 300 D?

[Alice M]

My brother wants to give my 16 year old son this OLD ANCIENT car that my grandfather bought new in 1985. Runs good, but are there still manuals out there on how to take care of it ? Owners manual was stolen.

[Mike]

go to Keylessride.com and click on the owners manual link and put in your car make, model and year.
or
Try a dealer
or
try eBay.com

[lbhietala]

Oh yeah. That year and model is my personal favorite MB. If your kid doesn't want it, I'll take it. Stately, refined, subtle. It's everything so many kids' cars aren't.

The mid-80s MB diesel is one stout beast, and 1985 was the end of that chassis line. Any bugs that might have been in there were worked out by the time yours rolled off the line. It's got decent power but not enough to go tear-assing around and get killed, and is big enough to wrap your kid in a sturdy protective chassis and still get decent mileage from the diesel engine. You want to give your kid a car? You couldn't do much better, not without laying down an awful lot of dough.

Manuals can be had anywhere. Haynes does a better job than Chilton, and of course you can always get a new original from MB. They offer crazy great product support.

[oracle]

unless your son really wants it, sell it to someone who does. it will run forever, but only under an owner who really cares. there are forums online, however the car is specially engineered, and only someone w/ experience should tinker with it.