These cars were made with honesty. Talk about quality and longevity. They deserve respect and care. Preserve them, and don't crush them. I'm a proud owner of 4. Love them.
@@Michael-fi6ve I'm trying to figure that one out myself...It didn't cost me anywhere near that when I did it myself. Must have been one expensive mechanic! It's just vacuum lines and solenoids, and a electric pump in the trunk. Minus the pump, the parts aren't expensive. Plus remember, it is nearly 40 years old so that's to be expected. In contrast my 2014 E250 bluetec most likely won't be doing that well in 40 years...
Bravo. Ti znaš što vrijedi. Karl Gustav Benz proizveo je auto za sva vrimena. W123 jest takvo vozilo kojega ne može nadmašiti ni najnovije izašlo iz tvornice u Stuttgartu.
"a sense of quality you don't get with the new cars" NAILED IT!!! Old Mercedes are just have this quality feel, understated elegance and classic appeal I have yet to see a manufacturer be able to come even close to replicating with modern materials. It's sad those days are long gone.
Granted it's very well put together and lasts better than new luxury cars. The benz was and is a luxury car brand. You can pick up one of these beasts 40 years old for 2-5k in great shape- Out of the factory they were like 35,000 US. In today's money that would be a 100,000 dollar car.
I had a 1980 300D back in the late 90's and I miss it very much. Hold onto this one as long as you can. As you pointed out, it's all about leaks - vacuum, oil, etc. - you learn to fix the ones you can and accept the ones you can't.
I concur, I bought a 1983 300SD for $3,500, had it for six years, daily driven. Drove it from California to Metro DC area too. Took my oldest daughter home from the hospital in it. Easy to fix. Chased the door lock vacuum solenoids around some like Tommy said. Other than that, ball joints wheel bearings and that was it other than routine maintenance. 305,000 miles and sent it off to a new owner. Everything else was worn door panels and handles etc. People would see it in the driveway and ask to buy it from time to time.
Keep this vehicle! I've had a LOT of cool cars and my ' 85 wagon was one of the best. Mine was a 20-year-old daily driver and it absolutely plowed through the snow in Maine with 4 winter tires on it. I still regret selling it!
My mom had an 82 300D wagon 4 speed manual that we brought over from Germany. It had the German style tow hitch and a third seat in the rear. Your car brings back many good memories.
Good choice, from all the cars I had, I miss my 200D the most. OK, with just 60HP it was awfully slow and could not compete with the 75HP of a 240D from a friend of mine, which we called the "Renndiesel" - racing diesel.
Love your videos! I’m in Arvada & also have an ‘82 300D. Champagne Metallic with 200K miles. Excellent condition. I’m sure it will still be around long after I’m gone LOL
Turn the mat over, put some lines of silicone caulking on the back of the mat let it dry before putting it back in the trunk. I did this for my from hallway rug, it doesn't move.
Tommy you can use the seat base from the later series W124s and swap the leather over onto it. They used many more springs which gave a lot more support.
9 years ago I bought a 1985 Mercedes 300SD which is an upper scale but mechanically is identical to the one in this video. The transmission was just rebuilt by a certified Mercedes mechanic and the car ran great. Fast forward couple of month later, I was about to leave for a job from L.A. to Atlanta when all of a sudden, the transmission wouldn't shift upward from 2nd gear. Quick trip to the local Mercedes mechanic and $1,200 later, another transmission rebuilt was perfumed. I finally left to Atlanta and right before reaching El Paso, TX, the alternator broke... Staying overnight waiting for the part and couple hundreds dollars later, off we went. Driving this car around Atlanta, one day I felt that I just drove over something, but wasn't sure what it was, when I arrived to my destination, I realized that what I drove over, was my front signal lens that fell off. Well, you think that was it, but no, the advantage continued when not long after, while driving on the freeway, the gas pedal broke... That was the last straw... I sold it days later... No, I cannot say I had fun... :)
Many parts can be hard to source, but your Bosch alternator should be easy to source. Often it can be fixed by just swapping out the brush-regulator module, which can be easily done with alternator in the car, and a spare costs $10. Keep one on the shelf.
I have white w123 240D 6 years no problem. I drive every day to work and I drive on my holidays. Last year I cross all europ and guess what? Nothing👍👌😘A++
Cargo nets behind the front seats are amazingly tight. Proud owner of a 1984 300SD with the OM 617 engine here. 254,000 miles. Previous owner adjusted shift points perfectly to maximize power. In all seriousness, if you decide to sell this 123, let me know!
I replaced my seats with an earlier Toyota Land Cruiser. The non leather types. Also replaced the side mirrors with the ones from the Toyota. Loved it.
Great video! I daily a W124 here in COS, but the W123 is a favorite of mine. These things are just built like nothing else. Actually the ride quality and dampening is better than newer cars I’ve had.
I owned 4 W115''s and three W123's, much better built than the W124 indeed. Some were born too late to have known. The OM617 3l 5cyl is literally the 4cyl 240D OM616 with a 5th cylinder added. My OM616 easily did 768,000km with much life left, compression was still tops and she started easily in snowy weather.
I've now owned an '83 240D with a stick shift for a little over 2 years now. over380K miles on it now, re-built at 197K in fall 1991. Engine starts right up every time and most of the time consumes no oil. More than likely still has lots of life left in it. I NEVER STOP having to decide between that 240 w/ its stick or the 300D Turbodiesel. Interstate driving in ALL the Rocky Mountain States with higher elevations and speed limits up to 75 & 80 mph, the 300D Tubo is the only way to go. My 240D stays in Washington, Oregon, and California where I drive it 70 in the 70 zones and just going fast enough to be passing most of the semis, campers, and vehicles with trailers just like I do in my '69 1/2-ton Chevy pick-up and would be in a 100% factory stock '64-6 Chevy C10 pickup if I were to own one of them.
Love this! Hope you hang onto it for a long time. Yes I’d love to have a 300TD wagon but they are outrageous as you mentioned. I’d also be game for a 300CD coupe. Had a teacher that had a silver one in the mid 80s that I thought was cool. But they’re not cheap either.
Try carpet grip tape or the rubber mesh dish shelf/cabinet shelf liner to prevent the carpet in the truck from sliding around. You could try adhering it to the back side of the carpet or top of the spare tire cover.
Velcro is the go for the boot mat. Just one small strip on non-aggressive Velcro so you can lift it up easily. As an aside, Velcro is a brand, the correct description is Hook & Loop.
I bought a beater W210 from my dad for a spare car and I kinda fell in love with it. I drive it daily over my Golf R. I just bought a S124 (W124 wagon) to mess around with. I can't seem to justify doing anything with the 210 since the paint is wrecked on it.
You car is in nice shape. Mine is a little more beaten up. I'm surprised you mentioned the seats not comfortable. Although the drivers leans to the left and I need a cusion to raise myself, I can drive this car for 14 hours and not even feel it. I recently rented a brand new van and after 3 hours my back was killing me. I love my old Merc.
My 82’ 300SD with 103,000 miles runs perfect and enjoin it. Probably early next year if we decide to move to Spain I will sell it, will keep you posted, I want to sell it to somebody willing to give TLC.
when i was 21 in 1996 my grandparents bought me a 1976 240d for my college graduation present, i loved that car and kept it for several years, unfortunately the demands of a new family required me to have to let it go....I still wonder what happened to that old car....
A 240D? Probably still on the road, if it hasn't been wrecked. I saw an example of a rusted out (but running!) 1980 year 240D with 907,000 miles on it.
I recall these MB as Taxi's in Germany when i was stationed there in the late 80's and early 90's. When we'd get close to the bar and the driver came to a complete stop we'd bolt out the doors and run in opposite directions to save paying the Taxi fare!!!!!
I have to disagree with you about the comfort level of the seats. I've driven W123 wagons for about 130,000 miles now, and they are second only in seat comfort to my Volvo V70 of any car I've driven. I was able to drive for 7hrs with only a single stop, and no back/butt pain. This may partly be because I'm tall (6'4"), and the seat shape caters more to that body type, however.
There are antislip mats like on the dashboard but bigger size in car parts and accessiroes stores. I use it my self, like 0,8mx0,8m size, in my trunk, under the trunk mat.
I don't think these cars had anything particularly holding the boot carpet down from new. Originally the carpet was very stiff so it didn't move around much, but with use and wear it gets a lot more floppy, like carpet should be. An easy and simple fix to the issue of it moving around is some strips of self-adhesive velcro in carefully selected places. I used that trick on the driver's floor mat on my old Ford Focus and it worked perfectly for 8 years which was a good thing as before the velcro the mat tended to work its' way up behind the brake pedal which would restrict movement... As regards the transmission not being the smoothest shifting, well, when they were still current this era of transmission in Mercs earned itself the nickname of clunk-o-matic in Europe as they did shift pretty firmly compared to other automatics, particularly those used in their competitors. As long as it's not doing anything nasty like constantly flaring on shifts then you're pretty much OK and a transmission service, maybe a bit of adjustment of the bands and a new filter and new fluid should keep it operating nicely for a long time. While they may not be the smoothest, these boxes will generally outlast competitors' items by two or three times without major work so that comparative harshness does pay you back in other ways. It does have to be said, these transmissions do seem to be rather fussy about what fluid you use in them. When I serviced the transmission in my old 190E I used a transmission fluid to the correct spec but from an oil company and it shifted like absolute junk afterwards. So I changed the filter again and filled it with Mercedes-Benz's own transmission fluid, fortunately obtained from an external source rather than a dealer as that would have made Rockefeller cry with the Merc tax and the fact that you could only get it in 1 litre bottles over the counter, and it shifted like butter afterwards. Using that fluid in the power steering also cured an annoying and persistent weep of power steering fluid the car had suffered since I'd bought it, so it could be something to do with the additives they put in their own fluid that makes the difference...
Parents had the same car in the 80s……I think it was one of the built cars ever. Acceleration? Meh…..cornering…Yes! The car door thud?……never heard such a solid thud since that car. Not suprised to see so many still on the road
The prices are down now . Because parts are hard find and repair costs of who knows how work on them. There is one on Denver Craigslist now may 2022, a 1978 300d 285k miles for $3k from a dealer not private sale.
Tommi did you put collector plates on it? If not where do you get emissions done? My Grandfather owns Front Range Diesel in Longmont if you ever need em!
I don't know why this bothers me but we don't salt roads in CO. We don't use rock salt or salt brine. Move somewhere that does and you'll see the difference
I have a nephew whose wife is a huge Merc fangirl. She's on her third. Doesn't do the work himself and pays over $250 just for an oil change. They fall apart and lose value faster than any other car. You did it right when Merc's motto of the best or nothing all meant something.
$1500 in repairs over a couple thousand miles is not what I would call very good. Was seriously looking at a 77 300d but sounds like it could easily become a money pit.
One comment said blew them out to the board that would work or you could get some Velcro and put in between that way sticks and then you can still take it off if you want for some reason or I can do it I didn’t I just got some nonstick shelf liner stuck on there than stuck the Carpenter and it doesn’t slide me more
That taxi driver was right on the seats . Not comfortable but very durable. If my memory serves me right Mercedes made these model as a fleet taxi cars in all of Europe.I remember when I was a kid back in the early eighties and In the Azores Portugal 🇵🇹 all the public transit buses and taxis where all Mercedes. Taxis where all diesels and manual transmissions maybe have a dozen automatic.And they where all 300L models.Definitely the clidesdale of cars.
Ummm. That cracked hose you pointed out at the start has nothing at all to do with the exhaust. There’s no “diesel exhaust” leaking from it. It is just a crank case breather.
Tommy: it's bulletproof Also tommy: this hose is broken and it's been months waiting for it And tommy: I spent $1500 on a vacuum leak. It's still not perfect, but it's good enough.
Still exceptional compared to the junk built these days. And the engine is bullet proof in that the internals commonly last over million miles before an overhaul. Try that with a Powerstroke.
However, it seems that most of these cars that remain in Sweden run on petrol. not diesel. maybe it's due to some regulation maybe it's due to too many particles when the car is tested at the car inspection. in Sweden, a car must be inspected once a year. the exception is really old cars. and one thing that is measured is what comes out through the exhaust pipe
