[Review] 1979 Mercedes 240D (W123) 

my wife's family had one brand new, when she was born, they took her mother in the w123 to the delivery(?). In the mid 90's it ended up in a garage. Around 2016-2017 i rewelded the floor and some other rust, (lot's of salt here in sweden) renovated the engine, carb, vacuum lines and break system and fixed some other minor stuff, it's now almost in factory condition. Three years ago i drove my wife to the hospital in the same car that she was born in when she was about to give birth to our daughter. It's wonderful to have a car that's been running for five generations in the same family. Yesterday we decided to buy another one to use as a daily, so next week i'll be looking at another one. It's truly the best car i've ever driven (and worked on). It puts a big smile on my face and all stress just dissapears as soon as my butt reaches the seat.

When you hop into a W123 it transports you to a stress free world of not having to keep up with the rest of the world . They do not accelerate, they progress forward . I can imagine in years past that after a stressful day at work, to hop into a diesel W123 you would feel it all fade away at the joy of driving home.

"Not a highway cruiser..." Say, What? I have been driving 240d Mercedes for over 25 years from coast to coast. This is the most awesome highway cruiser invented. All you need is Michelin tires and basic maintenance -- oil and filter changes which you can do yourself (gorgeous german made tools are also included with the cars). Parts are cheap and it will never leave you stranded like a new car. Think again my friend. If you are stating that these are not highway cruisers, you do not understand anything about these 240ds. And running them on the highway is good for the engine performance. You would never want to drive this in stop and go traffic (only) which would kill any car. Furthermore, if you think this four door sedan is small we used to pack and entire 35MM FILM camera package in the trunk, and can fit a 5 man crew in the cab. Cheers.

When I hear somone mention small car, I think of something like vw up , toyota yaris, fiat 500, Morris mini or similar.. not a w123 ;D , I guess it is small by american standards. Nice review.

Thanks for such a great video. I'm 46 years old, and I've been driving 80s Mercedes for 27 years. I've always favored the 300SD W126, but I've owned three 240Ds as well. One of the best cars I've ever owned in my life was a 1983 240D manual. My ex-wife totaled the car in bad weather years ago, but the car did its job; the car gave its life to save hers. I'm grateful for that. I have a 1980 240D manual and a 1981 240D automatic. As well as a couple of 300SDs. There will never be another car built, ever, like the 1980s Mercedes diesels. As you alluded to, the simplicity in design is one of the reasons that these 40+-year old cars are still going. Thanks again for the video. Really enjoyed it.

When I found a 79 240D for 2k, I thought about it overnight and bought it in the morning. I've owned quite a few cars over my lifetime. My 250D ranks up there with the best of them. It's odd that the RU-vidr of this video has such a different experience with his 240D than I had. I had just the opposite experience in city driving and highway driving. In the city my car was okay. Excellent as an easy and comfortable drive. On the highway, once it got up to highway speeds. It just seemed to beg for more. It even felt at times the gas peddle would go down a bit on It's own. I loved this car and to this day I hate that I sold it. Later as I was in the process of purchasing a C230 Sport car. I asked the salesman if I would get the same experience driving the C230 as I had with my 240D. The salesman leaned back in his seat and said, "absolutely no"! He said that I'd never find a car that size with such a great ride ever again.

These are used as taxis in Morocco. I felt the interior was spacious and comfortable.

Wonderful follow up to your previous videos! I've enjoyed them very much; your review of your W116 last year was what sealed the deal on me wanting to obtain one (fingers crossed) in the near future for a rolling restoration of my own. Keep the videos coming...they are much appreciated!

I tried to analyse over and over why I love so much the W123. I love fast cars, I hate Diesel, the 240d that I inherited from my grand father was a car I hated when I was a kid. But today, almost 35 years later I am obsessed by my W123. Despite the obvious, the build quality, I would say that the general balance of the car is almost perfect. The driving position, the choice of materials, the way everything is falling into place, the ride quality despite the noise, and the harmony of the body lines no matter from what angle you are looking at it. The W123 is a really special car, that works as an extension of yourself, to communicate with the road. Today's car don't communicate anymore. Adopt a W123

Very accurate and great review. I'm the new owner of a 1981 240d and I love this car so much!

I loved the review! Keep the videos coming 🙌

Nice, simple review. I've been in love with these for nearly two decades, ever since I was 10. Something about that body style that just looks so good. Not only W123s, but similar era Volvos and E30 BMWs. I missed my chance on a great condition E30 M3 for 7 grand about a decade ago, and have been tooling around in older American cars. I finally pulled the trigger on a car very similar to yours. Same year and model but mine doesn't have a sunroof and is taxi beige. I've owned plenty of cars from that era, and it's by far the most comfortable, smoothest ride I've had. It may be slow, but I've got other vehicles to hot rod around in. Great to see them out on the road being used. Not too many arouund here in Hawaii, and most of the ones you do see are running on SVO and/or being used as beach cruisers. Nothing wrong with that, it's just that they're treated like beaters and generally in pretty poor cosmetic condition.

same exact spec as mine with the color, interior, and options. pretty amazing to see an exact replica hahaha. Great video!!

Your video was amazing. I got a 240d because of this video. Great work

Closing with the ticking clock was a really great touch.

The video's damn good..so clean!

Really well done video...and your voice is smooth as silk. Bravo.

Great video,i have a 81 240d,1 owner from Beverly Hills,drive it up in the Puget sound area,best an favorite car i ever had

That was just a totally enjoyable video. Thanks :)

Great presentation and a nice solid example of the W123, well done. I think its a clock vs a tachometer so you can time it getting to 60!!

God I appreciate this so much considering I thought the only detailed video would be a regular car reviews

I have two, a 300d, 300td and, possibly getting a 3rd (240d) I can say it’s the best car I’ve ever driven. Solid, reliable, good mpg, and gets lots of attention.

Nice review. I've owned several W123's over the years and they are great cars, currently have a 1982 300D. It's like an old friend. They are reliable, inexpensive to maintain, and fun to take on long road trips. They are timeless, refreshing to see on the road these days, and I highly recommend buying one, if you can find a well cared for example. They do seem to be going up in value now.

Nice ride !

Loved the review easy and classy .like from india

Точно такой же белый123/200D был у меня с 1997г.до 2002г.И сейчас бы не отказался от владения таким автомобилем!❤

They are FOREVER CARS for sure !

This Car ist very nice ! Thank you, for the beautiful Movie ! I have three W 123, I love this cars ! Best regards from Hamburg, Germany

This chanel is going big

Probably The best car ever made!!

700 👌 Wanna too like this one, best setup and nice in/out colors

Solid Machine that runs like clockwork.

Beautiful

Brilliant!!!

This was really well done! You can replace the clock with a gauge that is half clock half rpm gauge if you want. I believe it was an option.

Simply the best,all time favourite, my Mercedes Benz 😎 😍

Love W123 my dream car

Nice car thanks for sharing

The steering wheel was designed to be the same width as the average drivers shoulders . In case of a head on accident , the rim did not crush your chest. Better to have broken collar bones than a rib in your heart.

Small in the US but here in Northern Europe they weren't really small at all. The W123 is the biggest car I have ever owned. My dad used to have a 1980 Plymouth Volare station wagon which is considerably bigger than this, and we found it to be a quite big car. But if I have understood correctly the Volare and Aspen is also considered to be relatively small in the US.

I have my own unit of W123 230E built 1985 and still driving around till today. It is so sturdy and reliable and no major maintenance except for routine engine oil change, tire wear and small parts replacement like undercarriage bush and once a while the absorders. It is so simple unlike the modern Mercedes whereby it rely very much on electronic chips to function

Awesome video!

Good video

Eyyyy! Albuquerque!

Hey we are Homies. Albuquerque too. Cool video. I just put some money down on a 300 Turbo Diesel. Dream car.

Dude your the man!

My 1st car was a '79 240D. I had to double clutch into 2nd lol

great!

If you ever make it to Dallas TX reach out and I’ll take you for a beer in mine! I have one just like yours!

I've seen those small dots on the speedo since forever,and it was the first time i saw someone explain what they are... Thank you very much... You failed one dot at 90mph...maybe the top speed of 4th gear...

Really Excellent vid thank you . Nigel Nash in great britain

They do last for ever the diesels but as a daily the 230 is the most practical choice keeps up with modern traffic"mostly" and is frugal and pretty. I should know I have 3 a 200 petrol a 230 auto and a 300d. All great fun. enjoy yours.

Best car I ever owned

Great video ,me and my friends are buying this car as a group it has 200k miles and has a small tick when you start it ...anyone have any tips or suggestions on buying this car or anything I should know

Bought one for 400 dollars from the junk yard and its my everyday work car i love it.

Does anyone know why they put text at every button saying what it is on the US versions of the W123? The European version does not have any text.

La princesse du Maroc 🇲🇦

Wunderbarr

yep. i want one.

could you compare your w123 and w116? love both and would have a hard time choosing between them

Super clean for a '79. Did you replace driver seat springs? We love our '85 300TD wagon. These W123s are quite popular in the Tijuana expat community across the border from San Diego. Sourcing a decent A/C compressor replacement has been difficult for the last ten years. Great video shot in the down to earth style of the guys at www.mercedesmotoring.com. Thanks for spreading the W123 gospel!

I have an '81 . So easy to work on.

Get a new windshield. For many reasons. But salvage the original and use it to display your favorite stickers in the garage or something creative like that. Put scenery behind it like you're looking into the car.

That car is exactly like mine (U.S. Spec, 1979 240D, 4 speed manual, White with Bamboo interior). Mine has the rare factory rear seat headrests. My only piece of advice is to check the suspension bushings and rubber bits. After 40 years, they were gone on my car (as expected though).

Seems the radio little bit too vintage for a w123 but compared to such an early wheel it's ok. Thank you for the video

Just like you … stylish classy & reliable…:)

i love my 87 300d

Nice low key review. And a really nice example. But get that ac fixed!

hello nice car ! i noticed your fuel door is missing the rubber stopper that keeps the door flush with the body, can you please fix it, thank you.

Has your fuel economy improved from the 14 mpg you mentioned in your first video?

Does ac works.?

The engine may be simple in many ways, yes. But unfortunately it's very difficult and tricky to re-build just right so that it could actually last another 200,000+ miles without any major problems like piston rings wearing out prematurely or something like that causing the whole engine to need replacing again even though the bearings themselves may still have minimal wear on them. I found that out the hard way when I owned a '77 300D Diesel bac kin the early 90s. My mechanic told me it was because MB quit making the correct diesel rings for those motors, so you can't have 1 of those re-built and EVER expect it to take the miles and it sucks. So I ended up turning my back on Mercedes Benz, because of that major phase out of the W123s' motors that I was informed, and went Jaguar a few years later, by Fall of 2000. Now I have a 2004 Jaguar XJ8 in my car collection and enjoy it as much as I can. But these videos DO inspire me to want another W123 (just to collect), 240D w/stick or 300D Turbodiesel (more gutsy), but not another 300D Diesel or 240D w/automatic. And if it has a re-built motor then I don't want to get it because of what all I just talked about here.

👍👍👍❤️-123.240д

💯👌

This cars are build to cruise , they go forever

👍

Absolutely love this car except the interior colour. Has anyone ever change the colour? Obviously you can re-carpet & reupholster seats but what about the rest of the interior??

Are parts easy to find?

How much did you pay for it?

One question, what is the maximum speed and how much does it consume

The infamous W123 ??

Is it rust free?

Series glow plugs are evil I swear 😂

The engine will tell you when it is time to shift. :D

Underpowered with a 53Kw 137Nm naturally aspirated diesel. But they could easily do 1m km + if serviced properly

nice gibson shirt haha

I was really considering buying one of these cars but honestly the transmission turned me away. I love driving stick but it was so clanky and honestly terrible. I'm not sure if it was just the one I drove needed new bushings or something but it honestly turned me away from any manual W123s.

is this car prone to being stolen?

I had a 1980 Mercedes 300sd that was a very slow and pokey car until you tried to put it on the interstate for some reason when you put her on the interstate you better watch your speedometer cuz for you'd be doing 120

Your car is two years older and 200000 miles younger than mine. Wish mine was in as good a condition as yours. One thing I found amusing is your comment about the non existant tach. I have no idea why Americans are so fixated on tachometers. It's the single most useless instrument on a car. How do you think the vast majority of cars all over the world which were mostly manual transmissions right up into the 70's and 80's and never had tach's were driven? If people can't shift manually by feel they shouldnt be driving. Not ragging on you specifically you understand. I love your attitude to these classic Mercedes. I'm on my fifth. It's just a weired thing I've noticed in the States where people seem to think you can't drive a maual without a tach. I'd far rather have the clock myself. A lot more useful.

Built to endure. NOT like today’s disposable vehicles with intentionally built-in obsolescence marketed to us as environmentally friendly. The large steering wheel like that on my W201 is deliberate to ensure steering control should the power steering fail. 👍🏻🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇺🇸 It’s major flaw is hidden rust.

Too bad Mercedes can’t keep it simple nowadays. The short life of the Airmatic suspension is one of the reasons I don’t like MB anymore.

“Just how small this car is” It is only a few inches shorter in length than a Ford Crown Victoria, also has the same roofline, and that is a full-size sedan… soooo

Small? Compared to Ford Taurus, the K-cars and other mid-size American and large European cars, its size is nothing to sneeze at.

damn this car is SLOW haha

It's almost like you're sorry you bought it, not much enthusiasm in the voice it seem ,😁

European model no electric windows ore open roof that model is

lmao

I saved all this money and can’t find a manual 240d not one it’s horrible

10 litre per 100 km is too much. My RV drinks less than that !!!