My jaw is on the floor reading some of these posts..."oh, I only ran across seven w123s today"..."I generally see 4 to 6 models from the '80s"...my nearest "large" city is Chattanooga TN. As near as I can tell there's less than a half dozen w123s anywhere within an hour's drive of here, in any state of repair. Ask a local parts yard about a "w123 Mercedes" and they'll have no freakin' clue what you're talking about. Specify that it's from the early 1980s and they'll instantly tell you they don't stock anything that old (even an early '90s domestic seems to be pushing your luck sometimes).

"Embarrassment of riches" really is the only phrase to describe some of the stories in here. Maybe I should take a day trip down to Atlanta. Or just move to SoCal, where, apparently, life is pretty darn sweet for a w123 owner. Count your blessings, ladies and gentlemen.