Hello all,

I've been looking for several months for a W123 300D, and have yet to hit on a winner (OK, there was that one, but I was the second or third caller, and it was gone by then). I want one to use for a daily driver (50 mile round trip, 5 days a week). I'd prefer an '85, with low miles, in good condition, but that's not set in stone. It's all about the combination of price, condition, year, mileage, records, location, etc. For a really sweet car, I might be willing to go as high as $5k, but I'd like to think that, if patient, I could something suitable for less (maybe much less) than that. I want something mechanically solid (daily driver, remember), but cosmetic perfection is not required. It's not even particularly desired, as it won't be garaged. For the most part, though, it seems that the ones that look really shabby on the outside tend to have been neglected mechanically as well.

I'm located in the Florida panhandle, but I'd be willing to travel a bit (again, for the right car). When searching the ads, I use a search radius of 500 miles.

(I have made one nightmare trip to NOT buy a car - see my thread here in the "Good MB shops" subforum.)

Anyway, if any of you happen to know of something that might be available, then please let me know. Even if it's not a specific car, but a specific (reputable) dealer you know who handles this sort of thing, I'd appreciate hearing about it. If something turns up in a month or two, I'd still like to know. If and when I succeed, you'll be among the first to know.

In addition to searching the ads, I might spring for some "want to buy" ads, in hopes of shaking something out of the woodwork (the car that someone hasn't gotten around to putting up for sale, for example).

For what it's worth, I'll state here that this forum has had a lot to do with my decision to seek such a car. From what I've read here, I'm fairly convinced that one of these would suit my needs admirably. I also have some confidence that, especially with the resources available here, I'd be able to do a lot of the maintenance and repair myself. The level of supportiveness, technical knowledge, and general courtesy here are simply outstanding.

I lurked for quite a while before joining, so this isn't just a first impression. My hat's off to the lot of you.


-- eskimo