are you a diesel missionary? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

iNeon · #1 10-20-2005, 01:46 AM

I've found myself almost pleading with my parents to buy a diesel. mothers intrepid is having computer/fuel issues and they keep throwing money at it for sensors and crazy things that just cant repair a non operational car--

one mechanic even said a motor mount was bad(charged 250, i believe) and was causing the engine to move too much and that, in turn, was causing an air leak in the intake... blah blah youall get the jest. theyre all stumped, even chrysler. dad refuses to believe a 1997 model car can be completly dead at 170k and will not sell it. he is waiting to find an almost new marquis for around 15k because someone told him they get 30mpg on the highway... "its a good little car, it just needs *something" is his mentality.

it has turned into a dozen somethings for 800-1000 dollars.

I have told them and told them, this WILL NOT happen with a diesel. as long as you check all the fluids and top them off, theyll just about always make it home or wherever youre going. parts are cheaper(price an ECU sometime...) and very plentiful as well.

They think that i got lucky with my 240 and that as soon as they buy one, it will need a big repair. i cant believe that, if you look the car over well and accept that you WILL deal with some trim issues in a 123/126 chassis car, there shouldnt be too many surprises. mine, despite its soft trim flaws and the rust seems to like just chugging along merrily as i watch the odometer roll.

So--
How many of youall have successfully converted those nearest to you to run on diesel? are they happy or miserable? broke or just the same as if they were paying a payment, just on the cars schedule and not the banks?

pawoSD · #2 10-20-2005, 02:08 AM

I try every day, so far no successful converts. I even hawk the vw tdi's to them. The 1970's/80's GM 350 legacy lives on.

People seem to want cars covered in computers. I'll leave that to my desk. Car = computer free

(except for my soundsystem unit)

ltrain300D · #3 10-20-2005, 02:12 AM

Well, I got my parents to buy my sister a 300D about 2 years after I got mine. She just sold it about a month ago though for a brand new wrangler. However, my parents are both seriously considering the new Jeep Liberty CRD, or some type of VW diesel. I'm trying to convince them on a E300 Turbo, but I doubt that'll happen.

GlennCraven · #4 10-20-2005, 02:20 AM

We've been overjoyed with our 2003 Jetta TDi; getting right at 50 mpg over the first 92,000 miles (yes, 92K in 30 months).

That's why we looked for -- and on Wednesday, Oct. 19, bought -- an old diesel Mercedes for me.

Now my dad's halfway looking for a 300CD.

He has three old MBs already (in order of length of ownership): 1972 280SEL 4.5; 1969 280 coupe; 1985? 190E 2.3.

So far we haven't convinced anybody else to go diesel though. It's hard to believe, as inexpensive as our Jetta was, and as reliable and efficient as its been.

iNeon · #5 10-20-2005, 02:24 AM

no no... look at this w123 dash design i traced out in illustrator...

it is a mac mini(DIN sized g4...mmmm) with a 7" screen, bluetooth mouse and keyboard(storage is a concern here..) with 802.11b for music/video/software updates with the home network and bluetooth networking for emergency web visits via the fancy schmanzy bluetooth phone they practically gave me because it wasnt very popular(n*gage QD)

that is a computer i can deal with. but computers ought not control mechanical systems, it seems you need a foreman and work crew in those situations... we dont have money to fire full time staff...

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=1229226&posts=15

the 3rd illustration is best, but all communicate how it'd go. i really want to do that project, but i cant even fuel the car anymore...

if ideas were money...

*edit*

we do have the money to fire full time staff, just not *hire* them in the first place

#6 10-20-2005, 02:26 AM

I try every day. Most people have g@s so pounded into their heads that they can't take anything else.

RobTheMod · #7 10-20-2005, 03:28 AM

I find the people most curious about diesel are customers who are unlucky enough to own a late model VW gasser. I give them rides home, and...

"What kinda mileage does this get?"

"Around 27-29, but I drive it gently. That's how to make it look like this after 25 yrs and 235,000 miles"

Surprised glances around the interior (still almost spotless)... "what would one of these cost?"

"$5000 will get you one nicer than this!"

It's always fun to drop off some fella in a Jetta VR6 with the P0411 code popping up, just at smog test time... back in the '80s, 126 envy was commonplace... pockets of it still exist, especially in the minds of people who have to get their check engine light extinguished 6-10 times a year, on top of payments...

I have converted a pal of mine from a 2002 Nissan truck to '84 300Dt driving bliss... I'll keep the faith!

BobK · #8 10-20-2005, 07:27 AM

Convinced my daughter to buy an '87 300D this spring (actually her test drive convinced her-she drove it too fast!). Right now she and I are a little unhappy about the price of diesel ($3.07 at cheapest vs. $2.50 for cheap gas). But if it is a warm winter the oil co. thieves will drown in #2 oil and the price will come back down. Son has been borrowing my '83 300D and is really liking it. Not sure how, but he claims he is getting nearly 30mpg out of it. I could never beat about 25 mpg, and I know he has more of a lead foot than me (if that's possible). He is selling his rice burner and buying a truck. I hope to talk hm into a nice 123 diesel of his own as the "Good" car. Really don't want to sell him my '83 as his brother is 14 and will be needing it in a few years.

dannym · #9 10-20-2005, 08:27 AM

A good friend of mine recently bought a used '98 or '99 Chrysler. Can't remember the model off hand. What a POS. He has had a problem with the dashboard and the battery draining ever since he got the thing. Chrysler can't figure out what's wrong. They replaced the dashboard control computer and that did nothing. They do what they always do throw parts and money at it until the problem goes away. Nobody knows how to fix cars properly anymore.

Danny

andmoon · #10 10-20-2005, 08:32 AM

Pushing diesel never worked but pushing wvo and under 10 cents a gallon has converted a few....but then they all complain about oil collection and filtration....TOO LATE I say

airbus · #11 10-20-2005, 09:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iNeon

So--
How many of youall have successfully converted those nearest to you to run on diesel? are they happy or miserable? broke or just the same as if they were paying a payment, just on the cars schedule and not the banks?

'Bluesmobil' is for my wife. She's finally selling her '88 Volvo 240 wagon (215k). The Volvo never broke down ever since we bought it (at 180k), but she fell in love with my (Oo[=I=]oO)...
ebay 300DT

t walgamuth · #12 10-20-2005, 10:15 AM

new mercedes are so expensive not many can afford them.

old ones are not for the faint of heart to take care of.

if people ask me what to buy, i often recommend toyota.

most folks just dont appreciate the virtues of a benz. and think many of the correctly designed aspects are wrong since they dont drive like a chebby.

so, no i am no longer a missionary, but i used to be.

tom w

iNeon · #13 10-20-2005, 10:42 AM

well, i think if my parents have agreed upon a marquis, that a 126 sd would be fine for them, at 1/4 the cost. it wouldnt lose as much value because its so cheap to begin with!

i'd be lying if i said i didnt have an interest in being a w123/w126 family. the two are like bread and butter.

w123s for commuters, 126 for family dinners and church, eh?

#14 10-20-2005, 10:52 AM

I pretty much gave up trying to convert people's opinions on anything years ago. Driving a diesel MB is another case of, "if you don't understand, I can't explain it."

Nate Stanley · #15 10-20-2005, 11:19 AM

Ineon,
Whoever told your parents a Grand Monkey can get 30 on the highway is blowing (white) smoke.

25-26 in real world driving on the road, 19-20 around town.

Keep working the W126 angle. I have one and a '96 Clown Vic and the Benz wins hands down. Long term ownership of a Clown / Monkey will eventually result in the same thing that befalls most other American cars, that the interior and body + electronic engine controls will deteriorate even though the running gear stays pretty strong.

Make them a deal- 2 yrs of free mechanical advice and light restoration if they spring 5-7 grand for a really nice one.