The average model life of MB now is 6 years, down from 8. They do a mid model face lift, this tradition started with the W126 in 1986.


If you need to bring a 20 year old car to a dealer for major work you have no business driving a 20 year old car. You can buy a new E350 for about $600 a month, thats one minor repair at the dealer.

To make it practical to own an old car you need to be able to fix it yourself.

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2016 Corvette Stingray 2LT
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

The Dealership that I visit, when necessary, has a few employees that drive W123's.....a salesperson, the parts counterman, and at least 1 mechanic all have commented on my '85 300D.....and like proud parents have pulled out photos of theirs, it the car was not physically on the parking lot........

I don't know if they are snapping up good ol' W123's when they come in for a trade (I know that the salesperson did) .....or are just fans of the older Diesels (I think the Parts Guy and the mechanic are in it for the OM617.9xx).....but they do still service them, and are knowledgeable regarding the W123......

SB

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Diesels:
'85 300D, "Max, Blue Benz", 155K, 27.0 MPG
'84 190D 2.2, "Eva, Brown Benz", 142K, 40.2 MPG
'77 240D (parts car)
'67 Eicher ES 202 Tractor "Otto" (2cyl, Air Cooled, 30HP)
Gassers:
'94 Ford F-150, "Henry", 170K (300 Six) 17.5 MPG
'85 190E 2.3, 148K....Parts Car
'58 Dodge W300M Powerwagon (Flat Fenders) Less than 10 MPG

Shorebilly,

I never heard of an Eicher tractor. Is it foreign? Sounds like it might be German made by the name.

Does it pa-putt pa-putt like a John Deere 2 cylinder? Is it air cooled?

P E H

Mercedes Benz of Buffalo has always helped me with my w123 - not dealer service - I do it all my self (With my dad) - But the parts department is always willing and eager to dive in and find the part I need...from dash screw covers, to drip rail trim...even my fuel and brake hard lines are from MBoB and never a bad price!
Jake

Our dealer here does a great job working on our diesels, even the advanced stuff. They have a mechanic on staff that loves to work on them.

__________________
-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

A few years ago, when I didn't work weekends, the local MBCA section would have (still do) an annual Saturday tech inspection at the dealership, the last time I went, they mentioned they are losing business to indy's, so they have a reduced labor rate for anything more than twenty years old. That dealership is too far away from me to make it worth my while. When I visited my nearest dealer for front end work, I got the feeling of being rushed in and out, (a good thing?) anyway I had an appointment, they got to me on time. All's well that ends well.

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83 SD

84 CD

Yup, it's a German tractor....Eicher PumaII (ES 202)...and as my sig says 4 stroke, Air cooled, 30Hp....

Here are a couple of links to German and European Eicher Clubs.....

www.eicherfreunde-forstern.de/

www.eicherfreunde-schwarzwald.de/index.htm

http://www.eicherfreunde.de/

I hope that you can read German, but there are lots of photos of their gatherings......my dream/wish/goal is to make a trip over to Germany and pick up some tractor and Benz parts.....should meet some nice folks.....unfortunately I do not drink beer any more......!!!!

When I first started locating a part here and there, I ordered some from Monika Schimmer Buldozer Zubruhor......and have corresponded with some of the clubs......have been trying (off and on) to determine how many of these made it to the USA.....none were shipped here officially, as Eicher did not have a dealership in North America.......so far I know for sure that 1 did make it here (mine) and I have heard that there may be another but have not heard from the owner nor have I seen a photo.......so you folks think that some Mercedes parts are hard to come by......lol.....

I also own a Dolmar chain saw and a brush cutter, the chain saw was made in Germany, Brush Cutter in California.....Dolmar manufactured the First gasoline powered chain saw.....here's a link for them as well....

www.dolmarpowerproducts.com/

I have owned several chain saws, and this is the first one that actually has torque!!! Powerful......Model 510

SB

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Diesels:
'85 300D, "Max, Blue Benz", 155K, 27.0 MPG
'84 190D 2.2, "Eva, Brown Benz", 142K, 40.2 MPG
'77 240D (parts car)
'67 Eicher ES 202 Tractor "Otto" (2cyl, Air Cooled, 30HP)
Gassers:
'94 Ford F-150, "Henry", 170K (300 Six) 17.5 MPG
'85 190E 2.3, 148K....Parts Car
'58 Dodge W300M Powerwagon (Flat Fenders) Less than 10 MPG

I had this problem with my Mercedes under warranty. I ended up taking it to an indy to have the work done right, and paying to do it outside of warranty.
I swore off Mercedes cars (for a while), and still would rather own a new Audi than Mercedes, ... and their quality isn't what it used to be either.

An older Mercedes I can justify having repaired by an indy or myself, just pissed me off to have to pay for same when my car was new.

I'll drive a 20-year-old car and enjoy working on it when I can, but still feel okay taking it in when I'm pressed for time or the tools are too much. It'll probably be going in for a rear wheel bearing soon, not a DIY job I'm told here.

Ya pick your fights with these things. Using your justification backwards, I can have a lot of work done on my old faithful for two car payments worth.

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Gone to the dark side

- Jeff

No your right. I swore off transmision service because its just such a PITA. Its not a battle I want to fight, I'll let someone else do it. As I get older and I start to have more funds then time I think I will be farming a lot more out.

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2016 Corvette Stingray 2LT
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200