Question for our younger (20's and younger) M-B diesel bretheren and sisteren
 

This is a fairly worthless thread mainly to fulfill my own general curiosity. That said, what got you younger guys and gals into old Mercedes diesels? Car was a hand-me-down, like being different, just needed wheels and found one at the right price, old German engineering, love M-B and this is an affordable entry point, SVO/WVO, biodiesel, like to do your own wrenching, etc?

I can't really explain my fascination with them (which I've had since my 20's although I'm well past that now :) ) other than I like the body lines, diesel fuel and the simplicity. But then again, I've always been somewhat contrarian as far as my tastes go. At least compared to the rest of the kids I grew up with in suburbia.

They are somewhat of an odd choice for a younger person, especially someone in their teens. Let me know why they float your boat?

reliable, built like a tank, you can work on it with channel locks and a set of screw drivers if need be(not like I would....)

and...

I've been told the car is me (its not a grandpa car, especially when I blast KMDMF through the parking lot at work)

I've loved the way W123 cars look ever since I started looking at cars, its something I've always aspired to own in fact. I toyed with the idea of doing WVO/SVO but have since decided against that.

I'm slowly working on fully restoring it. Its already in pretty damn nice shape but has room for improvement.

How do you do an interior restore? Carpets, head liner, side liners, etc.

I just did an interior.. its fun(sarcasm).. I still have the carpet to install around the doors

The headliner involes removing the rear window to uninstall/install.. might as well repair any rust in the window channel as well while back there



I also got my W123 diesel because ever since I was a little kid I liked diesels.. My dad was,still is, a truck driver and I would like the sights and sounds as well as smells of the diesels. I would have fun watching the truck get worked on in the company garage. I even got to help sometimes(hold bolts or giant wrenches)... so.. I wanted my own little diesel

I almost don't fit into the 20 somethings anymore, but I did when I bought my first MB. My initial interest was due to biodiesel. So I started looking for a diesel auto. I looked at a couple of VW's and they just didn't do it for me. The ol MBs looked so much better. And the 123 wagon offered more room than any VW. Now I'm more interested in keeping these cars on the road. And after owning one for a while I realized how well built they are.

Somewhere burried in the archives here is a poll on the age of the forum members.

Edit: I found it - http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/181306-wondering-most-popular-age-here.html?highlight=age

Well I was just looking to....... Oh wait, I'm an old guy...........:toff:
Whoops! :D

I've always like diesel cars/trucks, not sure why. The smell, fact that it's different, reliable? I don't know what it is but I initially started looking at diesel cars as my first car because of the aforementioned reasons. I got a benz as opposed to a TDI VW because everybody my age in my town owns a VW riced out to the max and I didn't want to own a VW too. So then I saw the back of a W123 once that said turbodiesel... Hmmmm... I bought an '82 W123 a year later. Drunk driver broadsided me and I wasn't hurt miraculously. I then got speed fever and got a WS6 trans-am, sold it because I commute around 90 miles a day to school (diesel school :P) and already have my domestic muscle car fixin's with my '67 oldsmobile, and got a 1987 W124. Haven't looked back since then! Everyone loved my W123 and loves my W124

I got into them originally just because i love diesel.... Then their charm got the best of me.

Im still a total diesel head. I hope to be swapping a TDI into a Corrado soon :-)

I definitely don't fit into the 20's anymore! :D

That poll was actually the impetus for my question. I was surprised by how young some of the owners were and it just got me to thinking why? Especially with subcompacts, oftened tuned, generally being the vehicle of choice of the "younger crowd" (man does that make me feel old) these days.

If diesel/SVO/WVO is the main reason you really don't have too many vehicle choices.

Join the club! :D Feel free to give your reasons! Heck, I've gone off on completely different tangents, totally unrelated to the thread subject. You'd at least be within the topic.:)

I'll be honest, I was intrigued by the whole WVO/SVO thing. That wasn't what got me looking at the w123, but it did get me more interested. How exactly I picked the 123, I'm not sure. I saw a few nice cars on ebay and locally, and somehow I got hooked. I got mine at 16 (just about 3 years now), and I've owned a total of 4. Still own 2, sold one away, the other to my brother.

As far as costs go, these cars can't be beat. Well I'm sure they can, but I love my car, so whatever.

Interesting. Want to PM me some info about where you got new carpets, paneling, etc. from?

That's not unlike myself. I was fascinated by SVO/WVO as well and researched it quite a bit. It wasn't the reason I liked diesel Benzes but it was an interesting aside. My driving habits and the fact that I'm too damn lazy to deal with the extra work made the decision for me.

Pick-n-pull.

At 22, I bought my first car...last month.

$1200 for 1982 240D, automatic. I've been working on getting it through the Maryland inspection for about 3 weeks now. It'll be out of the body shop (getting some rust holes fixed in the fenders), hopefully, today.

So far, it's needed new tie rods (I decided to just get the entire assemblies replaced instead of just the ends), a valve adjustment, glow plugs tested, new fuel filters, a new front wheel bearing, and an alignment. Plus an oil change and a new K&N air filter.

But why did I decide on a 26 year old, diesel Mercedes Benz?

I want a car that is rugged. It has to be reliable, and relatively simple. That, and these cars are just built really well. I certainly understand that a car that is 4 years older than me is going to require some work, but, it will also give me something to be proud of.

Sooner or later, I'll make the switch to biodiesel. That didn't completely influence my decision on buying a 123, but it will leave room for another project for me in the future. I'm not necessarily an eco-nut, but I'm extremely sensible. With that said, I'm also working on a graduate degree in Mechanical Engineering...in wind power.

To sum up what I've said above...

I just think these cars are cool, and there are a lot of resources for these cars :D