W123 beater review - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

MBeige · #16 04-24-2008, 03:26 PM

I guess they removed my video of the small W123 meet held last April 2006 in mid-southern California. I was surprised when they used it, nothing fancy just showing a bunch of W123's parked side by side with their owners chatting about.

thebenzbar · #17 04-24-2008, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MBeige

I guess they removed my video of the small W123 meet held last April 2006 in mid-southern California. I was surprised when they used it, nothing fancy just showing a bunch of W123's parked side by side with their owners chatting about.

Pat!! Post the link here so we can see it! (well, those who haven't seen it yet, like moi!)

mbzr4ever · #18 04-24-2008, 03:30 PM

I don't think my dad paid that much in 1979 when he picked up this car in Germany. I'll have to check (I still have the invoice, somewhere), but iirc, more like $15k.

bgkast, do you HONESTLY believe that Toyota yaris will be running 30 years from now? I don't know about where you live, but I see a lot more 30 year old W123s running around than 30 year old Toyotas. In fact, I don't think I see any 30 year old Toyotas. The old mercedes do catch my eye, however.

But, to each their own, I'm not judging, and anyone can buy whatever car they want.

bgkast · #19 04-24-2008, 03:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbzr4ever

I don't think my dad paid that much in 1979 when he picked up this car in Germany. I'll have to check (I still have the invoice, somewhere), but iirc, more like $15k.

bgkast, do you HONESTLY believe that Toyota yaris will be running 30 years from now? I don't know about where you live, but I don't see many 30 year old Toyotas running around my neck of the woods.

If it is maintained I could easily see 400K miles on it. My father in law has the previous generation (Echo) with half that many miles on it and it still looks and drives like new.

There is not as much incentive to hold on to or maintain inexpensive cars which is why they often fall into disrepair and are thrown away, however I do see plenty of '80s Toyotas on the road around here.

thebenzbar · #20 04-24-2008, 03:48 PM

Ditto on the reliability of Toyota engines... I see Corolla's overseas from the mid 80's and to late 90's that have extremely high mileage but still chugging along. Keep in mind, many Toyota's (and even Isuzu diesels) engines are used in third-world countries with even more excessive conditions than here in the US (high pollution, high heat, high humidity, rough roads, less highways, congested daily traffic, etc...) This is also the reason why many W123 diesels are seen more in Africa, Asia, S. America, and European countries - that says alot for their long-term durability as well as desirability.

MBeige · #21 04-24-2008, 03:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thebenzbar

Pat!! Post the link here so we can see it! (well, those who haven't seen it yet, like moi!)

Alfie! It's not much, this is the video I was talking about

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Ka40wmBMerc

Speaking of Toyotas, our '92 Corolla has 237k miles on it now. Tough little thing!

mbzr4ever · #22 04-24-2008, 03:55 PM

Gotta agree on the isuzu, but that engine is unique (wenkel?) . My second choice for another (!) car would be a diesel isuzu, but a G500 would be my first, diesel, of course.

"Ditto on the reliability of Toyota engines" ... I hear ya, but what about the rest of the body of the car? Don't take my comment wrong, so hard to communicate over the interwebby, but if we had to consider the whole car, I think the w123 would win, wouldn't it? All IMO.

MBeige · #23 04-24-2008, 04:07 PM

True, the Toyota body is different. At least on ours and our past Toyotas, the body had no problems at all. They felt the same as they did before racking up the miles. The interior, however, is a different matter. The plastics are more brittle, I can tell you that. It's harder to do something simple, like for example when I installed a clock in my mom's '92 Corolla I had to remove the lower dash driver panel, steering wheel column cover, interior cluster cover, and finally the radio, to access the clock on top of it. At least, to my relief, a plug was waiting for it and all I had to do was install the digital clock.

W123's are built to be rebuilt, easy to replace parts and all.

lietuviai · #24 04-24-2008, 04:08 PM

Wankel engines were never known for longevity especially the ones from the 70's. They were seriously burning oil by 50K miles.

mbzr4ever · #25 04-24-2008, 04:11 PM

Mbiege, Thanks for your experience on the Toyotas. I have no idea, cause I never owned one. All I know are the Fords and Jeeps, and when I compare (trying) to work on them to the 240D (or even the 300E), all I can say is what a difference!

lietuviai - is that right? I kinda thought the engine design was kinda cool. OK, the G500 is now the only car on my wish list.

"W123's are built to be rebuilt, easy to replace parts and all." Nuff said.

lietuviai · #26 04-24-2008, 04:24 PM

Mbzr, yes it's true. The design of the Wankel (rotary) engine has a weak spot in relation to their oil control rings. My first car which was a '74 Mazda RX4 needed a rebuild by barely over 60K. It was actually very simple to rebuild but finding a machine shop at the time was nearly impossible. It was a rocket when it was running right but a serious gas guzzler. I was lucky to get 14 mpgs with it. It had a 4-bbl carb.

thebenzbar · #27 04-24-2008, 04:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbzr4ever

...but if we had to consider the whole car, I think the w123 would win, wouldn't it? All IMO.

I agree 1,000,000%. I'm a W123 lover, not a W123 hater...

I think my many years (see sig) of owning a bunch here in the US as well as overseas is enough justification that W123's are simply "almost" bulletproof if maintained regularly.

Narcoleptic · #28 04-24-2008, 04:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lietuviai

Wankel engines were never known for longevity especially the ones from the 70's. They were seriously burning oil by 50K miles.

Don't know what you consider "serious" for a rotary, but they all burn oil. It is part of their design, and keeps the apex seals happy. Even in the RX-8 Mazda recommends checking the oil at every fill-up.

mbzr4ever · #29 04-24-2008, 04:52 PM

wow, thebenzbar, very nice pixs on your website.

Very inspiring, I think I'll go outside and work on my 240D now, LOL!

lietuviai · #30 04-24-2008, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Narcoleptic

Don't know what you consider "serious" for a rotary, but they all burn oil. It is part of their design, and keeps the apex seals happy. Even in the RX-8 Mazda recommends checking the oil at every fill-up.

Serious oil burning was a qt every fill up. The engine actually had a special oil injection pump for the seals to stay happy but even that amount was very small.