Diesel collector in it for the long haul
This article appeared on page A - 6 of the San Francisco Chronicle
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/11/MN7S1539L0.DTL
Richard S. Chang, New York Times
Sunday, January 11, 2009
(01-11) 04:00 PST Ramsey, N.J. --

If Detroit sold a car that could withstand 30 years of hard driving and cost less than $7,000, its main industry would be in a better place than it is today.


But while a new-model car with such credentials does not exist, Tom Cucciniello may have found the next best thing.


Cucciniello, co-owner of a linen supply company, is the proud proprietor of three beautiful old Mercedes-Benz diesels: a 1979 300D, a 1983 300SD and a 1985 300D. The cars have already logged an average of 170,000 miles apiece, and Cucciniello reckons that together they have a million more to go.


"People generally get around 350,000 in these cars," he said recently, standing outside his house, though he is hoping for more than 400,000 from each of his.


Renowned for their durability, the big Mercedes diesels built from the mid-1970s to the mid-'80s were also notoriously slow and loud.
Cucciniello, who is 50, didn't know about the drawbacks when he first test-drove a Mercedes diesel around 15 years ago. On the road, he spotted a car for sale and tailed it until the owner stopped and got out. Cucciniello approached the startled man for a test drive, which in turn startled Cucciniello right back.


"I put my foot on the gas, and it didn't move," he said, exaggerating the car's acceleration only slightly. In 1975, Road & Track found that the 300D took 20.3 seconds to reach 60 mph from a stop.


Cucciniello didn't buy the car, which he said he regretted for years - so much so, in fact, that when he next saw a used one for sale in good condition (the 1985 car), this time parked on the side of the road, he bought it then and there.


And he bought another, and another.


"They're a great value," Cucciniello said. He estimated that he has spent around $6,600 altogether for the three cars, which he proudly insisted will last the rest of his life. His wife drives the 1985, while he switches between the 1979 and the 1983 every other month. In the summer, Cucciniello takes one to his summer home on Lake Champlain in Vermont: about 250 miles each way.


You could say that he has gotten used to the speed (or lack thereof). One recent afternoon, he encouraged a visitor to floor the accelerator on the 1979 model and laughed at the results (none).


As for the noise, "that's not loud to me," he said above a subdued but ever-present clatter, lifting a tight fist. "That's strong. It's like a tractor."
Sitting inside the 1979 car, Cucciniello seemed chipper in a pink shirt, a brown vest and chinos. He displayed the exuberance of someone who has beaten the odds in Vegas. "Look at that interior!" he said with enthusiasm, and rightfully so.


The blue upholstery looked untouched. Cucciniello had the stuffing replaced in the seats, but everything else inside was original. The cabin could have been a museum exhibit, down to the analog stereo (and its chunky buttons), which pulled in an adult alternative station loud and clear.


"For $2,000, where are you going to find something like this?" he asked.
Cucciniello found the 1979 car through a combination of luck and persistence. Although he bought it about five years ago, his pursuit goes back around 10 years (even before he bought the '85).


He saw it on the road, and true to his modus operandi, he followed the car until it stopped at a traffic light. He got out of his car and handed the owner, an elderly woman, his business card. She should call him, he said, if she ever wanted to sell the car.


She didn't, but four years later Cucciniello got a call from her daughter, who didn't think her mother should be driving anymore. It was a done deal.
He bought the 1983 300SD (which is longer than the standard 300D) in a similar fashion. After learning about the car through a hot tip from his "auto body guy," he approached the owner, who was in his 90s, and asked if he wanted to sell.


The man played hardball.


"He wanted $9,000 for it," Cucciniello said. "The Blue Book value was $2,300, so I offered him $2,300. He didn't take it."


A few months later, the man died, and his secretary called Cucciniello on behalf of the man's children, who "basically gave the car away."


That completed his eccentric car collection.


They are three diesels of varying degrees of torpor. The 1979 is powered by a 5-cylinder engine with less than 90 horsepower. The other models came with turbocharged 5-cylinders, which made them faster, but not by much. (They were rated at about 120 horsepower.)


"It's fine," Cucciniello said. "In my younger days, I was a reckless driver and racked up some tickets. I haven't had a run-in with the police since I got these."


His goal these days is more of a lasting satisfaction.


"I'm 50 years old, so I'm trying not to buy another car," he said, but hinted that his days of stopping Mercedes diesel drivers on the road might not be over. Friends and relatives have caught the bug (his brother-in-law was the latest to buy one), and they'll need an expert to steer them in the right direction.

This guy is obviously not an economist (and neither am I but, ...).

Our economy, and the auto industry's also, is based on waste and obsolescence. If we didn't use any paper towels, packaging, replace cell-phones/cars/video devices etc. until they wore out, we'd have a completely different economy and the transition would be disasterous. The result might be wonderful, ... but the transition disasterous.

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Gone to the dark side

- Jeff

This has been posted before.

NY Times article 'beautiful old Mercedes-Benz diesels'


But check out the audio slide on the NY Times link. Nice piece.

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1983 123.133 California
- GreaseCar Veg System

wow. thanks for the link!

They say they cost $7000, LOL....not really. These cars weren't cheap when new! Its all in different classes, my uncle bought his chevy cavalier brand new in 1996 for $12,500ish.....he's had it ever since, and it has 129,000+ miles on it, it has never stranded him, and he's put maybe $3-4k in repairs into it in those 13 years so far....and it still drives fine as of right now. He averages one repair a year or less....even the body has held up well considering michigan salt, it is just now starting to show rust.

A MB of similar size would cost 3-4x as much, and the big question mark is if it is TRULY more reliable.....its probably a wash, but the MB buyer spent 3-4x more....so it technically SHOULD be more reliable. A '96 c-class would probably outlast the average chevy product, but would cost a heck of a lot more along the way. It would be safer and more comfortable though. You get what you pay for.

I suppose if you compare "Bang for buck" of a used MB vs a used chevy, the MB will win easy. But that is only because some rich person absorbed a huge depreciation early on in the cars life....

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-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)

That's why I drive these old things, they will outlast a gasser any day of the week and it's a quality car for heaps less than a new one or a used one that's just another drone on the road.

New cars, they're all electrical now, and I just don't trust everything in the hands of a computer that can malfunction and mess up and be costly to replace. Another example of why I'm going to love this 220D is because even if my battery went out, alternator went out and I could not actuate the starter but had Diesel in the tank, I could roll start the car and be on my merry way until the next service station. Love to see a new gasser do that, ohhhh they can't. BAM lol

Diesel and old Mercedes-Benz's in general are truly amazing. ESP, ABS and all that I will admit is very nice to have. But i'll still stick with my old 220D. Mechanical over electrical for me.

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2007 BMW 328XI

Yep, thats the idea, I have two very nice 5 spd, daily drivers that I spent a few bucks on fixing up, three parts cars and one I'm fixing up to sell some day, all manual 240s, I love em

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1985 Euro 240D 5 spd 140K
1979 240D 5 spd, 40K on engine rebuild
1994 Dodge/Cummins, 5 spd, 121K
1964 Allice Chalmers D15 tractor
2014 Kubota L3800 tractor
1964 VW bug

"Lifes too short to drive a boring car"

rererepost

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1984 123.193 372,xxx miles, room for Seven.

1999 Dodge Durango Cummins 4BTAA 47RE 5k lb 4x4 getting 25+mpgs, room for Seven.

Mercedes will last a long time if you keep them up, and keep injecting money into them. But they are not cheaper to run. For what my SDL cost in 1987 you could have bought 4 regular cars, plus all the money thats been put into it over the years...probably 5 or 6 regular cars total.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Well That is always what I heard, and bought my first 85 300d in Ventura Ca august 2007 with 22500 miles, was convinced it was the greatest, drove it back to Tex and in Oct 08 driving out to Wise co it overheated---first time ever having a overheating problem--I mean even while blasting thru the desert tween san simion AZ and Lordsburg NM at 90 mph it never showed a sign of getting over the usual-- anyway,let it cool for probably not long enough, added water, when I restarted it it sounded like ****-instead of like a swiss watch, its either a crackhead or a blown headgasket. These are not known for this.

How hot did it get, red line?, and how hot was it when you added water?

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1985 Euro 240D 5 spd 140K
1979 240D 5 spd, 40K on engine rebuild
1994 Dodge/Cummins, 5 spd, 121K
1964 Allice Chalmers D15 tractor
2014 Kubota L3800 tractor
1964 VW bug

"Lifes too short to drive a boring car"

I was following a ford f250 towing a flatbed and on a incline I noticed it could not keep up-strange. Then a couple minutes later I pulled on the offramp to head to Aurora Tx and saw the temp guage in the red, so I immediately pulled into the truckstop and waited 15 or so minutes-so being in a hurry and figuring-its an iron head-no big deal, probably cost me one sweet running engine. But this is still one of the cheapest -diesel-to score a replacement and fix-hopefully. I just bought the car for the motor-sniped it off of ebay with a crunched quarter panel for $1100.00 the next Aug the dimbulb across the street backed into the ps door and state farm had to give me $1050.00. Now I cruise the 85 300cd I got in Denver Nov 07. it's a little noisier than the cali was.

Dumping cold water in a roasting engine is a big no no. Just because the engine is durable doesn't mean you can run it at 90mph with no cooling capacity and allow the oil to start breaking down etc and expect it to be fine....

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1974 240D 3.0L 4(M) - 250K -OM617.910 + 300D FW + Rajay turbo power!
1977 6.9 3(A) - 84k

Plus taking an un sorted just bought almost 30 year old car on a thousand mile trip across the desert...I'm not that brave.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

The first part was cruising up PCH to see the waterfall at Big Sur and then up the mountails in my old home away from home up to Idlewild and Big Bear. Seeing the famous part of PCH was worth the admission price alone.