I think I'm an MB snob now - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

otto huber · #1 06-18-2011, 08:35 PM

After 8 months of driving a well maintained, one previous owner '81 300SD, I'm starting to get upset when I see people driving around in ragged, old beat up MB's. When I purchased my first MB a little over 8 years ago from a Salvation Army for $300.00, I basically just buffed out the oxidation from the paint every six months and kept her running with a little TLC. I never really cared what anyone else's MB looked like because I thought that they just served a utilitarian purpose very well and that's all there is to it. But now my line of thinking is that someone once paid a fortune for this thing 30 years ago, and to treat it like one of the billions of Toyotas that were made in the 1990's is a crime. I'm not asking for people to get there 1982 240D serviced at the dealer every 6 months. I'm a starving musician and understand the economics of car ownership and the notorious "Hood Star Tax", but for Pete's sake, wash the car more than once a year, wipe off the biodiesel dripping from the fuel filler hole, and put a safe set of tires on the old beauty.

leathermang · #2 06-18-2011, 09:38 PM

LOL, I think those are very reasonable requests....

layback40 · #3 06-19-2011, 03:15 AM

Your only a snob if you dont wave to other MB's when you see them.

sixto · #4 06-19-2011, 04:38 AM

Otto's never met me but he knows me well

Sixto
87 300D

leathermang · #5 06-19-2011, 07:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by layback40

Your only a snob if you dont wave to other MB's when you see them.

I wave at them even when I am in the Lincoln ... I am sure some of the local people from the forum have spent time trying to figure out if I was someone they were supposed to have recognized.....LOL

layback40 · #6 06-19-2011, 08:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by leathermang

I wave at them even when I am in the Lincoln ... I am sure some of the local people from the forum have spent time trying to figure out if I was someone they were supposed to have recognized.....LOL

Well it just goes to show your not a snob !!!

woodrat · #7 06-19-2011, 12:49 PM

Well, mine has rust that isn't going to get any better, and the drivers' side doors are both rumpled up pretty good with cracking bondo showing. My carpet has all been removed because it rotted from the water that leaks in around the back window. My front seats don't match because I could only find one good one in the junkyard so far. The Maaco paint job is peeling around the edges, and the color didn't match the original very well. But it runs like a Swiss watch, the sunroof works and doesn't leak, and so for now, that has to be good enough for me. I traded some sawmilling work for it, so the several hundred dollars that I've spent on the brakes, plus a few junkyard parts is the only cash I have into it.

Someday, I want to have a clean wagon with a stick and a manual sunroof, but until that comes along at the same time I have money, I'm pretty happy with my beater 240D. I do try to take care of the mechanical end of things, but the body on this one is pretty hopeless in the long run. I've looked long and hard for doors, every time I think of it, but all the doors I've seen are either already dented up, or rusty, or both.

johnnyqnola · #8 06-19-2011, 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by woodrat

Someday, I want to have a clean wagon with a stick and a manual sunroof, but until that comes along at the same time I have money, I'm pretty happy with my beater 240D.

so what were you doing driving around alameda?

i have a to-do list for my 300d that i made the day i bought her. the first 31 items are mechanical, except for a sunroof seal. i guess that could go either way. the next 15 items are cosmetic. the dent in the RF door, oxidized paint (sat outdoors untouched for 7 years), and 0 mph rear bumper will remain until i finish the first 31 tasks.

Diesel911 · #9 06-19-2011, 01:58 PM

Having driven Cars with poor looking interiors and exteriors most of my life those items do not bother me.

I am most bothered by any Car that Smokes.

Next is a Car that someone has paid a lot for a nice paint job and has spent several hundred dollars on Rims and some more on expensive tires but the Engine runs badly and/or hear some other noise when the Car moves.

chasinthesun · #10 06-19-2011, 03:39 PM

Ill paint mine if needed ,its really not hard to paint a car either .Sand scuff ,primer ,sand ,scuff ,tack and paint.It is labor but with 3 hrs of prep and a decent garage you can shoot a car in a day just be prepared for the next 3 days of smell.I can be a perfectionist but lately its been good just to get something that reasembles new .As far as the interior I usually find a decent front driver in the yards around my area and walk it out for less than $30.,the rest of the seats seem to do well over time.

otto huber · #11 06-19-2011, 05:13 PM

[QUOTE=woodrat;2738001] My front seats don't match because I could only find one good one in the junkyard so far.

LOL, my 240D had mismatched front seats too. I'm still keeping an eye out for a W123 light beige driver's seat to give to my buddy who bought the car from me.

Sixto,

Good to see you back on the board. Your post the other day in regards to a source for rebuilt CCU's is an example of how valuable you are to this forum.

sixto · #12 06-19-2011, 05:22 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-PSq2dy754

Otto: Sixto, if your car wears a hood star, if you're going to drive an older MB Diesel, wash it when you can't see out the windows. Clean the brake dust off the front wheels.

Sixto
87 300D