getting rid of my old diesels.... - Page 3 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Marvelicious · #31 09-23-2011, 02:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IVIuzzy

...
im going to sit on the decision of getting rid of my 240 for a few days. it may be male menopause. i am going through a divorce, lost my nice house, just bought a forclosure and fixing that up isnt easy. between working at a car shop and fixing everyone elses car, i never have time for mine. i think i hit a boiling point. im going to weigh the options after all it is a 35 year old car. but to end its life because im being irrational isnt right either.

in the mean time, my brother was able to clean the spray gun *sigh of relief* and he is going to try to "work out" the dents. the good news he said is that metal has a memory. whatever that means. so ill keep posted.

There are a couple post on here that get really "preachy" about your reaction. Anyone can see that what happened wasn't a good thing, but as someone with a serious temper, I can sympathize. I'm usually a pretty laid back individual - its not a SHORT temper, but it is a dangerous one - and I've gotten better over the years.

It sounds to me like you just needed to vent. A little berserk rage may seem stupid and self-destructive to anyone who doesn't understand. The way I see it, you've probably been holding that in for a while (divorce, the fools who tried to burn up your other car...) you managed to direct it at a car instead of a person. Could be worse!

Maybe not the smartest thing you've ever done, but if it is the dumbest, you've lived a pretty smart life. I can't even begin to list the stupid/crazy things I've done over the years. Sometimes you just have to laugh it off and move on!

pawoSD · #32 09-23-2011, 02:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Carlton

..............said the man with seven in his sig...............

Of course, they are for other people.............LOL..........and you couldn't take any of them in a pinch.............that's why they are in your sig................

My sig is a family-wide listing of them. I only have my 82 SD, 89 420 and 90 300E....and thats my wife's car.....so I only have two. And were my SD to need repair in the winter, using the 420 in its place would not be an option...

I'd rent a car before I'd drive it in the snow.

My sis and bro both only have 1, the 190e needs repair fairly frequently....but the 300D almost never needs anything.

jt20 · #33 09-23-2011, 02:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marvelicious

It sounds to me like you just needed to vent. A little berserk rage may seem stupid and self-destructive to anyone who doesn't understand. The way I see it, you've probably been holding that in for a while (divorce, the fools who tried to burn up your other car...) you managed to direct it at a car instead of a person. Could be worse!

Maybe not the smartest thing you've ever done, but if it is the dumbest, you've lived a pretty smart life. I can't even begin to list the stupid/crazy things I've done over the years. Sometimes you just have to laugh it off and move on!

I can also sympathize. Not that I have been there as bad as you have, Izzy.

Not to pull a Polly-Anne on you, but I sincerely believe this will bring you closer to the vehicle if you decide to stick with it. Its a scar, perhaps a reflection, if that makes sense.

Junk it, or love it.... I bet it was worth it to get it out. Good luck, there has been no sin here.

edit: P.S. - how often dose the F"n compressor blow up!?... only when it could not possibly get any worse.

Codifex Maximus · #34 09-23-2011, 03:24 AM

I'll chime in here and say that my Mercedes cars have been very reliable for me. They always start and I always get to work in comfort.

The only reason the 240D was laid up is because a road work crew left a big hunk of Iron in the road and busted my oil pan.

YMMV

47dodge · #35 09-23-2011, 08:40 AM

my 240 has been reliable. And my 300 was mechanically reliable, can't say that for the climate control though.

These were very reliable cars when new, so there is no reason they can not be brought back to this condition. Will take some work to get there, but it can be done.

as for the anger, I do understand it, Ive done my share of stupid things because of it. It's time to step back and think about things, do a bit of self reflection. Find a way to get the anger out safely.

I do hope you decide to keep the car and restore it

47dodge · #36 09-23-2011, 08:42 AM

my 240 has been reliable. And my 300 was mechanically reliable, can't say that for the climate control though.

These were very reliable cars when new, so there is no reason they can not be brought back to this condition. Will take some work to get there, but it can be done.

as for the anger, I do understand it, Ive done my share of stupid things because of it. It's time to step back and think about things, do a bit of self reflection. Find a way to get the anger out safely.

I do hope you decide to keep the car and restore it

Brian Carlton · #37 09-23-2011, 10:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pawoSD

My sig is a family-wide listing of them. I only have my 82 SD, 89 420 and 90 300E....and thats my wife's car.....so I only have two. And were my SD to need repair in the winter, using the 420 in its place would not be an option...

I'd rent a car before I'd drive it in the snow.

My sis and bro both only have 1, the 190e needs repair fairly frequently....but the 300D almost never needs anything.

You know, I was thinking of putting all the neighbors cars in my sig as well. I cannot use them because I don't own them, but it looks good on the forum.

But, on second thought, probably not, they have various American minivans and econoboxes.

If you lived alone..........you couldn't "rent a car". You'd have to drive the 420 because you couldn't drive to get a rental car. The very definition of marriage and family leaves you with plenty of options so that you can claim you only drive the SD. In reality, it's BS.

vstech · #38 09-23-2011, 10:47 AM

nahh, drive line will pick you up for free when you rent from them.
and um, taxi?
and he did say WINTER driving in the snow is all that would require a rental car...

IVIuzzy · #39 09-23-2011, 12:10 PM

i went to our parts yard. i still had a hood from a w123 with some hail damage. but hail is better than a 10 lb sledge. i got a new hood on, and am repairing my fender. ill do one panel at a time. i think it is worth fixing, at least.

on a side note. the green/ yellow vaccum line in the door is? door lock? i forget, i thought green was climate control. i found it was ripped, would explain my door locks.

heres a photo of the new hood/ filler on the fender. the color i picked was nice, it is mercedes code 541

also, how do i get tranny fluid/ oil off of paver bricks? anyone have ideas? i tried some trisodiumphosphate but no avail....

Zacharias · #40 09-23-2011, 12:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by E150GT

Dont make any decisions while you are emotional. I did that and I regretted it.

Amen to that.

I have been at the point you describe. More than once.

Go rent an Impala for a week and don't even look at your Mercedes.

If at the end of the week you'd rather have the Impala... so be it.

I did that when I had my absolute POS '82 300sd that needed a new fix every two weeks.

I lasted the weekend with the Impala before it was getting on my nerves worse than the SD.

Of course as the old saying goes, YMMV.

Hip001 · #41 09-23-2011, 01:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lorainfurniture

Mercedes is a nice car as long as it is not your primary means of transportation I really dont care what anybody says, they will never be as reliable as a new/ newer car

My 300d's and my 240d have been my daily drivers for 3 years now. And I'd have no problem taking any one of them on a cross country trip. My experiance with the Mercedes diesel is that they have not made a car since the w123's as reliable. It may not be as fast or sporty but reliable it surely is! And since I've had the misfortune to crash test Both the Mercedes and Jap cars, I'd pick the Mercedes EVERY time now!!

Side note: I use to have fits of rage out of control but have since been diagnosed with A.D.D. which made me easily frustrated. Since taking meds the anger outburst have become a thing of the past!

JerryBro · #42 09-23-2011, 02:10 PM

I put over 80K miles on my Kompressor using it as a daily commuting vehicle. It was reliable, economical, comfortable and quick enough for the job. Was it as stone cold dependable as an Accord? Probably not. Would I have rather had a Honda for the commute? No.

I like old cars. But, because of time, mileage and service history they do require more maintenance than newer cars. I will say that most of the issues that I've had occur were not surprises. They often show some sort of warning signs that I did not act upon before soiling the sheets. My experience with newer cars, on the other hand, is that they just stop working. With computers adjusting engine parameters automatically, you may not know something is happening before that CEL flashes. Hopefully the code it flashes is descriptive enough that you can act upon it.

I have heard stories of cars that only needed periodic payments and fuel to run reliably for 100K+ miles. I've never owned one.

cjbrown · #43 09-23-2011, 03:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IVIuzzy

...also, how do i get tranny fluid/ oil off of paver bricks? anyone have ideas? i tried some trisodiumphosphate but no avail....

Soak it with Castrol Superclean and keep it moist (don't let it dry out) for a time with a light misting from a hose, then pressure wash. You may have to do it a couple of times. You may need to let the cleaner sit on there longer. You can rent a pressure washer from depot or other tool rental if necessary.

If it's a few bricks they are easily removed and replaced. That's the beauty of pavers. I have a couple of thousand of them in my front yard.

I suffer from an explosive temper due to hypoglycemia. Took me 50 years to figure it out though. Like jekyl and hyde. I usually ruin relationships rather than my stuff though.

Orv · #44 09-23-2011, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 47dodge

These were very reliable cars when new, so there is no reason they can not be brought back to this condition. Will take some work to get there, but it can be done.

It also depends on your definition of "reliable." If you mean "won't leave you stranded if taken care of properly," yup, they're very reliable. But there's an important "if" in there.

When you look at cars designed before 1980 or so, in particular, it's important to remember they were designed for an era when technology was expensive and labor was cheap. If having to grease the chassis and adjust the valves every 15,000 miles made the car simpler, it was a good deal, because you could get a shop to do it relatively cheaply. Nowadays labor is expensive and cars are designed to go 100,000 miles with very little maintenance. An old Mercedes will not tolerate that kind of neglect, and if you don't want to spend a lot on labor you have to learn to do the preventive maintenance yourself.

A lot of old cars are driven into the ground by people who don't understand this and blanch at what it costs to have PM done by a shop. I occasionally have friends who admire my rides and talk about getting one themselves; I tell them the reality, that if they don't love to work on cars they will get nickel-and-dimed to death by an old vehicle.

Incidentally, old Volkswagens are the same way, but moreso. A Beetle needs an oil change and sump strainer cleaning every 1500 miles (no oil filter!), a valve adjustment every 6,000 miles, and various suspension components adjusted and tightened on a regular basis...in this day and age, if you had to pay a shop to do all that stuff you'd have paid enough to get a new car in no time.

Orv · #45 09-23-2011, 03:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cjbrown

I suffer from an explosive temper due to hypoglycemia. Took me 50 years to figure it out though. Like jekyl and hyde. I usually ruin relationships rather than my stuff though.

You too, huh? It took me forever to work that one out. I get miserable and short-tempered, then I lose the ability to focus, then I get the shakes. Oddly blood sugar tests always come up normal. I have two friends with the same problem and they both had to work it out on their own, too. What makes it even trickier is it seems to switch off my urge to eat pretty early in the process.

Nowadays my wife knows the score and when she sees me get irritable she hauls me off and feeds me. I married well.