Old saying: "The most expensive car in the world is a cheap Mercedes...." It is worthwhile to buy the best car you can afford, when dealing with these old dears.

These are old cars. Stuff goes wrong. Like all cars... usually not when we expect/want/have time/etc.

You need to be honest with yourself about your basic level of hands-on ability (in general) and put that in the equation with your ability to free up time to work on the car.

Other considerations: You have other vehicles. Good. Do you have a garage with space to work on a car? Do you have a spouse who'll come out and bring you coffee and be interested (or at least act it)? Or will every new announcement of "the Mercedes needs...." bring another glowering silence?

Not trying to be rude. But these cars are what they are. They can be outstandingly reliable but frustrating as well.

You sound interested but you can't ask a 27-odd-year-old car (in the case of a w123) not be that.

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Mac
2002 e320 4matic estate│1985 300d│1980 300td
Previous: 1979 & 1982 & 1983 300sd │ 1982 240d

“Let's take a drive into the middle of nowhere with a packet of Marlboro lights and talk about our lives.” ― Joseph Heller, Catch-22

I most definitely agree. I'm not the type to try to pick up a project on Craigs for dirt cheap and then pour money and time into it and be frustrated. The purchases I've made have been through fellow forum members that have vouched for the car. And I'm not completely new to old cars, I had a 69 squareback (not sure why VW made wagons with only two doors), and 74 FJ40 previously. I've been fortunate enough to not have to work on them myself too much. And I have a two car garage and do have room to work on cars.

As for the wife... so long as she gets a nice spa day every once in awhile, she doesn't mind the car stuff.

My suggestion would be to buy an already sorted car like VStech said. I have three projects going right now and if I buy another Benz, it's gonna be cherry from the start.

That said, I love working on these cars. Can't say that about many these days.

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Codifex
1981 240D ChinaBlue (Got her running with a donor engine.)
1983 300DTurbo w/sunroof.
1984 300TD manual sunroof. (Electrical Gremlins)

X2 ^^^^^^^

Very well put.

Ideally you'll find someone who, once you ask a question, you can't get them to shut up on the details. Not a requisite, but a really good sign.

Hey great eye there... always wanted both of those.

Sounding good on all counts.

Not sure if anyone else mentioned this, but if you have a bit of flexibility to travel to look at cars, that's a huge bonus in the shopping process, doubly so if a forum member has one for sale.

Not many wagons seem to come up on our own 'classifieds' section here, but I could be proven wrong on that 15 minutes from now.

Good luck with it and welcome to the forum.

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Mac
2002 e320 4matic estate│1985 300d│1980 300td
Previous: 1979 & 1982 & 1983 300sd │ 1982 240d

“Let's take a drive into the middle of nowhere with a packet of Marlboro lights and talk about our lives.” ― Joseph Heller, Catch-22

so question, is there a reason why you would prefer a wagon over a minivan?

I know this is an evil statement on the diesel discussion, but if the goal is a family vehicle, and the only reason you were going diesel was reliability or economy, there are a gajillion newer family vehicles that get similar economy as the older diesels, or just a little bit less, while being just as or more reliable and cheaper to maintain.

Plenty of auto manufacturers made excellent minivans that handle just as well or better than the old MBs, drive better, hold 7 passengers, and hold more cargo.

Just an option to consider while you consider family needs for the future. Im going to go through this same discussion in the next year or so, so its been on my mind.

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Oh dear god, you said the "M" word.

Where's the moderator on this one? 8^)

JB you shut our mouth right now. A wagon is cooler, that's why.

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$60 OM617 Blank Exhaust Flanges
$110 OM606 Blank Exhaust Flanges
No merc at the moment

Isn't it amazing that every family now "needs" a minivan. Now THAT's a marketing triumph if ever there was one.

Odd how for so many decades, families got by with stationwagons just fine.

In fact, some < GASP > even managed with sedans, and not even full-size ones (honest, I've seen photos).

Now I hear people at work saying "Oh we HAVE to get a minivan now... we're having a second child."

Wow, really? How much personal space do your small children need? Is opening a hatch to stow groceries a more personally fulfilling thing than putting them in trunk?

I get a kick out of seeing the guys in the supermarket parking lots driving minivans, checking out each others' rides to see who got stuck with the value pack and who got the wife to agree to the pimp-out package (chrome wheels, full tint, etc.).

They look to me like dogs at the shelter, checking out each other's cages....

Coming soon: Why we need $700 Grillmasters when our folks got by just fine with charcoal grills....

[/SARCASM]

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Mac
2002 e320 4matic estate│1985 300d│1980 300td
Previous: 1979 & 1982 & 1983 300sd │ 1982 240d

“Let's take a drive into the middle of nowhere with a packet of Marlboro lights and talk about our lives.” ― Joseph Heller, Catch-22

You're bringing me back to the days spent in the rear seat of Dodge Spirits and K cars!

The Mercury Sable was so roomy and smooth riding

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$60 OM617 Blank Exhaust Flanges
$110 OM606 Blank Exhaust Flanges
No merc at the moment

hahahahaha! that's fantastic.

lol, the same argument can be made for hundreds of years, families got along fine in ox carts. Car's better than an oxcart, as a general utility vehicle for family, minivan is better than a wagon. For generally the same length and width, you can carry more people and more crap compared to a wagon, plus you have a higher driving position, which ive found that the ladies seem to like.

All im saying is the average boring and totally unappealing minivan is cheap, plentiful, and reliable, and far newer than the benz diesels mentioned in this thread, with far cheaper parts.

This is precisely why they are so popular these days. And because they are a vehicle with zero sex appeal and high numbers of initial sales, they are cheap, and I mean really really cheap, used. 1500 bucks would find you any number of perfectly decent vans all way newer than you would expect.

Im just being the voice of alternate persuasion, id be extremely happy were limerence to saddle up in a diesel benz, im just for full consideration of all the options available, and of course, how many kids is he planning on also? are we talking a production line here? or a one off?

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Actually, my family got along just fine with nothing but the Corolla in the signature until 2009 (before the Corolla, our biggest car was a '96 Camry)... and then we only got the minivan for the good ride! (My mother quite literally has more joint/health problems than I can count on both hands.)

I remember staying behind at IKEA, watching the Corolla pull away with my father and so much stuff that the rear bumper was about a foot off the pavement!

Oooh, and here's something else radical: we owned nothing but 5-speeds from 1990 to 2009! The horror!

And yes, my father cooks on a Weber charcoal grill

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"Senior Luna, your sense of humor is still loco... but we love it, anyway." -rickymay ____ "Your sense of humor is still loco... " -MBeige ____ "Señor Luna, your sense of humor is quite järjetön" -Delibes

1982 300SD -- 211k, Texas car, tranny issues ____ 1979 240D 4-speed 234k -- turbo and tuned IP, third world taxi hot rod

2 Samuel 12:13: "David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die."

lol, no more minivan talk, I promise. I threw my dead cat in the room and closed the door, and now im happy.

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