Let us know what you end up doing Chicken!
Whichever road you take, this forum will be able to help with any problems the car presents you with.

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Ben
1987 190d 2.5Turbo

I prefer the 'SD over my old 300D, but I have never driven either one of them, so that opinion is only worth so much... however, the 'SD is supposed to give a nicer ride due to being longer, and it has a little bit more room for some jobs (such as dropping the tranny without removing the engine). Many, many parts are universal across the W126 range and so it may be easier to find parts for -- the last W123 was made in 1985, the last W126 in 1992 0r 1993. There is also a bit more room in the interior. I find the W126 more handsome than the W123, although the W123 also looks good.

The only downside I can think of is that all W126es in the US came with power seats that, after 30 years, are oftentimes in need of repair or replacement. An alternate solution to this is to swap in manual seats from a W123 (this is what I am doing).

Avoid the 350SDL at all costs unless you have records for a later engine rebuild/replacement.

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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."

1991 was the last year the 126 chassis.

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83 SD

84 CD

Hold out for a turbo.
If you are going to live in Texas or drive during the summer there you need some serious A/C so make sure you test that. You could easily spend $1000 to make that blow cold.
If you are going to do a lot of highway maybe consider an SD W126 or a W124 1986 and newer e class.
They go faster. The 1987 W124 Turbo wagon has a 6 cyl turbo and is pretty quick for a diesel.

Chicken, I concur that you ought to buy one in Texas, make sure its 'free range'.

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1979 300D 220 K miles
1995 C280 109 K miles
1992 Cadillac Eldorado Touring Coupe 57K miles SOLD
********************
1979 240D 140Kmiles (bought for parents) *SOLD.
SAN FRANCISCO/(*San Diego)
1989 300SE 148 K miles *SOLD

I think that is a much better option in general. A Texas car is also likely to have the air conditioning working. An eighty five is the year to get if in decent condition. Although eighty threes and fours are not bad as well.

They were improved in some ways for that eighty five year only and that was a little strange to me being the last year of production. For a car the older Mercedes diesels are fairly easy to work on compared to many on the road.

i've heard that the quality of the steel changed in 85 and that the 84 is the year to look for. but i dunno if that's fact.

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1981 NA 300D 310k miles

This looks more like a $1000 car - 1982 Mercedes 300D

Sixto
87 300D

This is a week later then I intended, but I wanted to clarify the meaning behind my username:

Laetiporus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



Happy holidays folks!

the fungus among us

__________________
1979 300D 220 K miles
1995 C280 109 K miles
1992 Cadillac Eldorado Touring Coupe 57K miles SOLD
********************
1979 240D 140Kmiles (bought for parents) *SOLD.
SAN FRANCISCO/(*San Diego)
1989 300SE 148 K miles *SOLD