A dissapionting day for 123 Diesel wreck'n-yard'n in So. Cal
 

I visited 4 wrecking yards yesterday (Ecology & Pick-A-Part), and the 123 pickin's were slim. My favorite yard (Ecology Import Only) had NO 123's!. There were plenty of 124's, a few 126's and 201's, and even a 107!. Of the 3 other yards, one had 2-123's (both black & picked clean), one had 1, and the other had NONE. However, I went to 2 Ecology yards today, and the first had 5 123's to choose from, and the other ZERO. I was able to get some good parts today, but I fear that the 123 pickin's will get slimmer as the years go bye. It seems that 126 cars are next, and 116's are not seen much nowadays either.
The moral of this story is, get all the 123 parts you can NOW before they are all gone!

Welcome to our world.

Hahahaha, California. :D

You only found 8 123s in a disappointing visit to several yards. I think that adds up the last 5 years for me. Welcome to the beginning of the end sir. Fortunately the 123s pop up on craigslist all the time from other enthusiasts of a sort, but never in the yards.

I haven't found a single W123 in a yard for about 2-3 years now. It's a huge bummer.

The 123 heard is thinning out for sure. I was in Carson City, NV. for Christmas, and there were no 123`s, one 80 SD that had been there for 3 mo+. some 124, and 201 as I remember.

There are 2 in the SJ north yard, only Diesels there. haven`t been to the other yards.

You guys back east look at www.picknpull.com and use my Zip 95073 and check the cars out here. I usually use the unlimited mileage or what ever it is. you will be amazed at what they are crushing every month.

Have to grab the parts NOW or they won`t be there later. I posted about a 240D with new Guide Rod Mounts, went back to get them, and it was gone along with the 4-spd.:(

Charlie

I was at the San Jose north lot a couple of weeks ago. No 123s then but there was a 114 and a 129.

Sixto
87 300D

Last time I went to the Wilmington PyP they had a euro 123 complete with plaid cloth interior and 5spd

There's used to be a 240D 4-speed in a yard the next town over that's owned by a fellow in his 80s (or at least 70s). His yard is totally off the map -- both in terms of it not being on car-part and in terms of not being well frequented. This may be partly due to the fact that he can be a bit crotchety :D. I think the newest car in that yard was from the early '90s -- kind of feels like a time capsule. I don't know if the 240D is still there, though.

Holland's in Billerica has one '84 300TD (JB3, it has a very nice front passenger's seat). Other than that, I have trouble finding any. Most yards that I speak to say "Oh, we don't have anything that old."

There is one yard in Billerica, Jack's, that sounds like it may have stuff, but it is closed to anyone under 18, so I have to wait another nine days before setting foot in there.

That's not fair... :eek:

Row52 | 1940-1985 Mercedes-Benz

That's called "embarrasment of riches" around here, my friend. :P

I have not been to the Junk Yard for about 3 Years. I only go tho the local Ecology one. From what I have seen back then there was more 1980s SD than W123s. That makes Me think the SDs were more popular in My area.

In My neighborhood I have seen at least 4 W123s that were not around last year.
It also could be that People are hanging on to them now or are able to sell the instead of junking them.

and you left it there???:eek:

That's what I was asking.

SERIOUSLY! I've been PAID enough to afford a plane ticket to CA and pulling the trans, and renting a truck to deliver it... and still have money left over for the 61x 5 speed...

I would have handcuffed myself to the shifter (the other hand free to make an emergency call for parts removal help) until I got someone to help me pull the trans. That would be something that I would not have left get out of my sight until it was safely in the trunk of my car, even if my wallet was a little lighter after the ordeal....Rich

This is a turn up for the books - people are no longer saying save this W123 from the scrap dealer but are now saying that the scrap yards no longer have any W123s in them!

Looks like I lucked out. Last time I went to a junkyard, it was the same one in Carson City Charlie mentioned being out of W123's. Only I went about six months before him and found three. I pulled parts off two of them, including a 240D aluminum (I think) decklid. That car also had crank windows and I got all excited thinking I'd just pull all four doors, since I was getting my car painted anyway. Then I realized three of the regulators were already gone.

No joke.

The W114 was the red one...right? she sure was a beauty when she came in. had nice red interior, good seats, drivers bolster lil bit torn, good carpet and door panels, think the dash was ok. Only damage was what PNP did to the drivers door, fender and maybe the hood. was probably a donated car.

Charlie

It was a week before the thanksgiving sale, I posted it on that thread. I hope somebody around here snagged some parts.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/3245645-post4.html

Today Im making my monthly trip to the 2 yards I hike thru ,being both LKQ yards I generally Know what the prices are before I arrive.Last good finds included 2 items Ive been looking to add to my 190e cossie ,a flawless paint code correct hood and a set of 16" 129r rims .Im lucky for my location is the big city of Houston . Mercedes sold alot of cars here in Houston and growing up nextdoor to a Mercedes dealership manager who drove alot of these modeled marvels I got to see first hand most ,if not all the 80s lineup,it really was like a floor show and you never knew which one he was driving next .
I generally see 4 to 6 models from the 80s, 12 to 15 models from the 90s in both yards.Pickens for the 123s are getting leaner,when I got into the cars back in 2004 you would see 10 or more 123 bodied cars. I buy ,fix ,then sell the 123 models ,its more of a hobbie than a business venture ,I guess Ive put together around 12 now,another 8 on other models .The one item the yards yeild for projects underway are usually nice interior items that you cant get anywhere else, it really is like a kid in a candy store .

I was at Ecology couple months ago, there were 4 or 5 123's including a primo 300CD (before the crash). Some of the big gassers, & 2 of the older (sports cars). Couple years ago, there' be sometimes 12 - 15 123's. "The Ecology in Oceanside"

It is the same for me. I buy any part I can use for fixing up cars to put back on the road. I have had 30+ MB's (mostly 123's), and have enjoyed the buying/fixing/driving/selling (to buy more to buy/fix/drive/sell.....) hobby. It is hard to leave any part at a yard that is either new looking, or may be used one day. I hate seeing this stuff go to the crusher and eventually be sold to China to use to make crappy tools and other junk. Many interiors I have worked on are fixed with parts from many different yards and cars. I can't seem to NOT buy any palomino 123 seat upholstery in decent condition. They can usually be had for cheap because it costs more for an entire seat than it does for a "seat cover" ($10 or less per piece).

2 day So Cal parts pick a couple years ago
 

A couple years ago, my bro and I set out on a 2 day 15+ wrecking yard parts pick in So Cal. With maps and addresses in hand, we started down south in Chula Vista and worked our way north as far as Sunland. Mostly Ecology, Pick-A-Part, and Pick-Your-Part locations. It was a very worthwhile effort, and the 123 pickin's were great (back then). Another problem nowadays around here is that the best yards have merged (P.A.P. & P.Y.P) to become one big corporation (LKQ), and the prices have skyrocketed. My local (sort of) Ecology that is import only, has always had the cheapest prices (50% interior parts). They used to always have a good selection of 123's, and many of the best parts that I have gotten have come from there. I will still go there even though the 123's will be fewer. I may have to start buying some 126's to hobby with.....Rich

Holy Cow!
 

My jaw is on the floor reading some of these posts..."oh, I only ran across seven w123s today"..."I generally see 4 to 6 models from the '80s"...my nearest "large" city is Chattanooga TN. As near as I can tell there's less than a half dozen w123s anywhere within an hour's drive of here, in any state of repair. Ask a local parts yard about a "w123 Mercedes" and they'll have no freakin' clue what you're talking about.:confused: Specify that it's from the early 1980s and they'll instantly tell you they don't stock anything that old (even an early '90s domestic seems to be pushing your luck sometimes).

"Embarrassment of riches" really is the only phrase to describe some of the stories in here. Maybe I should take a day trip down to Atlanta. Or just move to SoCal, where, apparently, life is pretty darn sweet for a w123 owner. Count your blessings, ladies and gentlemen.

I have to say that I do count my blessings (when the 123 pickin is good), but not as much as I used to :D

I am also having a hard time scrapping the carcasses of the stripped cars that are not worth (to me) putting back on the road. I know someone in the rust belt would love to have a rust free 123, but may not want to haul a rust free stripped body back east to use as a replacement body for their rust-bucket beater. I would like to be at the yards when a 123 is brought in and intercept it to keep it out of the yard. I may make up a card that I can give to some tow companies, and give them a little more than the wrecking yard would give them for the car.

I don't think Mercedes sold well in most of the southeast during the W123 era. The only W123's I remember seeing in Georgia were the ones I drove out from the left coast.

Now there's a good idea.

The yard I frequent around here has like seven W124s and two W140s along with the stray W123 300TD. A 560SEL with a beautiful gray leather interior showed up about a month ago; however, when I went back the next week, it was gone :(. The consensus I got from the guys in the yard was that it must have been a mistake, but that still hurts... bird's-eye wood... gray console for eatont9999... potential LSD...

I see what you did there:D:D:D

Rich - Easy fellar, you trying to incite a riot in here! We really do have it made out here and no matter how slim it keeps getting, it will always be juicier than most every other corner of our country.;)

Your story of two some years ago gave me an idear!:eek: The yayarea is loaded right about now and I have been wantin to make the trek. HAVE YOU SEEN THIS YET? Wonder if that's OEM. Dunno, but somebody needs to snap that up. I've only eyeballed that once before. Can't justify the expense rollin solo, buuuuuuuuuut if I had say, a cohort or two, roadtrippin might be less painful and way more productive, heh? What's your schedule like the next couple a weeks buddy? Wanna go halfers on fuel?

O ya, with all that room you got, what's the rush in getting rid of the stripped carcasses? Looked pretty orderly when I was there. Besides, the rust belt will always be wanting... Got around two empty acres over this way and just now starting to stock up, can't stand looking at empty dirt.:P

MBZ123

Not all doom and gloom. I also usually find 80's 300SD at PickNPull's here, and their web listing doesn't distinguish 300D or 300SD. Last time in SoCal I visited Ecology in SFS and found several 300D's. Next time we visit San Diego, I'll hit a few junkyards. From Orange Country to SD along the coast was M-B heaven, or anywhere rich people live like San Francisco into Marin County. You easterners might try next time you visit Disneyland or Sea World. Nothing like rust-free parts. But RollGuy probably doesn't need the competition. Still, I think Ecology crushes them faster than local guys can get to them, since space is at a premium in the LA Basin.

My perspective is a bit different from my Mopars. I used to worry about parts for my 64-65 cars, but seem to find more of them lately at PickNPull. I used to find maybe one 1996-2000 minivan (always picked clean), but now they are flooding the junkyards. There are still plenty of M-B diesels sitting in people's rear drive they "plan to fix". As they give up or die, those cars often hit junkyards because their kids are too lazy to even try to sell them.

Ha! I had offered to pull it and send it to him if he covered my costs and he was game, but the car up & disappeared.

MBZ123, your posts never fail to leave me smiling :D. Thanks for all the laughs.

I was having problems with code enforcement, so having a lot of room to store junk (sorry, I mean good used) cars does not mean I can. I have 3 bodies behind my fence right now, and have plans for 2 of them. The 1980 300D is missing the core support (sold to SirNic84 for his mom's car http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/346395-moms-new-car.html), so the rest of the body is not much good to me other than stripping the rest of the good parts off. I may just sell it to someone in the rust belt for what I could get for scrap. As far as a parts pickin' road trip, I will be out of town till the 24th, so I can't do anything till then. I have found that going on a Wednesday or Thursday to the self serve yards is best. They usually put out the cars before the weekend. My schedule is fairly open during the week, so I could easily plan a mid-week road trip to parts pick.....Rich

Does anyone know if that roof rack is OEM? I have someone pulling and shipping it to me.

i've had good luck in sun valley socal. i seen a few w123 - was able to get what i needed - 240d auto trans xcross mount and 240d manual shifter for my conversion. one car was about a day old, the other 2 weeks - based on their inventory list. there is a pack of vultures ready to pick cars clean as soon as they drop and open a new car row. These w123s looked like the were spared a heavy pick over.

Oh man.... Where on earth did you find it? That is most def OEM.

I almost won one on ebay.uk, but flaked out when I thought about shipping.

A pick and pull in Merced, CA.

If you ever sell it in the future PM me.

There are two locations in Wilmington, do you know which one it was?

1903 Blinn Avenue. That was 2 months ago. Good luck.

LKQ half off May 23-36
 

Ripe for the picking at the Wilmington yard.
http://i.imgur.com/ew5mATw.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/OpC0scY.jpg?1

http://i.imgur.com/8tmD9lE.jpg?1

Grab the new style vacuum pump from the vertical 606.

Sixto
MB-less