Greeting from North Central Florida!

This is quite the tale, and will take up a bit of your time, but without the background and foreground you will not understand where we are trying to get to.

My wife and I bought a VW TDi, 2015 Golf Sportwagen, last year and are part of the massive cluster known as the VW Buyback program.... What a long process, but we are patient and are awaiting our offer from VW to schedule out buyback appointment. We have a farm, not a gigantic farm, but a gentleman's farm, 10 acres with goats, chickens, pigs, turkeys, dogs, and one fat cat. We bought the station wagon with the intent of having this be our 20 year car. We haul feed in it, livestock occasionally (with tarps and crates to protect the interior) and use it to commute to work, a 32 mile round trip. Occasionally, we go on drives of 400 miles or more, but that is only once or twice a year.

So, as you can now imagine, we are in the market for a replacement wagon. There are several points to be made before anyone is tempted to begin the "you should get a "Subaru/Toyota/Oldsmobile/Honda" reply here....

1. We don't want a cr@p station wagon
2. We do use/require a station wagon
3. I already have an F-250 for our horse trailer/tractor trailer/ round bales of hay hauling
4. I am an awesome mechanic being able to rebuild anything and have restored old trucks, farm tractors, and motorcycles

My wife and I really dislike most of the wagons currently available, and we are about 1 month from being entirely debt free (WOOHOO!!!) so are not willing to finance a new car. We are looking for a wagon to last us 10 -15 years. We are seriously considering an MB wagon, preferably the W123 body style. We are able to spend about 5-7 K with this purchase and would much prefer to spend our hard earned cash with an individual rather than a dealership. I have been looking at several 300TD's online, from Texas to California, and north to Michigan.... But we are in North Florida and I am not willing to purchase a car unseen/test driven by myself.

So, here we are, almost wagonless, searching for a car. We have a request for the MB owners in Central/North Florida, can we please test drive your car? Even if it is not for sale. We need to make sure it is something my wife can drive comfortably, as she is 5' 2" and needs to see over the steering wheel (true story!) and also see how it handles to make sure this is something she can drive regularly. Secondly, do you have a wagon for sale, or know someone who does? We would love to meet them!

Thanks and we are looking forward to hearing from you!

Kyle and Anja
Newberry, FL.

Something to consider:
If you were going to keep it for 20 years, why do the buyback? Will VW still work on it? Will FL permit you to operate it?

As far as NOx emmisions go, a cheater TDi on a bad day still makes less than the EPA spec for the 70-80s. When it was discussed a lot on this board, someone put up an EPA test report on a 220D, stated spec was 2 gm NOx / km, I think. VW was cheating to meet a IIRC .1 or .2 gm NOx / km. spec.

A 61x or 60x motor will run well on vegetable oil, if you plan on growing and pressing that.

W124 wagons might be something to look at too, easier to find, I think.

__________________
CC: NSA

All things are burning, know this and be released.

82 Benz 240 D, Kuan Yin
12 Ford Escape 4wd

You're four times

It's hard to

more likely to

concentrate on

have an accident

two things

when you're on

at the same time.

a cell phone.

www.kiva.org It's not like there's anything wrong with feeling good, is there?

Moon161,

We are going forward with the buyback as there is no guarantee that there will be a repair that is approved by the EPA and does not effect overall performance/mileage/reliability. Also, after dealing with VW and this mess I don't feel that keeping their car is in our best interest. We don't really consider the small amount of additional pollution as a negative to getting an older car due to the small amount we drive and our goal to not participate in our throw away debt burdened society.

We certainly would consider the W124 style as well, but we do prefer the look of the prior models.

Thanks and if you know someone in our area that would let us check their car out for a test drive and such, please, let us know!

We have a family member who is 4'11" that occasionally drives my 300D. The seat does go up and forward a LOT so it works for her. ;-) Make sure the seat tracks are not frozen.

__________________
1985 300D
The rest:
1957 MGA (comatose)
1965 Falcon (sleeping)
1966 E-100 (rust test in progress)
1976 Ford 3400 D Tractor (workhorse)
1978 Mercury Zephyer (5L playtoy)
1995 Isuzu NPR D (fetcher)
1998 Subaru Legacy (Spare)
2000 Toyota Sienna (School bus)
2008 Toyota Prius (Commuter)

Thanks mytimeyet! That is exactly what we needed to know...

Now to find one locally to test drive...

(was seriously not hinting to you here cause I just noticed you are a local!)

Ok, I just posted and then saw you were in Micanopy! We would love to have a chance to meet with you and chat about the car! Perhaps someday at Mosswood farm store and bakehouse (my treat!)

The Mercedes is, of course, a great choice, but let me offer up a second choice, the Volvo wagon. There are several models depending on year and I don't claim to be an expert but I know they're pretty tough and some were Diesel powered. Maybe too old for you?

Anyhow, worth a thought.

Dan

Well Dan, I test drove a Volvo 940 yesterday and what I've discovered was that the steering is so light, meaning easy to turn, that it was a little sketchy to drive at highway speeds. I know that may have been just a wearing of the power steering rack or some other mechanical issue, but my wife cannot easily drive a car with no resistance in the steering. She likes a little resistance to feel the turn.

We are finding that the more cars we add to our list, the harder time we have parsing out possibles from the nevers, and in light of that fact we have decided to focus on our favorite body style for a month or 2 and see what we can shake out.

Thanks!

Kyle

Are you ready to dedicate weekends to an '80s MB? I don't mean a stream of repairs to keep it going but little things like - in my case - door lock mechanism clips that break, window switches with intermittent contact, throttle linkage that binds just off idle, visor that shakes when extended, cruise that works at 75 but not at 40... To me it's a practical hobby but there are days I wish it were less of a rolling to do list than I imagine a $5-7K Subaru Forester is. My wife's car is an appliance so it has to be something any shop can fix.

Sixto
83 300SD

My W124 300d has been a great car. Not without its problems from time to time, but most in the end, are minor.

Came across this 85 300TD in northern Calif., too far away though.
Kind of exaggerated on the mileage.


https://chico.craigslist.org/cto/5852514390.html


Another 85 in the SF Bat Area. Dealer.
https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/ctd/5903863685.html
.
.
.

__________________
there were three HP ratings on the OM616...

1) Not much power
2) Even less power
3) Not nearly enough power!! 240D w/auto

Anyone that thinks a 240D is slow drives too fast.

80 240D Naturally Exasperated, 4-Spd 388k DD 150mph spedo 3:58 Diff

We are advised to NOT judge ALL Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics. Funny how that works

Sixto, I have run vintage VW's, watercooled VW's and other vehicles that require maintenance. Doing these jobs is something I really enjoy so maintenance is not my primary concern, but rather getti,g a vintage car that is not a basket case!

Jbach36, the 124 is our second choice and if we find a sweet deal that may be our car! We are open to one as our primary concern is to find an awesome wagon!

Charmalu, I have been reading ads from all over the US to attempt to catch a sense of how these cars are priced and what is typically needed when we find one. I had not seen those ads and thanks!!

Kyle

Kyle, I am not saying you can't find a great car for the $5k-7k price range, but don't be surprised if you have to put another $1-2k in parts into it to make it perfect and reliable. The two listed in CA are great cars to start a project on. Rust is the big killer of these cars. You can fix anything mechanically fairly cheaply, its the rust that cost a bunch to fix, and you are always fighting it. I started out with a solid car from TX, and paid $1300 for it. Was a non-runner due to an owner who didn't know anything about it, and she had to pay someone to fix it all the time. She put in over $5k in the two years she owned it. When I picked it up the brakes were seized from sitting for over a year and would not start because it needed four new glow plugs. The interior was faded and baked from the TX sun, and the last Macco Paint job was flaking off. But having no rust was the big thing, just fixed everything else and now would trust driving it anywhere. Have a little over $5k into it and only thing left to fix is the AC. Did all the work myself, as that is what I do on Unimogs. So the cost is all purchase price and parts. The car got a windows out bare metal respray complete interior swap out from a great donor car. New brakes, new wheels and tires, new axles, SLS complete rebuild, drive shaft rebuilt. Now if I were to sell it, I would want at least $18k. As I don't think you would find a better one here in the states. The car is a true 9.5 out of 10! So if you don't mind doing the work yourself you can have the car of your dreams for the $5-7k price.

Attached Thumbnails

       

Vonsmog, that is an amazingly beautiful Mercedes! I can only imagine that it would be easily be worth at least 18k and I have seen pristine models like that go for even more!

Our starting price is to find a good body, preferable mostly sound and running, model. Once we have it in hand I will be doing the work on it. I can do everything but the machine work (if needed) our on the farm. If we cant, then we will be proceeding with another model like the 124 or 210. Either way, I feel that getting into an older model like this will benefit us in the long run.
Thanks! Kyle

Keep the VW since it is apparently paid off. Being you are planning on running a car long term, residual value means nothing. An alternate choice would be to trade the current car in on a gas version.

If you go with a older MB, be prepared to keep another car in reserve because at some point it will break and you won't be able to walk into a random auto parts and walk out with the parts you need.

Any older MB diesel you get is going to make way more pollution than the VW in question ever would. If you don't drive much, it is difficult to justify a diesel of any brand. Don't get caught up in the notion that a diesel "car" lasts longer than a gas "car". The only real difference between the two is the engine. Even at that point, gas engine reliability / longevity is far greater than it once was.

I haven't driven either wagon but personally, I would go with a W124 wagon, either a OM603 powered or M104 powered car. I like W123s but W124s are so much more modern. Whichever you buy, plan to spend $1500 on a suspension overhaul as most of these I see have worn out or crumbling bushings because the are old cars. Also, plan to replace the headgasket on a M104 or M103 if it hasn't been updated to the newer style headgasket. Same can probably be said for the OM603 if it has the original style head on it. The M103 cars can be good but CIS can be a headache to deal with. All of these cars have their quirks.

__________________
Current: 1975 450SEL, 83 300D, 88 Yugo GVX, 90 300D OM603 swap, 91 F150 4.6 4v swap, 93 190E Sportline LE 3.0L M104 swap, 93 190E Sportline LE Megasquirt, 03 Sprinter, 06 E500 4Matic wagon.