I was checking out Craigslist late at night a few weeks back when I stumbled upon this beautiful Euro 300d. I ended up emailing whoever posted the ad requesting for their phone number. The following morning I was refreshing my email nonstop, knowing at what a rare car I had found. At 9:30 am I received an email from Udo (son of the owner). He emailed me back saying that I was not the first to inquire about the car, and people as far away as Chicago were messaging him. In the email, he had left his phone number. Within seconds I was dialing, at 9:31, praying to God that I could be the first to look at the car. I ended up talking with him for a bit while trying to remain calm. I essentially pleaded with him so that I could be the first person to look at the car.

My girlfriend and my father accompanied me the very next day on a road trip just 3 hours south of where we live to Sonora. It was quite the drive over, and the entire time I was nervous. We had the asking price in cash and I was feeling very pessimistic for some reason. I felt that the car could in no way be priced this low and be in this good of condition. We were asked to show up at noon, and we did.

We arrived at 12:01. I just want to point out that it seems like everything in this story fell into place so perfectly down to the exact minute of every encounter. Anyways, we approached the driveway and it was a very steep paved driveway. We were climbing in first gear in my 300d. At the top sat the most beautiful W123 I have ever laid my eyes on, and we parked right next to it. I got out of my car. My heart was pounding. I couldn’t believe the condition it was in! The windows were all unrolled and I was peering inside of the car. The interior looked brand new! The entire car looked brand new! I couldn’t believe my eyes. The owner and her son were still inside the house at this point, not knowing that we had arrived. I looked the car over for a few minutes in disbelief.

I knocked on the door and a lady came to it. She was about 4’ 5” and looked as if she weighed 85lbs. She introduced herself as Sylvia, and I shook her hand, carefully. Her youngest son, Stefan, ended up coming to the door as well. I shook his hand too. My father and girlfriend exchanged greetings with both of them. We all gathered around the red W123. The lady was very sweet, and she was 84 years old. Her English was not so good, and she was speaking German to her son the majority of the time. I looked at the car for a few more minutes. I had already decided on purchasing it the moment I laid eyes on it however.

Sylvia came up to me and said in a very thick German accent and said “everything works.” I almost started tearing up, she was so adorable. The thought of her having to sell her car after all these years was heart breaking. I imagined her and her husband choosing the color and all of the features way back in ’84. It was a very touching moment, and I will never forget it.

I ended up turning to Sylvia and her son and told them I will take the car. I gave the full asking price. I shook Sylvia’s hand one last time and assured her that I would take care of her car. We filled out paperwork and we were on our way. My dad hopped in my ’82 and fired it up. My girlfriend and I hopped in the newly acquired ’84 and fired it up. We drove away at 12:15 pm, we had only been there 14 minutes. I could see Stefan and Sylvia watching us depart in the rear view mirror. It was truly a sad experience, but I will give the car the best life that I can.

The color is called English red, it looks a slight bit of orange at times. The pictures are almost spot on with the color.
504 Englischrot (English Red)

edit: I believe I am wrong in saying that it is English Red. They stopped producing English Red after 1982, and this car is an '84. Although very similar, I think this color is called 585 Altrot. I will check the paint code when I get back home in December.

This is the day after we bought the car, exactly how we found it:








Strangely, some traditional housing carpet was cut and placed in order to protect the factory carpet underneath.



Even the wind laces, which usually fray, were all still intact and holding up well:



Import paperwork:



The entire service history came with the car, as well as the import paperwork. Every feature on the car works, and it seems to be entirely original. The windshield, the rear windshield, everything is original! The USA headlights that came with the car when it was imported were included. They are also brand new, never used!

One question I have for everyone reading is what should I do with this car in terms of originality? I'm debating if I should leave the car as I found it cosmetically, and keep all of the slight imperfections. For example, the grill insert has a chunk missing out of it, the manual shifter boot is torn and cracked all over, one of the quarter panel trim pieces has a slight dent in it. There are many other slight imperfections, should I fix them all is the question. This car is in a rare condition and I would like some input before I do any work to it.

Thank you everyone for reading. I've posted this on Benzworld already, but I wanted to share the beauty of this pristine W123 with the folks over here as well. This can act as my formal introduction to Peachparts. Have an excellent day

Full picture album: https://imgur.com/a/kiseN

Honestly your car looks to be even better than the 240D I grabbed out of a collection.

I don't name my cars, but I think I'd name her Sylvia.

How many miles on the car?

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1981 240D Four on the floor, Orient Red over Parchment, bought with 154,000 but it's a daily driver and up to 180,000 miles, mostly original paint and all original interior.

Wow! Even with a perfect cloth interior! Nice score!

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Current stable:
1995 E320 149K (Nancy)
1983 500SL 120K (SLoL)

Black Sheep:
1985 524TD 167K (TotalDumpster™)

Gone but not forgotten:
1986 300SDL (RIP)
1991 350SD
1991 560SEL
1990 560SEL
1986 500SEL Euro (Rusted to nothing at 47K!)

Very nice find!

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What an amazing find, it's like a time capsule. How many kilometers on the odo?

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1998 E300 turbodiesel

America's Rights and Freedoms Are Not The Enemy!

What a buy. I'm sure there was a line for this one. You lucked out.

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'80 300SD - '83 240D - '00 E55 AMG - '02 G500

Very nice ! I agree with the name suggestion above.

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Marshall Welch
Seattle, WA
1982 300D-T

Lovely car!

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

226k miles on the car. It was maintained its entire life by Mercedes and it shows. Everything feels brand new, it is the best car I've ever driven. I plan to drive it occasionally, definitely not a daily driver. I think I'll call her Sylvia, what a great idea!

That shifter boot is like $12 from Mercedes, or at least was last time I ordered one.

Absolutely stunning car. Very jealous, except for the fact it's a bit slower than my 190E, especially after I put a 3.0L in and do EFI plus turbo.

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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.

That car looks more like 26,000 miles! Congratulations!

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

I call it getting a break once in awhile. Really nice example. Take care of it. In this condition it will become pretty rare soon if not already.

The family being of German extraction may have had some friends in the dealership. Or connection to the company.

Also I would get some agreed value with an insurance company going. Just in case something happens down the road. Even if it costs a few dollars for a binding appraisal of value.

As an example. I was not going to put collision on an older car I acquired. It turned out to be a much better car than I expected. Even though I thought it was pretty good to start with. So I think I may have a valuation done and add the coverage. It in no way is a deal like you got though.

State farm offers agreed value. Also perhaps Hagerty is an option.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Wow.

I could only drive it to shows. it's too nice to drive regularly.

Doesn't anyone else besides me wanna know how much he paid??! Lol

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