And, we will have to be conserving all planetary mass due to overpopulation/sprawl. So be sure to keep your restroom receipts!


In all seriousness, though. I'll drive a diesel as long as I can (until the government confiscates them via black helicopters or I lose the physical/mental ability to do so).

Honestly, I don't know what I'd do driving in city traffic or parking lots without pedestrians looking at my car like it's about to explode.

__________________
1991 300D 2.5 "Rocinante"
2002 Golf TDI "Teen Spirit"
--------------------
1984 300D
1966 Mustang I6 3sp
1985 Mazda RX-7 GSLSE
1982 Toyota Supra
1977 Datsun 280z
1971 Datsun 240z

I have no plans to wrench ever again in my life but keeping the 240D is likely. It's such a curiosity at this point that it's entertaining to drive, so I'll drive it as long as the car looks good and doesn't require lots of maintenance.

This Benz honestly requires far more maintenance that my 2012 Chrysler, so this thing is not low maintenance compared to a new car but is sure is cheap to keep compared to my 1969 Chevy!

__________________
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.

HAHA that made me laugh! I can so relate. I had two 602s that clacked like crazy, but ran super good. I had some lady run away from it in a Wal-Mart parking lot and tell me i should shut it off my engine is about to blow up! me and my girlfriend started laughing

__________________
Only diesels in this driveway.
2005 E320 CDI 243k Black/Black
2008 Chevy 3500HD Duramax 340k
2004 Chevy 2500HD Duramax 220k

Car should have gone from simple, economical diesels straight into electrics. I was just at the scrap yard and you see so much metal from todays cars. Whole cars, piles of cast metals. So much work, such a waste.

__________________
1985 300TD 1981 Scirocco 1.6D conv 1986 Golf 1.6D 2003 Golf TDI

Electrics will never be viable beyond niches for the uber-wealthy. The battery technology is a joke and will only be able to continue to be cheap until the Chinese are forced to say "uncle" because of their horrific environmental degradation trying to make them. You'll see highly efficient gas engines and even hybrids take up more and more of the market share.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/business/batteries/graphite-mining-pollution-in-china/

The next stage for combustion will be hydrogen or some sort of fuel cell.

And even then, petrochemicals as a fuel and for plastic manufacturing aren't going anywhere.

__________________
-Typos courtesy of my mobile phone.

Don't forget the fertilizer.

__________________
Jim

As long as parts remain available.

I daily drive my S430 and have for over a year. I still have the SDs but with constant heat and AC issues, they are no longer dailies. Maybe if someone starts selling a monovalve that isn't complete trash, I would be happier.

__________________
1991 F250 super-cab 7.3 IDI. (rebuilt by me) Banks Sidewinder turbo, hydroboost brakes, new IP and injectors.
2003 S430 - 107K
1983 300SD - Tanoshii - mostly restored ~400K+.
1983 300SD - Good interior. Engine finally tamed ~250K.
Monark Nozzle Install Video - http://tinyurl.com/ptd2tge

Until rust, collision, or gov't regulation take them, I think I have my perfect set of vehicles and don't plan to sell any of them. Regardless of the occasion or situation, I've got keys to an appropriate ride.
- 2006 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited
- 1997 MB E300 Diesel
- 1966 MB 230SL

I'm learning more and more all the time about maintenance and repair on these three, so why waste that knowledge? I'll keep them as long as I can.

Side topic: Some people skoff at the electric cars. The owner of a Tesla can't fix much, but the car is relatively simple and reliable. Their scheduled maintenance is a dealer inspection every 24 months. Does your Mercedes go 2 years between inspections? Not scheduled work, mind you, just inspection!

__________________
NOW: 2017 C43 AMG, 2006 Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon, 1966 230SL, 1980 450SL (for sale!)
PAST: 2006 C230, 1997 E300D, 1994 E420, 1994 Neon Spt Cpe, 1984 300ZX, 1983 Celica GT, 1976 Electra Limited, 1984 Honda Nighthawk 650, 1979 Suzuki PE175, 1978 Suzuki DS100
www.mbca.org - www.sl113.org - www.ohio4x4.com

The W210s are notorious rust buckets on wheels. It doesn't take much for their weak points well chronicled here to get out of hand. In the Rust Belt, year around use would be a distaster, IMHO. I would strongly consider leaving the 210 fold, if driven 365 in the Rust Belt.

Electric vehicles are awesome these days. The Tesla is one bada** mofo! It won't be long until their (electric vehicles) widespread use is in the general population of car drivers.

The SDs of the vintage you own are terrific cars, mechanical conditions notwithstanding. You just have to keep their condition up. Ask me how I know!

yes

I know what you mean. I'm driving the Jeep, or the wife's Volvo XC60, when there's salt on the road. When the Jeep body or frame rusts, there are always replacement parts and repair techniques.

__________________
NOW: 2017 C43 AMG, 2006 Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon, 1966 230SL, 1980 450SL (for sale!)
PAST: 2006 C230, 1997 E300D, 1994 E420, 1994 Neon Spt Cpe, 1984 300ZX, 1983 Celica GT, 1976 Electra Limited, 1984 Honda Nighthawk 650, 1979 Suzuki PE175, 1978 Suzuki DS100
www.mbca.org - www.sl113.org - www.ohio4x4.com

I you really just want to keep and old car from dying of rust but can't (ever) spend a bunch of money on it, just coat the affected surfaces with a good corrosion inhibitor.

Clean it well, treat it with some kind of metal prep like ospho, then paint or spray some serious gunk on there like fluid film, lps3, rustlick, or even better CRC SP-400.


I ended up buying the 5-gal of crc from Zoro (with a 20%off code & free shipped). They don't make sp400 in a 1 gallon (wtf) and the spray can version is terrible - super toxic, have to wear a respirator, doesn't last at all. The liquid version is super easy to work with a goes a long way.
I have way more than I wanted but hey, it's forever we're talking about

https://www.zoro.com/crc-corrosion-inhibitor-5-gal-03286/i/G1497246/
Zoro is friggin awesome

__________________
1985 300TD 1981 Scirocco 1.6D conv 1986 Golf 1.6D 2003 Golf TDI

All this talk of rust, what’s that?

__________________
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.

I plan to keep my 240D indefinitely. It's simple enough that I can do most repairs myself (though I really need to ensure that I have a true garage in my next life phase to be able to do that work out of the weather!). Now that I've had a transmission swap done, almost all the big-ticket items have occurred and been dealt with: engine, transmission, front end. The body, while not perfect, is not a rust bucket; it could certainly stand some attention, though. One major subsystem that will eventually need attention is the rear drive axles.

And I should say that I do truly love to drive my manual transmission 240D. It's no rocket, but it is steady and comfortable and reasonably nimble as a car. There's just something so damn satisfying about driving a well-tuned diesel Mercedes of the W123 era.

Paradoxically, I just bought a new hybrid Camry, and I'm in the process of transferring my W201 to another forum member. In the past I've counted on at least one of my diesel Mercedes to be running well at any particular moment, and usually that is true. The whole 240D transmission problem meant that the 240D went out of commission at just the time of year that I usually drive it the most - winter - because the manual transmission of the W201 is very stiff in the cold, and exacerbates a shoulder problem that I've had for years. Also, the whole way that the transmission swap was handled by my usual shop kind of turned me off, and since I don't enjoy working on the W201 I decided it was time to let it go. So I'll commute down to the farm in the Camry each week with its creature comforts, and drive the 240D to work. And now I'll have a car that my family will actually want to travel in - though the espresso drive through that I take my daughter to won't start her drink when they hear the clatter of the diesel any longer!

__________________
- '79 240D - engine swap complete! Engine broken in! 28-31 mpg! Lovin' the ride!
- '86 190D (W201-126) - 2.5 NA engine, 5 speed, cloth interior, manual climate controls, 33-34 mpg (sold to forum member).