They're Out There

[83TD]

So I was at the Big Box hardware store yesterday morning and when I exited, what should be parked in the lot but a pristine mid-80s 300D, black with palomino interior--no dents, dings or rust, and the original windshield in place.
Wish I had my phone with me for a photo.

So I had to wait for its owner to appear and shortly a middle aged woman appeared and opened the trunk to load her items. She is the original owner of the car for all of 83,000 miles it has never seen winter, even though she lives in a small town in Minnesota. And her mother has one just like it, but in silver.

Made my day.

Peter

[Diseasel300]

They're like cockroaches down here. Lots of pristine one-owner 300D's, a few 300SD's in less great shape, a couple 300TDs in average condition, another SDL in appallingly poor shape, and a W116 300SD that looks like it rolled off the showroom floor this morning. You never see gassers from the same era, but tons of diesels and a handful of SL's. The diesels were really popular with landowners during the gas crunch years and they were "old money", so it makes sense they bought the car and continue to drive it today. When they go up for sale, they usually want stupid money though.

[JimFreeh]

Linda will often take the 85 300TD when she goes shopping vice the new Bluetec.



Just the other day, she was returning to the wagon, and she overheard a woman (with a heavy NYC accent) exclaim to her companion "Look at that Mercedes, it has a European license plate".


Yes, yes it does..... And headlights, and bumpers, and trailer hitch....


They are getting more scarce now, used to see W123s everywhere.


Jim

[marco5]

I remember a time when I could goto the local junkyard and there'd be 15-20 benzes (W126, W123, W115, W116) etc just sitting there for parts.

I now can't find a local junkyard with any older Benz past the year 1990. My luck has been people randomly buying the for $500 and parting them out to make a little bit of side cash.

These cars are getting more rare, everyday. They are not no longer 'cheap to maintain' to keep them up to driving standards. Don't get me wrong, I think that they are still the most reliable cars on the road but the maintenance, parts and etc is all going up. I hope the younger generation puts money into these so they stay on the road.

[andrewjtx]

Here's a heart breaker from the Houston floods: https://www.copart.com/lot/30946668

[Dubyagee]

Originally Posted by andrewjtx

Here's a heart breaker from the Houston floods: https://www.copart.com/lot/30946668

Thats worth saving. $725 now.

[vwnate1]

? Are you sure this is worth $750 ? .

Flood damage is intense to repair (I have much experience with it) and this is an average looking NA coupe ~ here in So. Cal. better looking ones get scrapped monthly for far less $ .

A sad thing to be sure but if they can't be sold as cheap beaters, off to Pick-A-Part they go .

[BillGrissom]

Not very rare here. Just today I parked next to another mid-80's 300D at Ace Hardware. Looked nice, but I didn't stalk the owner. I passed a 240D later today. Most drives down I-80 to San Francisco, I notice at least one 240D or 300D, but one could expect that since passing college towns (Davis & Berkeley). In junkyards, I see many more 300SD than 300D. I don't know if that is because more were sold or they fail sooner. I don't notice more 300SD on the road.

[biopete]

There are far less than there used to be here in Nashville. I just added two to the town a 1975 240d and a 1985 300SD. I love the 300SD w126. The 85 SD.
was in Huntsville, AL. It is still in the original owners title. Turns out it was a California car and the son drove it back to there and then sold it. It has 265000 on a broken odometer. Needs paint job. The interior is great and it drives great and was well loved and cared for — Sheep skin seat covers , lots of mb dealer receipts, brand new tires. It was worth the 1400 I paid I think. The guy knew it too. He was asking 1550.

Parts for these get more expensive. Like w115 parts are more than w126 parts it seems. I guess because they are more rare yada yada. Now is the time to buy a cheap sd and restore it I think. In 5 years it will be much harder.

[Squiggle Dog]

I almost never see vintage Mercedes on the road here in the Phoenix valley in Arizona. But, every now and then I'll see one in an unexpected place. When I lived in Washington, it was a different story--it was over-saturated with them and people were just giving them away. Many were Euro-spec imports and coupes were very common.

[Mesalm]

Here's a heart breaker from the Massachusetts traffic: