when will NLA parts be the end for our cars - Page 3 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Father Of Giants · #1 01-01-2019, 09:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 83w126

If you replace everything yeah its expensive, you could probably get the shocks and springs too for $3k though. And about $500 in special tools ($180 for a press, $180 for a spring compressor, and $80 for the cheap ball joint tool). It actually isn't that hard of a job, if you are comfortable using the spring compressor that is the hardest part. There are actually a couple places that make aluminum SDL radiators now, mine has been replaced at some point and I found a decent spare in the junkyard though. The main thing that will be the end of them though is that no one really wants them anymore, the same ones have been for sale on Craigslist here for over a year. I saw a pretty clean 86 300SDL in the junkyard a couple days ago that someone had bought for the engine and scrapped the rest. It was certainly way nicer than mine is.

Also W126's are getting hard to find used, they're are only a handful even with the search radius maxed out. They are getting cheap to acquire though.

sgnimj96 · #2 01-01-2019, 11:37 AM

Keeping any 80's or older car is a challenge for anyone. Car makers want to forget about the days of simple, fixable cars. We're pretty much being left to our own devices if we want to keep these cars.

Very few mechanics even think about these cars. Lots of places outside the US manage to keep old cars going without so much resistance, although these mercedes diesels can be tricky compared to most. Sometimes you have to delete, fabricate, or just swap. This is why you have to have tools, stuff, and space to work - or a friend who does.

RUST and wrecks is generally what sends these cars to the junkyard, not lack of parts. I've got a lot of stuff from ********** for my W123. The Pelicanparts.com seems really good, but most of all, it's THE FORUM and the PEOPLE that keep these cars alive.

It's true, some part suppliers are phasing them, nothing lasts forever. Just be glad you still own some of the best cars ever made.

vonsmog · #3 12-31-2018, 06:12 PM

This is why my basement looks like this! I have enough parts to rebuild my two W123's a few times over, as well as a few more.

Dan Stokes · #4 12-31-2018, 07:22 PM

If you're willing to innovate, never. For example, Steele Rubber Products and others offer weatherstrip that you can make work. A broken bracket can be fabricated. The list goes on. You may have to abandon the idea of keeping your Mercedes ALL Mercedes but I say it's better to have it on the road with some aftermarket bits than to send it to Korea to turn into Hyundais and Kias (no disrespect to those makes but you get my drift). The engines live pretty much forever, rusty bodies can be welded up, interiors can be sewn up, and the rest can be worked around. I think my point is that as long as you love your 'Benz it's becoming time to turn into hot rodders, not to modify the car for performance but to make it work on to the NEXT century!

Dan

ROLLGUY · #5 01-04-2019, 10:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vonsmog

This is why my basement looks like this! I have enough parts to rebuild my two W123's a few times over, as well as a few more.

I've got a similar stash (maybe even larger), but definitely not as well organized. I imagine if I stripped the 7+ parts cars I have, I would need a thousand square foot building to hold it all, including hanging parts from the rafters. There are a few "hoarders" like us, and I am sure our collections will be worth MILLIONS one day (millions of what, I don't know :-)

Dubyagee · #6 12-31-2018, 07:38 PM

Free market will step in if the demand is there.

alabbasi · #7 01-01-2019, 12:09 AM

Free market has nothing to do with it and OEM demand for old cars has never been there.

Most car manufacturers discontinue parts support for their cars once the car itself has been discontinued for 8-10 years. Mercedes Benz built their brand on the idea that a Mercedes Benz will run forever even though parts support was a loss leader.

Right now, Mercedes Benz is clearly more interested in capturing as much of the new car market as possible.

To anyone that suggests that i'm complaining by pointing out the obvious, you're the kind of idiot that can't see something until it's right under your nose. Everyone I know including myself who has owned and driven a Mercedes Benz built in the 80's or earlier on a daily bases knows that while they can be dependable transport, they also spend a lot of time with hood up. Sure, there will some nice examples floating around, but your rickety diesel with 400k miles will be long dead.

pawoSD · #8 01-01-2019, 09:10 PM

I have a whole set of shelving in my shed full of random W126 and W123 parts, as well as some more in my basement storage room, but if I went and tried to sell any of it I bet it would be a pain, and I'd probably get hardly any $$ for it. I even have two complete good condition W126 original rear window glass! And an entire W123 300D OEM exhaust in great shape....list goes on.

Hard to find good quality new parts is one of the reasons I retired out my W126 420sel, it was getting too expensive to keep throwing parts at the suspension for it to be worth it. Had a pair of upper control arms that lasted barely 1.5 years till the rubber was shot in both the bushing and the ball joint boots (creak creak creak). $$$

I went from my 14-17mpg 420sel to a 33mpg GLK250 diesel....and its been awesome!

Squiggle Dog · #9 01-01-2019, 10:40 PM

When I say the older cars are built better, I mean the parts are so much heavier and substantial. On new cars the parts are flimsy, delicate, and easy to break. You don't get the bank-vault sound closing the door on a new Mercedes anymore. The cars are built by accountants these days, and they try to shave cost any way they can. I've not driven a Mercedes newer than a W126, but I can say that a w116 drives better than a W126. Other brands of new cars I've driven were absolutely terrible and it seemed like I couldn't keep them straight on the road and maintaining a constant speed was challenging.

Some people have had bitter experiences with older cars, but mine does not smell like mildew, does not leak a drop except for the transmission because there is one seal that cannot be replaced without rebuilding it, and the turbo seems to have a bit of an oil leak. My air conditioning is as good or better than any new car--R-12 works very well.

Some people know the price of everything, but the value of nothing. I personally don't care what my car is worth in money. I care about its value in the quality of the vehicle. I cannot get this same quality and style in anything new. Fortunately for me, I am not a "hoarder" (just store some spare parts in a shed) and would be happy to own a new car if anything comparable was on the market, but there is not.

Any liquidator who will send a very rare restored coachbuilt fintail wagon to the scrap yard is a fool, but I wouldn't put it past people. The bitterness and toxicity that's growing in this forum is incredible.

I miss how it was ten years ago when you could get practically every nut and bolt for these cars. Then ten years later it ends like this... Being in the minority is really frustrating, but I'm not going to give in and conform to everyone else's mold. If a car maker doesn't build what I want, they won't have my business. I'll keep driving the cars they made when they made them the way I like them.

lorainfurniture · #10 01-01-2019, 11:48 PM

Squiggle dog, drive a w212. I cannot convince you on the style, if you like vintage You like vintage. I will say that my e350 has that bank vault feeling that my w126 had. The quality is there, the style is in the eye of the beholder.

Of course I would never scrap a complete, or even mostly complete car. The parts is what im talking about. It would all get scrapped.

Father Of Giants · #11 01-02-2019, 03:27 AM

I'll keep generation jumping, the W210 is still cheaper, one day I'll move to the W211 and so forth.

jay_bob · #12 01-02-2019, 06:02 AM

I am currently having no issues getting anything I need for my W210 at the dealer. I just have to wait a couple days for them to get it in for me.

I have noticed that they stock nothing for this car beyond the basics (wiper blade, filters, etc) and everything needs to be ordered. I think they have a US East and US West warehouse. The US East warehouse is in Jacksonville FL so we get things in about 2 days.

It’s a little better for my 2008 W211 and W164. More things on hand but still have to wait for the more unusual parts. Had to recently replace the two fuel hoses landing on the fuel filter as one of them was weeping, probably from too many removal/replacement cycles. Hose is perfectly molded to the application and no tolerance to trim off and re-terminate. They had one hose in stock but the other one they had to order.

Over the years I have bought many parts from the sponsor but since everything has to come from California, I have found the dealer will usually beat the delivery date to SC. The MBCA 10% discount helps as they are a little more expensive. It also makes my life at tax time easier, we have to declare all out of state purchases and pay our local 8% tax on our state income tax return at the end of the year. Hoping that giving the dealer the business is my little contribution to keeping the interest on the older models alive.

ngarover · #13 01-02-2019, 10:25 AM

A 2010 E63 with 90 k, $24,900 and dropping.
https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?listingId=501369554&zip=37401&referrer=%2Fcars-for-sale%2Fsearchresults.xhtml%3Fzip%3D37401%26startYear%3D2010%26sortBy%3Drelevance%26incremental%3Dall %26firstRecord%3D0%26marketExtension%3Don%26endYear%3D2010%26modelCodeList%3DE63AMG%26makeCodeList%3 DMB%26searchRadius%3D200&startYear=2010&numRecords=25&firstRecord=0&endYear=2010&modelCodeList=E63AMG&makeCodeList=MB&searchRadius=200&makeCode1=MB&modelCode1=E63AMG&clickType=listing

S123 300TD wagons... 5K to 35K and climbing...
https://bringatrailer.com/search/300td/

lorainfurniture · #14 01-02-2019, 10:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ngarover

A 2010 E63 with 90 k, $24,900 and dropping.
https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?listingId=501369554&zip=37401&referrer=%2Fcars-for-sale%2Fsearchresults.xhtml%3Fzip%3D37401%26startYear%3D2010%26sortBy%3Drelevance%26incremental%3Dall %26firstRecord%3D0%26marketExtension%3Don%26endYear%3D2010%26modelCodeList%3DE63AMG%26makeCodeList%3 DMB%26searchRadius%3D200&startYear=2010&numRecords=25&firstRecord=0&endYear=2010&modelCodeList=E63AMG&makeCodeList=MB&searchRadius=200&makeCode1=MB&modelCode1=E63AMG&clickType=listing

S123 300TD wagons... 5K to 35K and climbing...
https://bringatrailer.com/search/300td/

LOL, whatever floats your boat. Collector cars aside, as cars that are stored for speculative purposes, your daily driver, or weekend driver is a liability, not an asset. No thanks, I’ll stick to real estate and stocks for my investments.

I destroy a set of rear tires every year to the tune of $1200 a pair. I can assure you that I could give two turds that my car depreciated $8k in the 3 or so years I owned it. My front rotors cost more than 90% of the cars on this forum.

R.Diesel · #15 01-02-2019, 11:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lorainfurniture

LOL, whatever floats your boat. Collector cars aside, as cars that are stored for speculative purposes, your daily driver, or weekend driver is a liability, not an asset. No thanks, I’ll stick to real estate and stocks for my investments.

I destroy a set of rear tires every year to the tune of $1200 a pair. I can assure you that I could give two turds that my car depreciated $8k in the 3 or so years I owned it. My front rotors cost more than 90% of the cars on this forum.

You’re proving his point nicely. You almost sound proud of wasting thousands per year on your aging once upon a time status symbol. Are you having fun strutting your 9 year old $50.000 millionaire chariot in the diesel slums;p