I bough my first 300DT with 102K miles. Had a huge oil leak. Got that fixed the day after i bought it, and drove her 45K miles in 9 monhhts. not one problem. I sold it because I really wasnt fond of the color it was- gold. My current daily driver 300DT I bought with 145K miles last may. A year later and now 20K miles have passed. The 1 problem Ive had is a bad starter. It was out of comission for a couple of days since it wouldnt start. The new starter was put in about a month ago and its been running perfectly since.
I wouldnt hesitate to drive it anywhere. ANYWHERE. I currently live in SF and drive about 40 miles a day in the city and go out of town on weekends usually. It couldnt be a more comfortable or economical car to own.

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Nate

1995 E420
1992 BMW 525i
1984 300D Turbo sold
1993 Volvo 244 sold
1995 Volvo 944T R.I.P!


"The details are not details. They make the product."
-Charles Eames

www.cbs.nu

A few years back I befriended a mechanic who is a MB specialist (Indy). I was talking about getting out of the leasing game and wanted a car I could own for a long time.

He told me to buy a 1985 or earlier 300D or Wagon. At first I thought he has misunderstood me and thought I said a car that had been owned a long time.

"Nope, they are the best cars ever built and will likely outlive a new car you buy today". That has stuck with me ever since. Now I own 3 MB's none newer than 89 and 2 are Diesels.

Best cars ever built.

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Alan Hamm
'87 300SDL 277K Miles
'89 560 SL 68K Miles

Yes. Picked up last November and have put 20K miles on it since or so, back and forth half way across the country several times.
I drive a lot in general.

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One more Radar Lover gone...
1982 VW Caddy diesel 406K 1.9L AAZ
1994 E320 195K

EVERYDAY, I drive my 84 W123 DT like I stole it. I also maintain it like the 18th green at Pebble Beach. Whatever it need it gets!

I plan to give SMOKELESS I to my son in due course, he is 4.5 years old now.

I bought my '85 300D from the dealer earlier this year.. I wasn't even looking seriously but when I say it and the $14,000 of repair receipts from the PO, I knew it was meant to be.. The old adage of you never buy a cheap Mercedes is true. Like many of you, I can't sleep at nite if my car needs some repair or maintenance to be 100%.. very impatient in that respect So, yes I over paid BUT the front suspension had been rebuild, the real axles replaced, new AC compressor, every leak fixed, etc...

This is my daily driver and it keeps driving better and better. I'd like to take it to really high mileage...

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Mark Herzig
1995 E300D 153K
1985 300D 142K (sold)
1979 450SL 122 miles (sold)
1992 500E 127K (sold)
1987 300SDL 132K (sold)
1986 300E 161K (sold)

My '85 was very similar as yours in respect to the receipts except that I bought mine from a private party. I don't think that I overpaid for mine since it cost me $2500. So far it's been the best $2500 car that I've ever bought. My goal is also to get a lot of miles out my car as well.

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DJ


84 300D Turbodiesel 190K with 4 speed manual sold in 03/2012

I drive mine '85 300D every day. I've put about 300 miles/week on the car for the past 18 months.

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1985 MBZ 300DT
1969 MBZ 220d
1984 MBZ 300TDT
1981 VW Vanagon

I bought a 240D in March. It was pretty well beaten up. It uses oil about 5 to 7 hundred miles to a quart. Tranny is worn I have to take it slow and easy when I shift.

It was presumed I was crazy for buying an old mercedes. the assumption was that it would be expensive to maintain and would always breaking down.

Parts are pretty cheap, much better than my wife's Acura. Lots of room to get at anything I need to get at. I just bought a spare engine at a pick a part yard for $90. I may never need it. Used parts are easy to find.

I have been going through this thing because everthing was shot or ready to go, but it has cost very little to keep it on the road. it ran like crap when I first got it, it smelled bad, ugly and musty. every time I touched it something broke.

It likes being driven, I have learned it's quirks and have become very fond of the car. If I take my time and double clutch when I shift, this tranny will last more than long enough to find a replacement.

The car has character, to much character to give the keys to my wife. the vacuum pump is out so there's no power to the brakes, and I have to stall it. I'll fix it soon and then I'll only have to stall it when my wife's with me. She'll never ask to drive it. I would like to get her a nice 300D turbo, one that has been better taken care of. I would have been better off to pay more for a car in better shape, but I won't give this one up now.

I wouldn't even think twice about making a cross country run. A fresh oil change and I think the car will enjoy the trip. I know it wouldn't let me down. Hmmm I guess my family was not far off thinking I had a few loose nuts between the ears. Two months and a week and I think the car has likes and dislikes. The car has a character that a sane person would not appreciate.

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69 220D not running
79 240D parts car
80 240D Beater runs everyday
81 300TD temp disabled cooling problem
82 300SD sweet

A followup on WVO in my '80 300TD: On May 1, I switched from dinodiesel to straight filtered WVO; so far I have put in over 20 gallons. It smells great, starts fine, but goes up hills a bit slower. I can live with this, especially since the last diesel fuel I bought cost $2.40 per gallon...

When my "blending" experiment arrived at close to 100% straight unheated WVO, I ran into fuel starvation problems. When filters were eliminated as the source, I reversed the "blending" progression by adding some dino-diesel, and it's back to normal. Less power than with petro. I'm going to try something like an 80 % WVO and 20% #2 diesel blend for a while.

Knotman: Thx for the update. I've been following your progress because I'll soon be starting down the same path with my '81 300TD. I'm curious, what is your source for WVO and how are you filtering it? What do you think caused the fuel starvation? You live in a pretty warm area like me, so I'm guessing it was probably not fuel gelling, though you may have colder nights than me...? Have you had to change your filters as a result of clogging caused by the solvent effect of the veggie?

Thx again!

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'81 300TD turbo <<sold 12/05 to another diesel nut

I'm getting the oil from 4 restaurants so far, most of it from a burger place and a seafood place. A couple of cubees from a turkey fryer, and some from a Chinese restaurant. When "turkey season" comes again I may put up come notices like "Free pickup of used turkey fryer oil." At the burger house, they run the oil right from the fryer into my metal containers that I pick up later. Another place is going to put their used peanut oil into cubees for me.
When I get it from drums, I dip it out by hand and funnel it into my cubees or 5-gallon buckets. I try to get the clear oil on top, avoiding the "gravy-looking" deeper layers. I let it settle several days and then pour it into my Greasel 0.5 micron bag filter that has a sock filter made from a T-shirt hanging inside. I made 3 bags from one T-shirt. Pouring out of a settled cubee or bucket doesn't really work very well for me. The settled muck starts coming out before all the clean oil is poured out. The T-shirt stops a lot of the gravy stuff. This stuff seems a lot like bacon grease.
I'm just getting my giant settling tank into operation. It has about 60 gallons settling, just enough to get the level high enough to draw some out to go into the filter one of these days. I've placed an inlet down pretty low to avoid stirring everything up every time I add some new raw oil.
My problems don't seem to be due to clogged filters. Replacing both the see-through and the main fuel filter didn't cure it and the tank screen was found to be clean. I think it's just restricted flow from the tank through that tiny long steel tube. For now I'm blending with #2 diesel at about 80 WVO to 20 #2. I'll probably build a heating system later. I've just got Dana's prefilter plans, well thought out and worth the money.

Knotman: Sorry to hit you with more questions, I know we're off topic here, but have you had any problems with the WVO settling out in the tank in your mixture with petro diesel, or do they seem to stay mixed? Have you been premixing before pouring into the tank, or just pouring the WVO in straight?

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'81 300TD turbo <<sold 12/05 to another diesel nut

There are only two problems with the 123-series. The first is that once every five years you realize that automobile styles have changed completely, and wonder if you shouldn't be a more modern "with-it" kind of guy.

The second is discovering that you can't imagine trading the reliability of the Benz for the fountain of youth.

I got my 240D at about 165k and about 30k of driving have cost me (licensing, fuel, tires, repairs, insurance- everything) about 18 cents a mile. I think that figure pretty much speaks for itself.

Two problems?

Ist, style changes;

Yes styles change every few years, but you still have a classic. It is after all a Mercedes, a Mercedes from when "Mercedes" ment something. Look at all of todays styles. Most of them are based on the 123. The 123 is the first of the "modern" Mercedes, and the last of the classics. Any way you look at it looks good.

Fountain of youth?

There isn't one of those for me either, but both of us have the potential to be around for a long time. In 10 years, most of the crap on the road will be gone. What's another 10 years for a car already halfway through it's 3rd decade. My 240D and and myself have something else in common. We are both classics. It's an old man's car, solid and reliable, a car you can count on when you need it. I'm not as fast as I thought I was, and it never was as fast as I thought I was. I just hope I am around as long as my Mercedes can be.

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69 220D not running
79 240D parts car
80 240D Beater runs everyday
81 300TD temp disabled cooling problem
82 300SD sweet