I'm thinking of selling
 

The 240D

Right now I'm going back and forth on it. Here's my thinking. My son is headed to snowy country for college and I won't let him take the Benz. It's rust free and besides it's not a decent winter car, especially when he'll be coming home fairly often on slick roads. He needs a beater Subaru or something similar because he's always hauling a kayak, a bicycle or canoe and wants to be able to go off road when necessary to reach his put in spots.
While I love driving it and appreciate how well and safely and inexpensively it's gotten him around for the last 2 years, I'm not going to drive it all the time. I'm a beater driver. My Zuki Sidekick will haul animals and feed and is trashed inside but runs well. I can't do any of that with the Benz, and that's what I do all day. So it's going to sit and I'll have to pay to keep it up and insure it. While I like cars, I'm not a motorhead by any means, more of a vehicular tightwad.
Most of us wish we still had our first cars, and my kid adores the Benz but knows he needs something else. It occurred to me that it would be really neat to keep it and have it completely restored over the next four years and give it to him when he graduates. It would basically be a tiny bit of body work, removing little creases and dings here and there, paint and an interior refresh, window and door moldings, etc. It's mechanically very sound according to my indy.
This isn't a sales ad. Any opinions?

Meant to add that one thing that's keeping me from taking any action is the fact that I'd probably have a pretty hard time replacing it down the road when I realize I miss it. I haven't seen another one configured like mine since buying it. People in parking lots ooh and aah over the stick and the crank windows etc. I don't know.....

My wife absolutely loved her 77 300d in the snow. Put studded snows on all 4 wheels. It won't have enough power to spin the tires:) Yakima or Thule gutter racks fit well on 123's. I've hauled boats on them for thousands of miles into lots of different put-ins. Besides, it will give him a lot of cred in the boating community.

RWD and inexperienced drivers don't mix.

How does a driver get "experience?" ;)

I say keep it, old oil burners aren't worth much anyhow.

In regards to what Kerry wrote: I drove my 300TD all last winter (record snow and cold) and it never failed me. The rear tires are are about 50% and I still managed pretty well... so one could only imagine how it would do with good snows. It's virtually rust free, so pained me to drive it. I'll store it this winter however.

A winter driver gets experienced by making some mistakes and understanding the car's limits and capabilities. Hopefully these discoveries are made with little or no traffic. :rolleyes:

I would suggest you consider donating it to your favorite charity, namely me... :D

Seriously. You will regret making that mistake almost immediately let along down the road. However if you do find it necessary to make that mistake I hope to be able to assist you in doing so.

- Peter.

Would you take a 2002 clk 320 in trade? :D

A four wheel drive Subaru is hard to beat...and has rep for good design when you have to work on it..

I have owned 3 Subaru Outbacks and I think yur son has identified the perfect car for his sports/outdoor/snow country needs.

Here is a picture of the first two, the 1995 (ist ye4ar of) Subaru Outback, the day when, with 123k on it, I traded it in on my first brand new car I ever bought for myself, the 2008 Outback seen in the foreground herel.

http://i353.photobucket.com/albums/r...swith05Sub.jpg

http://i353.photobucket.com/albums/r...uwithmy05b.jpg


The 1995 would be probably perfect and IF you can find a good one it could be probably bought for about $2200-$2500..

For the early ones the 2.2 motor is better than the 2.5 engine on the early ones like this and the '95 of minemine had the 2.2. That old AWD wagon never needed ANYTHING, except routine maintenance and it was bullet proof. (Same with the next two I got) I did put in the '95, the timing belt at about 117k and that was really only the large expense and they need one about every 100k.

The Subaru salesman (seen above) that took my '95 in trade on the '08 in March 2008 said "Why are you trading it in, what is wrong with it? They are so good that most people never sell them, just pass them along to other family members. We aolmost never get trade ins of good ones.

The '95 of mine was well equipped, with airbags, ABS Air conditioning, cruise and power windows too. the little 2.2 motor was not too fast but it was sure bulletproof (like a 240D in a way) and very stingy on consumption of cheap gas. Just right for anyone in school or a budget.


The 2008 Outbac was really nice and I liked it a lot. Nothing ever went wrong with it for the 22k miles I had it.

In 2008 I went for a brand new SUV one, the new Outback seen here in red. I gave up my 08 for a Grand Ma5rquis but that was a mistake, it got stuck in snow al the time.

I am back with my last Outback and at age 63 it will be the last one I need.

I bought this 2011 a couple of months ago. traded the '09 Mercury Grand Marquis in on it. Like all Outbacks with the 4 cylinder engine they really sip the cheap fuel too. this one is the best though, 29 mpg highway rated on cheap regular. Even though it is the heaviest, at over 3800 lbs it is a small SUV and weighs as much as my 560SEC !!!


http://i353.photobucket.com/albums/r...il32011005.jpg

the '11 as seen recent6ly in the Kern River Valley near Bakersfield



http://i353.photobucket.com/albums/r...y302011011.jpg

and in San Francisco,http://i353.photobucket.com/albums/r...52011SF016.jpg

The AWD on all three of these get them through ANY kind of snow.

The '10 and '11 are Motor Trend's SUV of the year. they are wonderful machines.

None of these cars cost me hardly a dime in repairs. they are great cars for snow country and SUV or station wgon things.

The last two I had, I put the Yakima cargo baskets on top.

I ssay an Outback sounds perfect for the use your boy intends to put it to.


If you want ANY kind of a running cheap car, try and suss out where the auctions for the cars abandoned at the nearest big airport (Sky Harbor or Tucoson?) are held near you. It is a closely guarded secret nationally, but every few months they make a sweep of abandoned cars at big airports ans sell themfor almost nothing at auctions. the city and airport employees try to keep it a secret becvase every car ran when parked.

Cut a key and you are on your way in a good carin good car you can keep or flip for a good profiot, just lean it up.

the guy who told me about this inSan Francsco said every now nd then (he was an airport plumber) that sometimes they even get a Rolls royce or a good Mercedes Benz in the sweeps, because a super rich guy had to flee the country REALLY fast, he grabbed a car and hightiled it to the airport and fled the country, IRS, POLICE, FBI or some angr7y crook wa after him.

It is really true.

If you sell the 240D...
 

I'd possibly be interested in a W123 240D with a manual like yours to round out my car family...

What color is yours, if it is a euro does it have euro bumpers and headlights, MB tex, leather or cloth seats? Sunroof or Air con? What color is it? these cars are more rust prone but you are in Southern Arizona aren't you?

for a reasonable price in a month or two I might be interested in this if you are going to get rid of it (fly in, drive home) I do know Tucson, Mt, Lemmon, Ajo, Nogales AZ and Nogales Mexico and green valley ok, used to go there all the time when I had a home in San Francisco for a break from the eternal fog in SF before I got married......

Id promise it a loving home too. Washed every few days and waxed regularly and kept detailed.

Here is where it would live, with these vehicular brethren: I hope it has AC that eworksd, you ned it up here in the summer).

http://i353.photobucket.com/albums/r...y302011016.jpg.

It's white, blue interior and had euro cloth seats. The PO replaced the back seat with a nice seat with MBTex. The fronts are original but worn. We covered them with sheepskins, door panels are the european cloth that matches the seats. It has a great but old set of CoCo mats front and back. They're worn now but the carpet underneath is nearly pristine. It's correct with bumpers, lights, etc and an unused and intact first aid kit and hazard marker. The PO also replaced the wood with a Zebrano kit and it looks great, no splits. The dash has the expected splits however its got a nice dashmat. It's only factory option is a power sunroof, which works and doesn't leak. It was sold without AC, but somewhere along the line it had aftermarket air installed, which works well. It's one of those Sanden Sunden Sundayschool or whatever they're called compressors. Type M injection pump and has been converted to pencil plugs. No fuel leaks at all, and only a bit of oil. The engine is remarkably clean, if the others I've looked at around here are any indication. It does NOT mark it's territory. There's a picture thread somewhere here that I posted when I originally bought it two years ago. The guy I bought it from had had it quite a few years and originally bought it in CA, supposedly from the original owner. The VIN won't trace on CARFAX as it's a euro VIN. I'm in central AZ, near Sedona, new age woo woo vacation capital of the universe.

Regarding boats kerry, we have a Yakima rack on the car now and in fact, there's a kayak up there as we speak as the kid's getting ready to leave for a Grand Canyon trip tomorrow. It hauls his 14 foot canoe with no problem, a 16 might be a bit dicey in a high crosswind though.

It certainly would be one way to avoid any more speeding tickets. :D

^^^ Unless a 560 SEC M117 can be shoehorned into a w123...