PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum - View Single Post - longshot / delimma - trade my beloved '88 300SEL (W126) for 92-95 S-Class (W140)?

Brandon_SLC · #11 09-07-2009, 03:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tonkovich

there's an s600 here in l.a. (a 97, i think ) for $4k. such a deal.
....

You don't want a w140 ! ever ! even here, where image is everything, you see fewer and fewer every day, unless you're near the wrecking yard. meanwhile, i see many w126s still moving along, with smiling, happy people behind the wheel. 560s, 500s, 420s, 300s (sd, se, sel) and even an occasional 380. all these people can't be wrong.

The 126 was a huge hit in California. My mom lived in Newport Beach when they came out. There were already lots of Mercedes there in 1980, but when I returned in the summer of 81 it seemed like there had been a 126 revolution. At that time it seemd like half the Mercedes I saw were 126s already. I went back down and helped my mom move in the fall of 82 and could hardly believe my eyes. They had become more common than Hondas. The 300SD was the most common, by far. By then my Mom had a 116 300SD. Sudenly 116s seemed antiquated and Passe. I'll never forget the time I pulled up to the intersection of PCH and Jamboree Rd. and discovered that we were completely surrounded by w126 300SDs! I chuckled when I noticed, then pointed out to my mom that we were completely surrounded. As we sat there waiting for the signal to change, we watched the parade of Mercedes of all types passing in front of us. Lots of SLs, and in those days, you almost always had a w108/109 Convertible within sight. Sometimes I wondered what percentage of V8 convertibles resided in Newport beach. They were supposed to be rare, but you saw a handful every time you went out in the car.

Californians were already well tuned in to Mercedes-Benz and the w126 300SD was such a revolutionary car that it took the South Coast by storm. There were no other cars that even came close, in terms of combining quality, comfort, refinement and fuel economy. Of course, there were lots of 380SELs too, but they weren't quite as legendary. They were the only way to get a LWB for the first few years of production, but their engines tended to asplode.

There were other parts of the country where 126s and 300SDs in particular, were popular, but I never saw anything like the revolution that happened in Newport Beach. On more recent trips through the area, I've noticed that there is no longer any one car that dominates. You see lots of S-Class still, but they are outnumbered by various Japanese Luxury cars, and Luxury SUV's. Today there are many disgruntled MB owners.

The w140s were troublesome, and the w220s even worse.