No one in highschool really bothered with my car last year. Most of my friends like it. Now that I am in college I have one of two W126's on campus and the other one is white and kind of beat. So everyone knows my car as soon as they find out its mine they say something like "oh I have seen that car around campus a lot" or "you have the pimped MB".

A lot of car people like them, their is a VW guy and a P car guy at the boat yard. We talk about restoreing old German iron, mostly rust and oil leaks!

Once in awhile someone calls it a beater, but ehh what can you do? Once I repaint it and get the trim redone it should look stunning and those beater comments better stop.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Ill tell you something, i had two guys look at me and laugh in their 2005 car.. and I laughed back *they were some pretty fuggly guys*. But when I see a guy in a MB... i always think... now theres a guy with some class... And when i see a younger guy in a nice MB... Mmmm
(BTW ive been keeping my eyes open around here, and there are some DAMN nice older MBs around, Ill try to get pics of some of them)

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Kenni
'85 300D turbo
208K miles
FOR SALE (kinda)

Tonight I was heading to LAX and this Ford Focus was tailing me. I was cruising steadily at 70 so I decided to let him have a taste of what diesel soot is like! I floored it and let out a smoke screen larger than I anticipated LOL... in no time I was driving 80 with him far behind. He backed out. That will teach him not to mess with any diesel MB!

That 240D of yours will easily outlast any new, cheap car that's on sale today. Sometimes even the more expensive ones will not last that long. I find it amusing to see a young kid driving an old MB because, like you, I'm like that. But before I acquired my car I drove a Corolla. It was BORING. Basically just a real beater, takes you to point A and back. NOTHING else, save for its higher mileage than mine (210,000 mi on it compared to my 154,200 mi 300D turbo).

When they say it's a stinkin' old diesel that sounds like a farm tractor, I consider it brutal love! Didn't you ever love something so much you called it (bad) names?

Well, when gasoline gets up to european levels, say $12/gal, we and our "tractors" can still drive using other fuels. Those idots will be begging you for a ride in your cool car.

Car style and performance is nice, but what do you like? That is all that matters. I have a 1985 300D with 240,000 miles. Cosmetically, it needs repainted, but mechanically it is DEPENDABLE and always, always puts a smile on my face. I also have a 1999 E300D that is a blast to drive, but guess which of the two I prefer........the 1985 300D. I don't know what it is about this old box, but I love to drive this car. It makes going to work on Monday mornings worth it. Whether I am just driving though town or pushing it though curves on some winding roads there is a passion I have about this car. I just hope to be able to find a life long supply of W123 300D's. Hey, Mercedes, retro the W123's.

I like this thread.
It makes me feel good to read it...

I think you like most threads, at the rate you're bumping tonight.

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'81 MB 300SD, '82 MB 300D Turbo (sold/RIP), '04 Lincoln Town Car Ultimate

Sooner or later every car falls apart, ours does it later!
-German Narrator in a MB Promotion Film about the then brand new W123.

*BUMP*

"Trash it and buy a Ford."

That's what my coworkers keep chanting to me. Just wait until they see me pull up in my purdy little 240D vs. my "bucket" 300TD.

When smart asses ask why my car is so loud I explane that it is a diesel and I get almost 65 miles to the gallon (Iwish) The comments that follow should be published.

You know what's interesting about all this is that you don't really see many cars from the early 80s in as good of condition as these older diesel MBs. I don't particularly see as many gas powered early 80 Benz' either. Mostly Diesel powered. And generally, they're still in pretty good shape. As soon as I replace the water pump housing on my 300SD, it'll be back on the road. Not bad for a car with 353,000 miles on it.

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1980 300SD (352K)
1978 Chevy Nova (30K original miles)
1994 Dodge Caravan (146K) 4 cyl - why?
1999 Toyota Corolla (Neo synthetic only please)

Your lucky. Im 17. My dream car? 82-83 240D stick, manual everything. I wouldn't mind the other models though.

I get to drive my brothers 240 when my 1976 bimmer is on jackstands.

Its quite difficult to find a good MB around here, especially a 240. I will have one by september though.

I hear all the comments at school. Some like it some don't. There has got to be a reason why 3 other guys and girls are driving pre 1990 Mercedes at my school.

The 240 has never left us stranded at school, even when it was 10 degrees out. One time we had to jump start a Jeep Cherokee with our MB, and there were about 10 kids standing near the cars watching. As I started up the 240 (with the hood open) they all came to attention, made a funny face, and took a step back.

I would also like to have a 240 manual....that'd be so cool. Perhaps if I get some money some point in the future. If I worked 60 hours a week next summer....... (this would be in addition to my SD, not replacing it the SD is going to the grave with me Intention: keep forever)

In other news: I hit 230k last night!!!

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-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

Just remember..its the love we have for these cars...I cant think of a better hobby than to be upside down under my hood tinkering with my 93 300D and getting information from some of the best people on the planet. Hopefully someday we will have some forum decals made and we will wave to each other while trucking down the highway. I am a recovering alcoholic and have been an AA member for years. I have a decal on my trucks' back window. I get more people waving to me and holding up their AA stuff. Its a feeling like no other. Well just remember as you get older you could buy the latest and greatest but somehow we are addicted to these old diesels. My 93 is a beautiful car inside and out. She is always in my garage and makes a 1000 mile round trip twice a month. As soon as I arrive back to Florida from NC I change the oil, filters and she gets a purge, plus banjo fitting cleaned. Gets her tires regauged, cleaned and put to bed. Then when you guys bring up a topic, I check her to make sure she is ok. Thats why the other day there was a young fella who trashed an old diesel and it mad me so sick I couldnt respond to him. Other dieselmaniacs tore him a new one...I didnt even give him the satisfaction of knowing it bothered me..Tell you what..My 93 is so nice that the boys at the MB dealership in Daytona love to come out and look at her. I'll never sell her I love her too much..this may be the early signs of something obsessive. But thats ok. To each his own. Well so long for now..Iceman 164,000 miles and dieseling on

I really can't stress enough that what HS kids think about anything... isn't really important. At the age of 30 and having owned 21 cars so far, I only wish I had had the taste to own a Benz way back then. The punks in the parking lot prolly would have made fun of it, too. Congrats on knowing what to drive. I have owned two cars out of that fleet which got complimented by strangers on a regular basis: My 1972 Datsun 240Z (triple black, Shelby Cal 500 mags with white letters) and my current 1981 300SD (Star silver, black leather, chrome exh tips, clearcorners, 1991 wheels and headlights). I am proud to own my SD and keep it very clean (100% rust free AZ car). They are fantastic rides... a 240D cost Cadillac money back when it was new, and this was for a reason. There truly will never be another car like the 123s and 126s. Can *anything* else from that era top them for timeless appeal? My 126 compares favorably with a Lexus LS400 on all counts except acceleration, and if she were a 560SEL she'd have the Toyo beat there, too.

It took me 10 years to end up with a classic Benz, you started off on the right foot. As U2 said "Don't let the B**tards bring you down!"

When I turned 17 I got a 1977 240D from an old lady down the street. The car was baby blue with the baby blue hub caps. That thing stood out with its bright color wherever I went. And yes, I did get some comments from other kids about the age of the car, how slow it was, especially up hills, and that it sounded like a tractor when I came rolling down the street. But when they heard how little I pay for insurance or diesel, they usually quieted down. If that did not help, I just gave them a ride in the car and they were in awe at how nice and luxurious the car felt at 27 years old.
Even though at first so many of my friends made fun of the car, they were all sad to see her go. Last winter she had too much rust on the frame for me to safely drive her, so I got a 92 300E, and immediatelly people were asking me what happened to the "Blues Mobile."
So don't worry what people say about your car. Most of them are probably just jealous that your car is twenty-three years old and still looks nicer and drives better than their car.