I’m pleasantly surprised to read so many posts from young people about their MB diesels and the fact that their vehicles are often OLDER than they are. I wonder if they got their inspiration from a Dad or if they were just that smart that they figured it for themselves?

Anyway, it’s a good sign.

__________________
Toblin

'79 300D, "Liesel von Diesel", 235K

I kid proofed the house....but they still get in

Well, I began researching cars when I was learning how to drive, and I was always interested in having a diesel (originally was going for a vw tdi...) but my dad worked in the MB factory in his college years (1980-84) and my grand parents both held high jobs there (in the stuttgart plant) and then I began to look into those models, and almost bought a black manual 240d but later opted for the 300SD.... I'm glad because I like the power... And then I became addicted, and my dad bought one for his daily driver (the 83) to replace having to use the minivan. I just love these cars Modern cars (most of them) just don't compare at all. I also like being unique, I'm the only one on my college campus with a MB diesel.....and I've only seen one other MB period....which is also pretty neat.

__________________
-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)

Yeah, my 300D is 2 years older and me and more reliable to boot... a lotta my peers dont like them cause they're "slow." Can anyone imagine someone with an 1989 Accord with NOS floormats and seat covers, light up shifter, and "racing pedals" telling me my car sucks? I wanted to just backhand him and walk away so badly.

__________________
1985 CA 300D Turbo , 213K mi

Haha, yeah. It is definetaly somthing you attribute from your parents. I am not sure how my dad figured it out though. After experiencing the reliablity of a diesel, I just gained a loyal attraction to it. He's like my best freind .

__________________
___________________
Rod - Ali
1986 300SDL (w126) - 111k
1991 420SEL (w126) - 123k
1981 300SD (w126) - 205k (passed away 2/20/06)
1985 300SD (w126 - 185k
http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/4481/sig1hd.jpg

CAR DNA has been in my blood since I was born. Before I could walk, I would crawl around the driveway and feel the tires on my parents VW 412 sedan and Audi 4000.

Fast forward 21 years later and I am still crawling around the driveway feeling the tires on MY 300DT, but with tire-shine in one hand and a rag in another!

Both of my parents have been german car nuts since I can remember, but I really fell in love with the 3 pointerd star when my mom purchased a w124 back in 1988. As I grew older, I really began to appreciate the craftmanship of that car. After a string of M-B's in my family, the time came for me to make a choice on what to drive when i turned 16. It had to be an MB. By the time I had reached driving age I had educated myself entirely on the MB marque, and had helplessly fallen in love with the W123 turbodiesel engined cars.

Since then I have owned 3 W123's, and my current one will hopefully be with me for the rest of my life.

As for others my age, it seems many are opting to look back 20 years to find autombiles that were built to last. Many of my friends drive W123's and other various models bearing the 3 pointed star. Once you experience the teutonic presence, solid engineering, and unbelieveable durability of an MB its hard to imagine driving anything else.

Thanks to all whom contribute to this forum!

__________________
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

I also hope to have my car for the rest of my life.

Hardly any of my friends even have cars....its rather sad. Out of maybe 15 people 5-6 have cars....and those include: Chevy Corisca, Ford Escort, Geo Metro , Chevy Cavalier, and Chevy Malibu-2people Most people I work with drive econoboxes....carolla's....civics...cavaliers....old minivans....escorts....not a single mb owner and I've yet to meet someone with a diesel anything! (outside the MB group meetups and this forum anyways)


Speaking of meetups, here's my first plug to migrate it to Logan's Roadhouse in Grand Rapids....they just built a brand new one .4 miles off I96 from Troy/Lansing...... We could alternate Troy/GR/Troy/GR....so us poor GR-people don't have to make a 320 mile round trip every time....sound good??

__________________
-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)

I'm 23... I like my VUE and drive the pants off of it, but I have always been a Benz nut. We've always had a Benz in the garage since I have been alove, but they have always been S class gassers. There's something about the 240D that appeals to me though.
...after a short break, I am back to hunting for a good one. I am striving to own one by the end of this year.
~D.J.~

safety reasons i have had 240s or 300 123s for all my kids to drive. two were heavily rear ended in them and survived with no injuries.

the only one left in the nest is driving my 82 300cd which is faded and the interior is very dry... but the motor is fresh. she really loves that old beast and even though it is cosmetically challenged she says all the kids like it too. and in a high school of 2200 kids i think it is the only benz... maybe there is one other.

tom w

__________________
[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

I am out last 2 days teaching my son to drive using the 300D........
He's 17 today....but hasn't had the desire to get his permit until recently.

So in the next few months I will most likely be looking for a manual 240D or another 300D.....After driving an old MB myself, I can't see putting him in any of those tin boxes most kids drive around today.

__________________
'87 924S
'81 280SEL

Sold ->

81 300SD -
93 300E w/ 3.2
85 300D-
79 300SD
82 300CD
83 300CD - CA
87 190E 5 spd
87 Porsche 924S

"..I'll take a simple "C" to "G" and feel brand new about it..."

I feel safe and comfortable in my benzes. There aren't too
many around this city either; if you see one its probably
from out of town. There is a NICE shiny silver 300D with
chromed 14" wheels and tinted windows, a so-so cream 300D,
a beat up 126 300SD (definitely a student car), a beat-up
300SDL, and and a smoking 350SDL owned by an elderly
couple. With the exception of the one 300D, I've probably
got the nicest diesel in town. As an engineer, I have this
need to use a wrench from time to time. I can do lots of
things under the hood of my car, not something any of my
friends can say. If something is wrong, I can either hear
it or smell it. I don't need any failure-prone sensors or
a computer to tell me how my car is running. I chose to
get the 300SD almost by accident. My dad wanted a new
sedan, and he had it down to the SD with 151k or an 88
Lincoln Town Car with 65k. They were both priced at
$3,000. He wanted another Lincoln, so he pursued it.
Turned out that the SD was being sold by a coworker of his.
I ended getting it for $1,000. My dad's Lincoln drives 10
miles per workday, and a little on the weekends. I've put
27,000 miles on the SD in the past year, and only five
months was it actually used. I get twice the mileage of
the Lincoln, and use cheaper fuel. I think I got the
better deal. Society has come to a disposable mindset.
When something breaks, throw it out and replace it. Gone
are the days of bulletproof engines and indestructible
bodies. Here are the days of flaky computer controlled
mass produced garbage. We are a lucky bunch. There really
weren't that many of our old MB's produced back in the day.
Think about that, and then think about how Honda had a
party at one of their American plants that had cranked out
10 million cars. We are so unique because not only do we
love our diesels, but we know exactly how and why they
work. This understanding helps us keep them running.

I'm only 22 years old, but every car I've ever personally
owned has been an old Mercedes, and not once have they let
me down. My 21 year old 300SD still moves smoothly and
handles better than any other sedan I've ever driven. I
love the effortless power and speed of my 32 year old SL,
especially on the highway. I've driven Porsches, BMWs,
VWs, Audis, and various American and Japanese cars, but to
me, absolutely nothing compares with the feel of a classic
Mercedes.

__________________
73 450SL AMG "Millennium Falcon"
88 Volvo 740GLE B230F/M47
84 300SD Turbo (Sold, looking for new one)
86 300E (FOR SALE)
78 450SL (totalled by girl on drugs in SUV)
87 Volvo 740GLE wagon (totalled by Ford Expedition)

Though as a dad to two young men I did not enter the MB ownership world until quite recently, it was with great pride that I found myself and my eldest sliding under the '84 to R&R the support bearing. Where his interest in working on vehicles started more to give me a hand than from necessity, he is quickly adopting a passion for the features of these fine automobiles. Even his friends, now working away on their Jeeps for off-roading, talk about the possibilities of getting a MB diesel in their vehicles. I chuckle to myself when a group of them want to take my wagon rather than their own vehicles. Contagious? My youngest works at a local Chev/Toy dealership and still prefers the non-fuss aspects of his Toyota selections. He'll come around . . .

__________________
Steve
'87 300TD - 132K - Soon 4-Sale
'84 300D Turbo - 122K - Driving
'77 VW Type II - 77K - Restored
'08 250EX Ninja
English Bulldog (Brier) - My best friend. Passed away 12/02/04 while in my arms.

Car blood is in me as well, but youall might not care for the story. My Great-Grandfather came to America to work for Ford.

Because of this, we've had a smattering of german cars mixed with Fords. Both have been safe, comfortable cars. The Fords (reign ended in 1995 when we switched to Chrysler as our domestic pick) were always very reliable and heavy, but needed more major parts repaired.

Vw's have been mostly our german cars, my paternal Grandfather had a beetle forever, as did an uncle on my maternal side. My maternal Grandfather had a thing for general motors cars, when he died, he had a new eldorado coupe, a 69 cutlass convertible and a 56 bel aire. Whenever his health was ailing, he and i would compare restoration stories.

My fathers family never has cared much for used objects of any type, so i get a car gene from that side, but not the old car gene. i get the old car gene from my mothers side.

Now that i think about it, it makes so much sense! paternal car gene(german) added to the maternal(old) car gene, combined with my birthday(same as rudolph diesel's) just means it was to be!

__________________
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i1...Untitled-1.jpg

My mom got herself a 300SD back in 88 so she could have a 4 door car to haul ME around in, her two door 85 Mercury Cougar wasn't going to cut it with baby me. In fifth grade, I started eyeing that 300SD to be my car, when she stopped driving it when she got her LS400 in 98, it sat up for about a year. My dad starting driving it every few months to keep it in good running condition, and it became his daily driver for a few months in 2001. Then, in the summer of 2002, I started driving it daily, then I stopped in 2004 because it needed some more work on it, and I got the 300D a few months later. From an early age, I knew how good these MBs were, in safety and reliability, so I knew I had to have one.

__________________
'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.

When I had the Northeast GTG I found that a few members that showed up were considerably younger than I expected. Hattie and the benz bar just to name a couple.

And yeah, Hatties Dad [a great guy!] no doubt has a lot to do with him [Hattie] owning a MBZ.

Kinda irks me though that these young guys know more about the cars than I do.

My 23 year old son has no interest at all in these cars. He prefers rice burners.

My 11 year old is quite the opposite. When I came home with my free 240 I told my 11 year old son he would get the car for his 16th birthday. His eyes lit up and right away he asked if he could drive it across the field as I had let him do with one junker I had. He's more than willing to help me work on it or clean it and watches every move I make when I'm fooling with the car.

I'll let you know if his interest continues as his 16th birthday approaches.

Cheers,

Bill

LOL...I'm in the same situation.
I gave my son my Ford when I got the Benz. Since then my 12 year old daughter has been asking when she's getting a car. I told her the SD would be hers when she turns 16.
She has no problem helping me do maintenance or repairs or whatever. She's looking foward to getting it.

What did I get myself into??

Danny

__________________
1984 300SD Turbo Diesel 150,000 miles

OBK member #23

(\__/)
(='.'=) This is Bunny. Copy and paste bunny into your
(")_(") signature to help him gain world domination