What would be your ultimate keeper?
 

One car.
Catch is that it will be your last...no replacing for at least 15 years/450K miles.
I am considering replacing my
90 350 sdl (as good as a 90 w/ 170K gets)
94 Legend (...........................117K gets)
78 530i (3.7, 5 spd prstine..etc etc)
03 wrx wagon...making ~280hp quietly
03 SV1000N ...only 5K miles
with an 06 e320cdi
I hear the 07 MB diesels will be V motors. More reliable, more bettah blah blah but I want an L motor.

I see two approaches you could take.

1. Something that is new and which will simply last 15 years and high miles without needing too much maintenance.

2. Something easy enough to work on that you can keep it going more or less forever.

For #1, I'd say the best bet right now would probably be the (heresy here-I know) Ford Panther platform cars: Crown Victoria, Grand Marquis, and Town Car.

For #2, W123 240D or anything else old and simple. I plan on keeping my 300D for quite a while.

83 to 85 300cd. have to think a little as to colour preference.

None I plan on trading up my daily driver every few years when I have the money. Don't want to think about it, don't want something more then a few years old, don't want to have to work on it ever. Turn key, drop off at dealer every 10k for service.


SDL's a keeper though, I'd like to add a 600 Pullman, and an early XKE, to the pass on when I die list.

I'd like to really restore one more car, though. SDL's almost done takes lots of time and money though. It would have to be something really special for me to do it again.

2 choices...

1) An SLC body with a diesel engine that runs on Veggie. (DOn't care about the slow starts...)

2) Never drove one but a nice G-Wagen Diesel engine. w/ sunroof; and a stick.

OK a 3rd gotta be a reasonably sized UniMog that will fit in the driveway...

Fav so far
 

my favorite car so far has been my Chevy Suburban.
Dont hurt me.
It's tall so all the other SUVs out there don't block my view.
It's heavy so the winter snow isn't so big a deal.
It seats 8 and with 5 kids already, I need all the space I can get.
It's big and heavy and safe. The only cars that can really hurt me are other Subs, Ford Excursions and rigs. All the other vehicles limp away hurt and the Sub just take a deep breath and rolls it's headlights.

I did also love my Love Van, the 72 VW. Turquoise so I could pick it out in any parking lot. Even painted the flowers and swirls on it.
No heat and no air. The kids got a bit tired of always being cold in the winter and sweaty in the summer. It does get hot in Denver.

After getting good at making bio, after running the MB on it for a year or so, the next one will be a Sub. Just cried the day I had to trade it for a mini vomit. It was a gasser and couldn't find a diesel to replace it. It was getting 11 mpg, the minivomit gets 22. MiniV has every bell and whistle there is for a car. Can even pump up it's own tires with a built in compressor.
DVD, power sliding doors, AWD (the reason we got this one), 6 disc in dash.

Still don't like it.
Can't wait til next Sat!!!!!! MB pick up day!
Ginny

-you asked for it---
 

Yeah. Change mine to a giant gass guzzling Sh**box!!!!!

(Who cares about running over children, dependency on foreign oil and supporting OBL....)

I'm gonna see how long and far this 300D can take me. I'd like a second, newer car when I get older, so I can have a standby in case the 300D has a problem I can't fix at the time.

well im not planning on getting rid of the sd. ill keep it till the wheels fall off, and even then ill fix it. i do plan to buy a jeep wrangler tho

if i have to maintain it
 

a 240d with a five speed. as new as possible.

if i can have my indie do the work. a 126 body with a 617 turbo and a five speed.

if cost is little object, a new 320cdi.

and if cost is truly no object. a gullwing or its sibling roadster.

course if cost was truly truly truly no object a ferrari gto the real one a 250 or 330.

tom w

A 1984 300d in pale Yellow with black interior a granny owner with all the records and only 20k miles!

That is the one I would keep! Yea yea I say that on every car I get.....:P

So sorry to offend YOUR light senses!
Unless you're running B100 all the time in your vehicle, making bio from WVO, making soap from the glycerin, using the second-forth wash water to water your lawn, have no kids to think about-I have 5 and one bad accident could subtract that- then shut the F up.

The question wasn't what DIESEL, or non-fuel using vehicle would be your keeper, it was whatever vehicle. I'm sorry that at this time the SAFETY of my kids come first and foremost.

BTW, my diesel MB (coming next week) WILL be run on bio, soap made from the glycerin and wash water used to water my lawn.
Unless you walk everywhere, don't play holier than thou with me.

That was just uncalled for Austin. . .

Wolfgang.
 

He's my '83 300D. Possibly the best-thought-out vehicle ever. Manual tranny and climate control, no door lock system, crank windows, and skinny bumpers!

Jay.

Off Topic, sorry...What kind of MB did you find? The deal on that one in Montana fell through right?

Hey, the Montana car is now back up on eBay. I just coudn't do it, you know? They had trouble starting it for 10 days and that just made me think of the other many things that could go wrong. Maybe even on the 14 hours drive home.
I did find another one, 1.5 hours away, 78 300SD. CO has had it 10 years and has most all the records of things he's done AND he had it repainted factory paint (silver) two years ago. Garaged. Great interior (blue), all electrics work including cruise and sunroof. It's a steal for me at $2500.
And I've got a couple tanks worth of B100 ready to dump in.

Thanks for askin! Can't wait!
Ginny