Hi there!

I hope I'm not out of my league here, but I was hoping for some good advice on the best older Benz my money can buy. I've had a love of German cars since before I could drive and I'm on my second VW (1996 Cabrio & 2000 Jetta) now, but I want to trade up!

I don't have a lot to spend, $5K or less would be great. I only have a 3 mile commute to work (highway) and I have a young daughter that makes the drive with me every morning. Safety is a priority, I need some pep (I've read more than once that the 240D is a bit on the slow side), and I want room without having trouble parking. I love the look of the W123, but I'm having trouble learning the ins and outs of each type.

Does anyone have any advice on the best W123 for the money or a source that I can do some more research on? I live in North Texas and the selection of older MB seems pretty good, I just need to narrow my search decide what to look for.

Thanks in advance for the help!!
Melanie

If you want "pep" you won't want a 240D. Get a 300D turbo if you want some power. The down side is that they only come in an automatic.

for 5 thousand you should be able to get a real peach of a 300 turbo diesel.would take any car to independent MB shop for a look over before you buy....
William Rogers.....

Melanie,

I, too, live in North Texas, and I drive a 300D turbo. Now, those two facts have nothing whatsoever to do with one another, but I am quite pleased with the power of this car, considering it's a diesel. I would recommend an '84 or '85, but you might opt for a W126 model, and it sounds like your budget would make that possible. If you can locate a 300SDL in cherry shape for under 5K, jump on it, or let me know about it!

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Matt
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1995 E300 Diesel (Die Blau Frau)

Call Anna - this looks like a nice 300D. You may be able to stop by Sumner,Tx on the way home with it and have Larry take a look. Also, if you pick it up you could swing through GA on the way home and I would be more than happy to take a look and tell you why it is so "slow" and compare it with mine which I do not really consider to be slow.
Make sure it has no rust and I do not think they have "tilt" steering.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/aw-c...&item=598210786

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Jim

Melanie,

Both my teenagers started out in a 123 non turbo. The lack of speed is an advantage for a teenagers car.

I have seen many threads like this one which start a number of debates. These debates turn into turbo/nonturbo, 240D/300D, automatic climate control/non automatic climate control, electric windows/power windows.

Don't make the mistake of buying a fifteen year old car based on any of these issues or on color. Make the decision based on CONDITION!!!!!!!!!!

I went through this in early 2000 in trying to find a car for my daughter, she wanted a certain color, and an automatic, etc. I ended up buying her a car that was misrepresented by the seller. He looked straight in my eye and LIED to me about oil consumption.

As a result, I paid a premium price for the car and got an oil drinker. I have since done a valve job and bored the engine and put in new pistons. The car mechanically is like new now and cosmetically is probably about an eight. I have enough money in the car now that I could have bought her a more expensive car, and that's considering that I did all the work myself.

My point is that any 123 car can be acceptable, maybe with the exception of a 240D automatic. What you want is a car in good condition. The Dallas Morning News typically has several good ones for sale, but it is cyclic. Right now there are only two in there.

I hope this rambling is helpful, go for condition, not gadgets or color.

Have a great day,

One thing to consider here as well Melanie (comments of others welcomed) is the length of your commute. A 3-mile commute will not be long enough to get the engine to decent operating temperature. This is very hard on all engines, but even moreso on diesels who rely on high temps/load to clean all the soot out of their systems.

I would actually advise against a diesel unless you take the vehicle on a good, long weekly drive (over 40 mi.) at hiway/freeway speeds.

Also, you'll want to make sure and change your oil at 3k mi. whith such a heavy-duty schedule.

Regards,
- Ryan

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'95 E420 - 'Shadowfax' 138kmi.
'92 Volvo 740Turbo Bard 193kmi
'74 240D - 'Ol' Green' 4spd Manual 104kmi. (sold )
'77 300D - 'Red' 223kmi (sold)
'75 240D - 'Bianca the Blue Bomber' (sold)

I live in Houston and am proud to say that Harris County has the 2nd highest MBZ population in the nation behind Orange County in California.

We have tons of good cars here. I just picked up a 1987 300SDL, 1-owner trade-in, from the dealership (we have three in Houston) for $5299. It needs a valve job, but is in spotless condition.

I have owned these cars since I was 17 in 1979 and started with my first '77 240D.

If you really want a 123 I would recommend trying to find a 300CD Turbo. The coupe will ultimately hold most of it's value over time and who knows, you may sell it (if you ever want to) for more than you paid, coupes tend to get that way with age.

A real sleeper right now though is the 1987 190D 2.5 Turbo. Here is one on Ebay right now...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=598158755

These are outstanding cars with airbag and ABS in most cases. Our 1987 non-turbo 190D gets around 40 mpg consistently. VERY fun car to drive. Everyone also thinks it is a lot newer than it is.

There are also several 1987 300Ds and TDs around but in your price range you have to watch them for abuse and make sure the trap-oxydizer retrofit was done correctly.

A good starting point would be to buddy up to a used, er, pre-owned MBZ salesman at a dealership and tell him you are looking for a good trade-in that they could wholesale to you for around $5K. It takes me about 1 - 2 months to find a car this way, but they come through with the good stuff every time.

I would be VERY concerned about the 3 mile commute. I would consider that the absolute most severe service you can put on any engine - gasoline or diesel. But it will be especially hard on the diesel because it takes so long to get up to temp. I drive my 300D 18 miles one way to work and back and the tranny fluid barely gets hot (55 mph two lane). I only drive the E320 on weekends and never take it out of the garage for less than 30 miles.
If I lived 3 miles from work I believe I would be taking the bicycle every day.

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Jim

Thank you so much for all of the great information. You've brought up some things that I never would have known or thought of. I didn't know that the short commute is hard on the engine (especially a diesel). It makes sense though since in the winter my engine is just getting warm as I pull into the parking garage.

I'm going to narrow my search to some of the cars you've suggested and look closely at the condition. I'm not concerned with color, anything is fine as long as the car looks and drives great.

I'll be checking in to see what I can learn from everyone's posts and thanks again for the help!!

Melanie