Do any of you guys honk, wave or high beam older benzes like yours on the road?

I don't even bother with the new ones because they are not driving them for the same reason we drive them, IMHO.

I admire every 123, 126 and 116 on the road, I can spot them like an eagle, but I dont even bother honking or anything anymore because the people seem to think i'm strange for doing it.

Today I was on the highway and approached an 86 or 87 dark blue 300SDL. I gave him two small beeps as I passed to say "hey, nice car! I got one too!" and he didn't even look over, much less return the gesture.

Just curious..

Although last nite I passed a W126 diesel on route 80. I looked over and we both smiled and waved.

The big kick was....I was on the way into the office. Two guys in their early 20's pulled along side me in their tricked out Honda....spoilers, tuned exhaust, mega stereo, decals, the whole works. The waved their arms to get me to roll down my window. I was expecting a hand gun to come out of their car, but instead, the passenger leaned out the window and said "awsome car man".

At some level, this was better than Christy Brinkley smiling and waving, as she did to Chevy Chase in National Lampoon Vacation.

JCD

I've seen a lot of people give the "V" (for victory) wave for 123s & older (and I usually do it, too).

We do - my mother in law bought her first benz in 1962 and we've been waving ever since. She says everyone in a benz used to wave at each other (mind you there probably weren't a lot of mb's in the interior of BC in 1962!)

I wave at every older Benz I see - about half wave back. I figure if I keep doing it, maybe the unenlightened will eventually get the idea, and the percentage will go up. Wave on!

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1980 300SD (The Green Machine!)
180D Ponton (paid $100 Cdn - sold $200!)

I don't, although that because here it could be taken the wrong way. If I see a really old MB I'll wave if the person looks over ("What the heck is that funky odor?") but I don't do it to all w123's and older.

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2005 Audi A4 1.8T CVT -Silver/Black "Siegfried"

1982 300D - Silver/Blue "Ralph" -For Sale:
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?p=852260

1989 VW Diesel Jetta Blue/Blue "Bodo" RIP

Not so much on the road, but I'll occasionally run into a nice MB diesel owner at the pumps, and exchange pleasantries there. Ever notice how owners of overly-large-redneck-diesel-pickumpup-trucks always leave their engines running while fueling?

Hey, be nice to my overly-large-redneck-diesel-pickumup-trucks.

There's a reason for them leaving their engines running, though. Turbo'ed engines, especially after being run hard, need to be given a few minutes to let the turbo cool off and the EGT's go down some before being shut down. Otherwise, the oil that lubes the shaft on the turbo will eventually burn onto the shaft, and early turbo failure could eventually result. People sometimes figure that they may as well not shut down when refueling.

There's also an old belief that if you leave a diesel idling for an extended period of time, you're actually consuming less in fuel than you would be in replacing starters, batteries, etc. That's from semi truck drivers...and has been in debate the last few years.

I let my 6.9l's idle for a minute or so after running 'em, even though they're naturally aspirated...

I'll be happy to wave...as soon as I get a Benz... *counting down*

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2001 VW Jetta TDI, 5 speed, daily driver
1991 Ford F-350, work in progress
1984 Ford F-250 4x4, 6.9l turbo diesel, 5 speed manual
Previous oilburners: 1980 IH Scout, 1984 E-350, 1985 M-B 300D, 1979 M-B 300SD, 1983 M-B 300D
Spark-free since 1999

The State Police apparently use blinking of headlights as a very important clue in profiling which drivers to watch as likely exhibitors of "Road Rage."

I find that around where I live, it's only older people that drive cars (ie. upper 50's and up). I figure that when they were young, they bought the best but then never really bothered to keep up with new cars. Most of them seem pretty oblivious so I don't bother with the gestures. If I see someone at the pumps with a diesel passenger vehicle, maybe I'll say something, or if the driver of an older Benz is young, I'll say or do something. I'll save the gestures for ten years from now when these cars actually become something special (in the eyes of others). For every person that drives one of these diesels because of it's build quality and heritage, there are two who drive it because they couldn't afford anything better, or insisted on buying a Benz, any Benz. In ten years, only the devoted will still be around.

Alex

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1983 300D (parked for four years)
2012 VW Sportwagen TDI Manual
2001 Miata SE
1962 Chevrolet Corvair Rampside

The other day I was driving in my 240D when an oncoming MB driver waved. As he got closer I got a glimpse at the car and it was totally trashed. Stuff hanging loose, hood crooked, rust, headlight bulb completely missing, etc. It was a high school kid and he was prouder than punch. I waved and just loved it.

I like to wave at others more than they do back.

Don

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DAILY DRIVERS:
'84 300DT 298k (Aubrey's)
'99.5 Jetta TDI IV 251k (Julie's)
'97 Jetta TDI 127k (Amber's)
'97 Jetta TDI 186k (Matt's)
'96 Passat TDI 237k (Don's
'84 300D 211k Mint (Arne- Undergoing Greasecar Conversion)

SOLD:
'82 240D 229k (Matt's - Converted-300DT w/ 4 speed

I tend to wave at drivers of Mercs upto and including 123's.As for everybody else in anything newer there's not much point.Present company excluded I find driver's of newer models rather stand-offish.These are the people who seem to buy the cars as a status symbol.BEAR
ps sorry if I've upset anyone here.

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W123 '82 300D red 202,000 miles

G460 '83 280 GE LWB 69,000 miles

Mercedes-Benz Club member
http://www.mercedes-benz-club.co.uk/

S Klasse Club Deutschland
http://www.s-klasse-club.de/

my wife and I were invited to the home of the Dean (to use American terms) of the graduate programs for English speaking students at Stockholm University, and she (the new Dean) was rather proud of her new SAAB Aero (European high-performance designation). My wife happened to remark rather carelessly that in her new job, the Dean might be able to afford a Mercedes for herself, but she answered very abruptly: "Oh, they're so middle-class!" I assume that what she was thinking was not American "middle class" but Swedish _borgerlig_ i.e.: bourgeois. But we're headed that way on this side of the Atlantic now, too.

Ill nod my head to other W123 owners, but thats about it. Anything newer than that and others never respond. The newer Mercedes owners, ones perhaps that have never owned an older model in the past tend to be very stuck up. They just dont get it i guess.

When im behind the wheel of my Jeep, i almost always get a response from other wrangler owners. Maybe im comparing apples to oranges, but why can't benz owners have the same type of brotherhood that Jeepers have.

I dont see many W116 around here in Ohio, mostly mid eighties W126 models. The w123 are getting more rare every year, i almost get excited if i see one anymore.

Here in the land of oz...not only do we wave, honk or whatever to each other...half the time we both pull over and visit for awhile....I found my current mechanic by pulling along side a '83 TD and asking "where do you get yours worked on"???...Aside from kansas city or wichita...they're as rare as hen's teeth out here...so it's always a "special thing" when I see another old benz cruising towards me on an old 2-lane county road!

sean