A nice young man (car enthusiast) walked up to me at the filling station and asked if I'd think of selling my W123 300TD. He made me a very decent offer. I told him, probably not for a year or two, as the car is a pleasure for me to drive in the summer (N-E), and useful to carry stuff around town (recently bought an 8ft stepladder and casually shoved it into the back with the seats down).

I bought the car from essentially the original owner, have all service and ownership records. PO did major repairs in last couple of years (engine rebuild 8 years ago, transmission rebuild, differential rebuild, new front end, new springs, etc.). Car could use some cosmetic TLC, nothing major.

The car is in very solid mechanical shape and has virtually no rust to worry about (not winter driven for at least 20 years). It starts up every summer and drives well and straight, good acceleration. I have a fair number of new and used spare parts and shop manuals.

I'm not as keen to work on cars anymore (turned 60 last year, and have other hobbies now), and have a 13 year old Lexus SUV to haul me and my dog around. I've put maybe 3000 miles on the 300TD in the last 5 summers.

So:
- Part of me thinks it's a good thing to sell the car to a young guy who will look after it, one less thing for me to worry about, frees up my garage, less insurance and licencing costs, etc.
- But I've owned a W123 of some form or another for over 15 years, have some attachment to the W123 diesels, and would likely not get one again, and likely not a wagon as solid as mine.
So I'm a little torn.
Any thoughts/perspectives from your own experience?

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1983 300TD 240K - 1982 240D 215K - 1996 Dodge Cummins 70K

I'm in the same boat right now. Following.


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1985 Euro 300TD Turbo

One of the criteria I would consider is how old you are and how much longer you can wrench ( if you wrench yourself ). If you are getting on a bit then may be it is time to pass the torch, plus the other benefits you mentioned.

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Not MBZ nor A/C trained professional but a die-hard DIY and green engineer. Use the info at your own peril. Picked up 2 Infractions because of disagreements. NOW reversed.

W124 Keyless remote, PM for details. http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/mercedes-used-parts-sale-wanted/334620-fs-w124-chasis-keyless-remote-%2450-shipped.html

1 X 2006 CDI
1 x 87 300SDL
1 x 87 300D
1 x 87 300TDT wagon
1 x 83 300D
1 x 84 190D ( 5 sp ) - All R134 converted + keyless entry.

Yeah I turned 60 last year and wrenching is not as appealing as it once was (I used to do a fair bit of it). I've turned to an enjoyable clock and watch repair as a hobby 2 years ago: still work with tools and mechanical things, but without need to get all greasy and crawl under cars etc...

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1983 300TD 240K - 1982 240D 215K - 1996 Dodge Cummins 70K

All of these things scream keep it. You probably aren't going to find another one like it. If it was a clapped out example with a bunch of unknowns and needed work I'd let it go, but not this car.

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'80 300SD - '83 240D - '00 E55 AMG - '02 G500

OP, you have answered your ownl question. You will regret selling.

I met a guy at the tire shop a few days ago driving some econo beater. He told me how wonderful my car is and that he always regrets selling his at 300,000 miles. Several people have given me a similar story after seeing my car and remembering about their W123. There is nothing else like one of these cars. It was the pinnacle of high-build quality, price be damned, best or nothing from Mercedes coupled with a bulletproof diesel engine and some degree of luxury and timeless styling. Everything that came after it is a copycat and what was built before did not have the sophistication of a modern car.

Dkr.

You will know when it is the right time; you will feel it. This does not seem like the right time yet. You answered your own question.

I'm slightly older and have not been able to let go of my stuff. I keep 2 SDs, an 00 Cummins and a 12 TDI (I hate spell check) that doesn't get any wrenching.

I wouldn't sell the TD if it was to the point of maintenance only. The old cars can be fixed at home and I LIKE driving them. The new one is well, transportation and sucks an unbelievable amount if it ever goes to the shop.

VW gave me $500 that had to be spent at the dealer. Oil, filters, alignment and the cheapest battery was $550.

I prefer the SD. VW goes back this December. Good car but it's just a car.

Got the guys phone number? Run it through Google and see if he has any cars for sale. He might be a car flipper, I've seen that before when I was chasing a Bentley Turbo R. The seller said he was a car collector but when I ran his number I could see he was a car flipper.

While there is a chance he is genuine, I wouldn't count him caring for the car if he was buying to drive, people spend $ 35 K on a new car and end up with a rusted mess in 10 years so something that cost $ 5K and will go even half as long would be a bargain.

Another possibility is to ash what message boards he is on to see if he has a history of investigating these cars.

I'd tend towards keeping since getting another one may be difficult. In the USA, some states will allow a seasonal plate for those that park in the winter, If you do that you could drop insurance during winter saving $.

Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and suggestions.
I think the answer I gave the young man when he came up to me and asked me about the car was the right one: "not now, maybe in a couple of years"
The car feels like a comfortable old pair of shoes, or a favourite jacket. As someone said, it's basically at maintenance stage, no major work expected, just a few small things that I'll need to get at some time (vacuum pump overhaul or a bit of vacuum hose troubleshooting, and replacing the seals on the crankcase vent tube, to stop an occasional little drip). And some pm (bleeding brake lines, checking the pads, that kind of thing).
So yes, the time isn't right for my parting with my red wagon. Maybe in a couple of years my potential future son-in-law (mech engineer and tinkerer) will adopt it.
And with the low amount of miles I put on, I really do need to look into collector-seasonal plates and insurance. I do take the coverage off in the winter so save some $'s already.
Again thanks for your replies. I appreciate them.
Cheers.

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1983 300TD 240K - 1982 240D 215K - 1996 Dodge Cummins 70K

Wait till you've owned a car as long as I've had my Corvette. At this point I leave the keys in the ignition and hope someone makes off with the old pig. It sounds to me like you're not done yet, don't sell it. Some decades back I thought I was done with the old Vette, I stuck it in a rented garage for 7 years then pulled it out and resurrected the old sled. I think I'm done again, WTF! It's a conundrum to say the least. I would suggest that owning your TD for just 15 years with the few miles you drive it is no where near done from my perspective.

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1981 240D Four on the floor, Orient Red over Parchment, bought with 154,000 but it's a daily driver and up to 180,000 miles, mostly original paint and all original interior.

OP, the only vacuum pumps available are new Mercedes pumps. No rebuild kits and the external check valve is ~$80 which is too significant to gamble on something that might not fix it. The complete pump is ~$350.

I will have access to 4 to use as parts if one goes down. There are currently 3 good pumps and only 2 cars so I may be good. The one that failed recently was a relatively new Piersburg which is the original manufacturer.

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85SD 240K & stopped counting painted, putting bac together. 84SD 180,000. sold to a neighbor and member here but I forget his handle. The 84 is much improved from when I had it. 85TD beginning to repair to DD status. Lots of stuff to do.

Ford V8 diesels in the 80's / 90's used a belt drive vac pump that could be adapted, I'm pretty sure GM did the same here and there.

There has to be an electric vac pump somewhere out there that is cost effective.

Yeah sounds like you've had a long "marriage" of sorts with that Vette, with the highs and lows that involves. I've only owned the wagon for around 5 years, but had a nice 240D sedan for 10 years before that, which was in nicer condition overall, but a slug in traffic (automatic) and the wagon is so much more useful in many ways, for hauling etc.
As long as I can keep the snow, salt and rust away from my wagon, it may well outlive me! Unless some future government outlaws such "polluting" cars and forces me into some kind of electric Jetson car...
Yeah, and then the possibility of unobtainium parts, as people alluded to re: vacuum pump.
Cheers.

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1983 300TD 240K - 1982 240D 215K - 1996 Dodge Cummins 70K