Some people have no respect for these cars. Sad. - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

marco5 · #1 10-17-2017, 02:12 PM

Need to rant about this. So I see a 300D posted on kijiji yesterday for $600. I rush out to go and see it and it's in disgusting condition. Oil pouring out of every area you can imagine, rust all over, interior ripped and never washed and the guy started it up for me! I asked him to shut it off as it was his car so I could check the oil. IT WAS EMPTY. He said he just adds oil now and then and it drives fine... I got really angry.

Honestly, this guy did nothing to the car and just drove it. For years and years. It's absolutely amazing the abuse these cars take and still continue to drive. How can people abuse such beautiful mechanical engineering like that? If you want to save money and abuse cars, drive a kia or civic that you picked up for $400. I have pics but I don't even want to post them cuz it makes me so upset!

tjts1 · #2 10-17-2017, 02:17 PM

It's just a car. W123s are cannon fodder for the JYs around here. W123s with zero rust end up being recycled. If you want to preserve a good one, get a one way plane ticket to SoCal and have at it.
https://losangeles.craigslist.org/search/cto?query=300d&max_price=1000

chasinthesun · #3 10-17-2017, 04:33 PM

That he speaks is true ,a large hive of these in abundance,If it has any rust in the jacking points its got way more where you dont see.

jake12tech · #4 10-17-2017, 04:51 PM

It's a car. They made millions of them. It's no big deal. I had a POS 190E I drove for 5000 miles with a bad head gasket I picked up for $400. I drove it with the oil mixing in the coolant until it got worse and overheated and scrapped it. It was a beater just like this car.

Not everything can be saved.

97 SL320 · #5 10-17-2017, 05:53 PM

See this thread. ( There just isn't a market for common older stuff. Think about the 20's - 30's grand classics that, in the 40's were sold to farmers who cut the back off to make a pickup truck , repair garages that turned them into a tow truck. Now they are the subject of Pebble Beach. )

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/387892-such-difficult-time-part-sell-used-cars.html

Clemson88 · #6 10-17-2017, 06:52 PM

drive it for a year without doing anything but pouring a little oil and fuel into it then you probably made a good deal.

It's economics not art.

CDTurbo001 · #7 10-17-2017, 08:08 PM

It is a shame, but it is just a car, and not the only one. I turn wrenches for a living and see how people treat their only car, not just a spare, old Mercedes, and I pity them that they have so little perception of the danger they put themselves and others in, or how much they waste by needlessly, senselessly coring out their cars.

There will be examples of any car that are so far gone they're barely good for parts, and it's their place to donate what pieces they can to others that aren't as far gone. We can't save them all - just be content with saving what you can and knowing you did your best.

ROLLGUY · #8 10-17-2017, 08:26 PM

"You can't save them all". Well, I am giving it my best to save as many as I can. I now have 19 'Benzs. Only two of them are gassers, and all are older than 1990 except for three. Most are 123's. If I had more room, I would buy more for parts. It seems good engines are hard to come by, so buying a car for just the engine has been a good thing for me. Most all my parts cars were engine and/or trans donors......Rich

dieselmania · #9 10-17-2017, 09:07 PM

I overheard a guy in a restaurant talking about his 240D that he was using for a rock crawler.

tjts1 · #10 10-17-2017, 09:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ROLLGUY

I now have 19 'Benzs.

They make pills for that.

ROLLGUY · #11 10-17-2017, 09:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tjts1

They make pills for that.

Yes, but if you have ever heard one of those drug commercials and the possible side affects, you would accept the disease and not take the pills!

tbomachines · #12 10-17-2017, 10:15 PM

$600 car sounds like a $600 car.

MBeige · #13 10-18-2017, 01:23 AM

Part of me wants to say, "It's just a car" - but my enthusiast side also says "But it's a classic Mercedes-Benz!"

So to reconcile both, just say to yourself that, "It's just HIS (or her) car." - then YOU make the decision to make it your own. When you do, that's when you get emotionally involved. Until then, just walk away.

Your story reminds me of when I looked for a good, decent 190E for my sister - the first time was not so bad, but after she crashed it and I had to look for another, that's when I got disappointed of her not taking care of it. Lots of cars being sold were in poor condition - dry dipstick, torn seats, etc. I just walked away and didn't waste anybody's time until the right one came along.

my83300cd · #14 10-18-2017, 07:16 PM

Please come get my 300cd and 190e 5 speed and have your way with them.
The 300cd PO drove over a small tree at about the 200k mark, and the damage to the undercoating permitted the floor to rot out. It only has 375k on it now...and sits quietly to the left of the barn door withe the trunk being used to store a spare transmission for the 86 Izusu Trooper.
The 190e was a $700 car that I drove for 6 years, and now needing it's 3rd water pump, rear brakes, tires, and front end work to cure a 65mph shimmy it rests quietly at the end of the driveway, to the right of the door.
If I had stupid money, I'd get the 300cd restored...but I have two college tuitions to take care of, and the smart money says walk away.

torsionbar · #15 10-18-2017, 08:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tbomachines

$600 car sounds like a $600 car.

x2, for that price, I would expect nothing more than scrap that can maybe drive itself to the junk yard.

With internet sites like ebay, autotrader, etc. people know roughly what their stuff is worth these days. Gone are the days of finding a $600 cream puff time capsule where someone doesn't know what its worth.