So, I'm probably in the super minority of this, the 300SDL my brother and I own where both of our first cars, and when I mean first car I mean, it was literally the car both learned how to drive with.

I worked on it before I even got behind the wheel...

Anyone else share a similar experience?

I joke with my younger siblings that they should get an older Mercedes as their first car too, obviously it would be cool maintaining the fleet of Diesel Mercedes if they decide to go that route.

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1998 Ford Escort ZX2 5 speed - 279,000 miles My Daily

1992 Mercedes 300D 2.5 202,000 - Pure junk
2000 Mercedes E320 Black - 136,000 miles - Needs repair

Don't forget to grease the screw and threads on the spring compressor.

I'm a youngin' but my first car was a gold 90's W124 gasser passed down from my Dad.
It was on AMG monoblock's, I was the 'gangster' kid at school because of it lol..
Later it developed some engine troubles and needed a new engine, we ended up trading it for a Turbo 2 RX-7

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04 Sprinter 3500 - 310k
"Ich mag die Dieselgeräusche"
https://youtu.be/YjrxHqNy5CQ
✞

Nope my first was a 1964 Plymouth Barracuda. I paid $150 for it. Wish I had it now.

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Brian
87 300Dturbo 180K #14 head still running R-12 SOLD 12/2017
02 F350 Powerstroke 180K
05 Chevy Express 1 ton w/Royal Utility box 120K
08 Infiniti FX-35 40K
15 Golf Sportwagen TDI 35K
10 Sprinter 3500 chassis with a Class A Winnebago on it. 56K

No but it was a mercedes. I had a c36 amg as my first car and cost me my license after 5 months of having it. Sold it because the insurance became too high.

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Only diesels in this driveway.
2005 E320 CDI 243k Black/Black
2008 Chevy 3500HD Duramax 340k
2004 Chevy 2500HD Duramax 220k

I still have my '66. Parts are tough these days.

Attached Thumbnails

 

300D was my 2nd car. It was what got me interested in wrenching.

There are probably 6 W123 cars at the high school with my daughter.

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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.

Nope. My first car was a Model T Ford. After that it was 1950s American cars. None of them got much use as I was always too broke to put gas in them, let alone repair them.

I ended up buying a 1980 W116 300SD with 380,000 miles on it for $300 years later. It was rusty but the interior looked like it was brand new and it had a rebuilt transmission. The previous owners used it to pull their boat. It was love at first drive. I couldn't believe how much faster it was than the American V8s I was used to, and how it launched itself up steep grades without losing any power. The ride and fuel economy were also second to none.

I remember driving it around most of the time I had it while it was spitting out diesel fuel from the primer pump because I didn't have the $10 the local German auto repair shop wanted to replace it.

The air conditioning didn't work and neither did the power windows, so driving in the summer was brutal and I ended up removing the door panel (which was really difficult for me then) and removing the window regulator and propping the glass up on a block of wood, which I could remove and lower the glass down by hand. One time the glass dropped down and shattered so I replaced it with a sheet of Lexan.

When winter came, the heater didn't work, so I had to drive it with a blanket on me. I ended up giving up on the car because I had no money and couldn't figure out how to fix it. It went for $600 on eBay.

Years later, after driving International Travelalls, I saw an ad on craigslist for a free 1979 300SD that came with a parts car. The 300SD was already stripped down to almost nothing (the front wire harness was cut, the exhaust and front clip were missing, the interior was full of water, there was no alternator), but I got it and taught myself to fix it the right way. Ever since, I've been hooked on Mercedes diesels.

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Stop paying for animal enslavement, cruelty, and slaughter. Save your health and the planet. Go vegan! I did 18 years ago. https://challenge22.com/

DON'T MESS WITH MY MERCEDES!


1967 W110 Universal Wagon, Euro, Turbo Diesel, Tail Fins, 4 Speed Manual Column Shift, A/C
1980 W116 300SD Turbo Diesel, DB479 Walnut Brown, Sunroof, Highly Optioned, 350,000+ Miles

Ok... I learned to drive on a Massey furgusson... and a 79 Subaru gl (I rolled that poor thing) but I always worked on cars... since 5... literally.

My first car was ALMOST a 55 Fi tail Mercedes needing work.
My government/drivers ed teacher knew how much I worked on cars and offered it to me... but I was a race car mechanic at the time and when he asked me what I would do with it, I told him... chevy 350 powerglide etc... I didn’t get the car.

My daughter learned to drive in my SD, And 87TD... and her first car was a 87 190D turbo... and when it had issues she got an 84SD and still drives it.

My other daughter is only 14 and has no interest in cars yet...

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

First car was with dads beater 73 honda cvcc he commuted with for 10 yrs ,it needed the motor freshened up .We honed the block ,had the head sent out ,resupplied new everything and tooled it back to health .First MB ,a 79 wagon with alot of charm .

First car at 18 - my '78 300D. Been off the road for a while for turbo and clutch upgrades etc...
Second - '84 300TD (gone)
Third - '77 300D (a mate has it now)
Fourth - '77 250 (parts car, needs to be parted out and cut up soon, anyone want a M123 engine?)
Fifth - '88 Corona 2.0D

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1978 300D, 373,000km 617.912, 711.113 5 speed, 7.5mm superpump, HX30W turbo...many, many years in the making....
1977 280> 300D - 500,000km+ (to be sold...)
1984 240TD>300TD 121,000 miles, *gone*
1977 250 parts car
1988 Toyota Corona 2.0D *gone*
1975 FJ45>HJ45
1981 200>240D (to be sold...)
1999 Hyundai Lantra 1.6 *gone*
1980s Lansing Bagnall FOER 5.2 Forklift (the Mk2 engine hoist)
2001 Holden Rodeo 4JB1T 2WD

I tried to claim the 1964 GTO my dad won in a poker game. I suppose he was wise to not allow a 16 yr/old to own such a car. I was so angry I bought a 1966 396ci SS Chevelle. He wouldn't let me drive it until it was insured and he wouldn't put it on his insurance.

The guy at State Farm laughed when I tried to buy a policy so I sold the Chevy to my cousin a month later. During that month I slipped away after my parents went to bed and drove it until nearly dawn.

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84 300SD
85 380SE
83 528e
95 318ic

My oldest son's first car was my old '73 220D. Strangely enough he never got a speeding ticket in it.

My youngest son's first car was his mother's '71 220. He got a bunch of speeding tickets in it. We ended up taking it back from him after his insurance got to where he couldn't afford to drive.

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“Whatever story you're telling, it will be more interesting if, at the end you add, "and then everything burst into flames.”
― Brian P. Cleary, You Oughta Know By Now

I never mentioned what my first car was...

Hard to say really...

First vehicle I drove with a license was a brand spanking new prototype economy dodge van passenger van.

The day after I got my license, dad had me in it driving from SD to NC towing a trailer with him driving the big 2.5 ton flatbed towing a trailer, and my big brother driving my 67 dodge D100 4 speed (I still have it) towing a huge trailer loaded with farm equipment...

Oh... the van was a 3 speed floor shifted with overdrive... oh and it was also heavily loaded with a trailer... that is a LOOOOONG story...

Anyway, the first car I bought was a 72 Toyota celica 4 speed. Loved that car... miss it terribly... looked like a tiny 69 Camaro fun as can be to drive, had a huge oil leak, and the gas tank was rotted through the trunk floor... had to keep it below 1/2 tank... and the fumes were terrible. Gas gauge didn’t work, so every morning on my way to work I would dip the fuel tank, to see how much was in there and pour in a quart of oil... I really miss 79cent motor oil...

The first car I officially owned was a graduation present from my grandpa... a 65 beetle... first year with heater controls in the cabin... drove it till the brakes wouldn’t work, parked it in my backyard until hurricane Hugo dropped a barn on top of it...
fun car to drive, but dangerous as can be to drive on two lane roads frequented by semis... ya need to pull over any time one was heading the other way you were... or you would get blown into a ditch... really...

My first actual Mercedes ownership was the teal 82SD for free from one of my Computer customers...

I still have it.

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

Yup, 1979 mercedes 300D, the one in my pic

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2004 F150 4.6L -My Daily
2007 Volvo XC70 -Wife's Daily
1998 Ford F150 -Rear ended
1989 J-spec 420SEL -passed onto its new keeper
1982 BMW 733i -fixed and traded for the 420SEL
2003 Volvo V70 5 Speed -scrapped
1997 E290 Turbo Diesel Wagon -traded for above
1992 BMW 525i -traded in
1990 Silver 300TE -hated the M103
1985 Grey 380SE Diesel Conversion, 2.47 rear end, ABS -Sold, really should have kept this one
1979 Silver 300D "The Silver Slug" -Sold