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  #1  
Old 12-01-2002, 04:37 PM
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Thumbs up I want a W116 300SD!!

Hey all,

I don't know why but lately I've been loving the 116 more and more and more.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1873843157

A nice 300SD. There is a brown 300SD in my condo's garage parked in front of a brand new C240 (i think it is he debadged it.. definitely not a C32 though)

it's funny that the 300SD looks so arrogant with its chin high up and all that chrome just sparkling ~ bow down W203.. :p

I love it!! Can't help but stare at it. Maybe I should offer the owner to buy it off her. Lately it seemed to have leaked some Trans fluid though and it's really dirty.

When she had it detailed last year it was the most beautiful thing in the garage! Beat those new MB's!

...........if anybody has a line on a good one.. let me know..

Sorry if it's off topic but here are some nice ones..

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1873699243

These make my W123 look new and less Mercedes!...

Cheers,

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Old 12-01-2002, 07:32 PM
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Holson,

The W116 300SD is indeed an awesome car. TXBill bought my old brown '80 SD (Eduardo) and will attest to it's incredible roadworthiness for its age. Of course, I did have to practically rebuild the suspension when I bought the car back in '96. But either way, I drove it for 5 years and put 80K on it and still miss it to this day. Here's the catch with 116s though....RUST!!!!!!

For some reason, they're ALL rustbuckets and even if you bring a car in from a dry, warm climate it will begin to rust rather quickly if driven in the winter. My 300SD deteriorated at an unbelievably fast rate over my five year ownership period. Of course, Cleveland, Ohio is a pretty tough city on cars in the winter, lotsa salt. Cincinnati seems to be better. I still have one W116 left, and that's my 6.9 which I am afraid to even drive in the rain for fear of it rusting!! It's a sunny day-only car!

Compared to the W126, the W116 is much more nimble and you feel like you have control over the whole car much in the same way as when driving a go kart. The 116 is better balanced and you can get away without snow tires in the winter. You cannot do that in a 126. Anyways, if you're hell-bent on finding one, thoroughly check the condition of the rocker panels, especially around the jacking holes and also look into each front wheelwell where the sway bar pokes out and attaches to the upper control arm. Check that the metal in the wheelhouse around where the bar comes out isn't rotted away, signaling serious (read: DANGEROUS) problems underneath, i.e. rusted firewall where the half-moon shaped brackets for the sway bar bolt to it. Good luck! The 116 looks awesome in dark colors, IMHO. Especially 904 Navy Blue (the color of my 6.9).
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  #3  
Old 12-01-2002, 10:34 PM
Mtrdoctor12
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I have a 81 300sd for sale approx 150,000 dark blue/grey interior
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  #4  
Old 12-01-2002, 11:05 PM
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Holson, I have a great idea.

Why don't you buy a 116 here is Southern California and keep it here so that it never rusts.

We have no snow here, thus no salt, and it rarely rains, too. Rust is hardly ever a consideration when looking at used cars down here.

We can keep it in my garage for safe keeping, and you can drive her whenever you come out.
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  #5  
Old 12-02-2002, 09:24 AM
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suginami,
Thanks for the suggestion hehehe too bad I'd have to fly there to drive the car hehehe...

anyway,
Mtrdoctor12, any pictures? I do kinda prefer a car that I could look at locally (NE) .. well a garaged one shouldnt have too much rust.

Thanks Aaron,
I remember reading about TXBill's 300SD, which was yours. He seems to be really fond of it. I would be too.

I really am thinking of buying that nice Cali car in my garage. Obviously it hasn't seen much of NE's winter because it doesn't have any rust. Too bad I really hate the dull mud color. I love the metallic brown or some darker shades of brown but this is just... :p

I saw a 450SEL 6.9 cruising on the Interstate once and it just blew by everybody like an elegant cruise liner going past small boats....that thing was mint!!!
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  #6  
Old 12-02-2002, 10:35 AM
Jim B+
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Big, lovely cars, BUT

how much more complex than a W123? What's shared with a 300D? Can someone "compare and contrast"?
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  #7  
Old 12-02-2002, 06:27 PM
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May want to check with TClanton on the board. He had a great looking 116 for sale, that had incredible interior. Southern car.
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  #8  
Old 12-02-2002, 06:55 PM
Mtrdoctor12
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Cool

Holson I dont have any pic's but could get some in about 3-4 days. Rember though and i could be wrong but I think a 81 300sd is a 126 body and not a 116. If anyone is interedted I could take some pics and post them.
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  #9  
Old 12-02-2002, 07:29 PM
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I LOVE my 300SD/116! I HIGHLY recommend buying one if you can find a nice one. Rust is definitely a factor, but if you buy a southern or southwestern car that is rust-free, and keep it garaged and out of the winter salt, you should be OK.

There's nothing about them that's any more or less complicated than the 123/300D...Same engine, same tranny, same suspension, same crappy ACC (except on the 81 and up 300Ds), same vacuum lock problems...Just a bigger chassis. According to the MB numbers and other test results from "back in the day", the 300SD, even though it is heavier, was actually slightly faster and had marginally better mileage figures...I don't know if that was due to different gear ratios or what.

I think some of the interior components hold up BETTER, and look better, in my opinion. The door panels are the most obvious item. They are made much differently, and don't have that wrinkle-prone trim around the windows that the 300Ds always have, or the small and often-broken map pockets. There's larger wood trim on the 300SD dashboard, and the glove box door latches don't quit working like the 123 ones are known for.

Don't hate me, 123 guys!...I love them too! I just have to sing the praises of my 116 a little bit!

http://mercedes300sd.freeservers.com/index.html

Mike
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  #10  
Old 12-02-2002, 10:21 PM
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There was a really nice one that was on E-Bay (sold in MA). It was sold for $6000. I should've just bid for it.

Mtrdoctor, I just realized.. my bad.
It is a 126 not a 116 I guess (1981).. thanks anyway.
You could always share the pictures. After you get the compliments you might not want to sell it

I'm also thinking that the 116 300SD is an S-Class that wouldn't cost me much more to run than the 300CD.

If I ever find a nice 450SEL or Euro 280S I might go for such a car too..
http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1921216700
Like that...
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  #11  
Old 12-02-2002, 11:35 PM
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One of the best things I like about the W116 is the "heated doors". Those of you with 116s will know what I'm talking about. Very warm and cozy in the winter
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Old 12-04-2002, 04:01 AM
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I like em too, and the few that I drove while looking for a car were FAST, diesel fast that is. I came pretty close to buying one from another island here in Hawaii, but didn't. I'm sure you check e-bay often, but this one looks nice from what appears to be a decent dealer seller...0 negatives...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1874121812&category=6330


Aloha
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  #13  
Old 12-04-2002, 01:29 PM
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We have a Navy blue with Palomino interior, Stella. I bought it for the kids to get to school and back economically and safely. We love the car. It is simple enough that I can do most of the work (I guess I have done all the work on it, now that I think of it) to keep it on the road, and it has been reliable.

The only problem I have is that I like the car too much. I have a hard time when I see the new door dings that accumulate in a high school parking lot. My kids are pretty careful, considering they are highschool age, but the little dings still accumulate.

The kids are not real fond of the car, because it is so "old fogey-ish", I guess. When they are out of high school, they can buy their own car if they don't like this one! Oooh, that way my wife and I could get it back, do a restoration on her, and have her all to ourselves!

Do your homework, find a good example, and use this site to help with the small problems that will inevitably crop up. You will enjoy the 116 300 SD, I am sure.

Doug
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  #14  
Old 12-04-2002, 04:45 PM
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I must add that the 116 SD is, in my opinion, one of the nicest and most elegant Mercedes made. I saw a very nice one, albiet a non-diesel, here in Vancouver Canada, in a turquoise teal colour, that I thought was absolutely gorgeous, with a light almost white interior. I have never seen anything quite like that colour combination in a Mercedes before. The 116 also looks very elegant, like a car that a diplomat would drive, in basic black. If it wasnt that the 123 makes better sense due to parts availability, I would seek out and own a 116.
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  #15  
Old 12-04-2002, 06:46 PM
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I've NEVER had any trouble getting parts for my 116 diesel...In fact, it shares a LOT of parts with the 123 diesels, and of course some with the 116/123 gassers and 126 diesels as well.

Mike

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1979 300 SD
350,000 miles
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1982 300D-gone---sold to a buddy
_____
1985 300TD
270,000 miles
_____
1994 E320
not my favorite, but the wife wanted it

www.myspace.com/mikemover
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www.myspace.com/doubledrivemusic
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