Howdy friends,

I have been with out a car for the last few weeks. I recently sold my 190E, and my beautiful ol' 220D dropped a portion of a pre-chamber into the #1 cylinder. Even after my unfortunate luck with my W115 220D, I had my heart set on a diesel W123 for my next car. I posted a WTB ad in this forum's classifieds section seeking a clean, low mile W123 diesel. Within 20 minutes, I received a great tip from member PC Dave.

PC Dave told me about a clean, one owner, low miles 82 300DT in Fullerton that he almost bought late last year from a very reputable VW TDI dealer Leonard Harview (sells through his small lot and clubtdi.com). Leonard purchased the car after it was donated to a Kidney charity by a widow after the husband passed away. Apparently it sat for a year or two after his death in her garage, and consequently, the transmission developed some problems. She didn't want to deal with it, and donated it. Leonard picked it up for $2500 or $3500 and had the tranny professionally rebuilt. Leonard is not normally interested in anything non-TDI, but this car caught his eye. He wasn't able to sell it immediatly for the price he thought it was worth, so he has been sitting on it for the last year or two. His wife drove it for awhile, he drove it for awhile, and it spend a couple months in a garage. PC Dave backed out of the sale because Leonard was not flexible on the price, even though the car had a few oil leaks. Leonard hasn't showed the car to any one since PC Dave saw it.

I extend my greatest thanks to PC Dave for his kindness in sharing information about this car. Not only did he give me Leonard's contact info, he told me everything he knew about the car, including the information from the PPI he had performed on it.

I made the 350 mile trip from Santa Cruz to Fullerton via train to see the car. I was very impressed by the condition of the vehicle -- clean motor, perfect interior, very nice body and paint, low miles, and rebuilt tranny. It drove wonderfully.







I bought it for $4500.

I know, I know ... that's probably more than any of you guys would pay for a W123. I honestly believe that this car will last me at least the next 6-8 years. The extra $2000 I paid over the price of a more run down, high mileage W123 will easily be saved in maintenance.

I love it. The car drives and runs wonderfully. The trip home was fun and, thankfully, unevenful. I am now a believer -- the diesel W123 is one of (if not THE) best Mercedes ever made.

I have an order in at greasel.com, so I will be burning veggie oil soon. I will let you all know how my install turns out.

Regards,

Cassidy


(Quick questions)

What are the official exterior and interior color names for this vehicle?

Is this car equiped with any smog equipment, like an EGR?

__________________
Cassidy
1982 MB 300DT - Running Great @ 104K!

1972 MB 220D - RIP @ ~200K (Dropped prechamber)
1992 MB 190E 2.6 - SOLD @ 145K