On page 22 & 24 of the September 7 AUTOWEEK.
Included among the list of new and late-model cars, including the Honda Accord, VW Rabbit, Ford Focus and Mazda 6, is the (QUOTE)
"1979 - 81 Mercedes-Benz 300TD.
AVERAGE PRICE RANGE: $6000 - $14000
Nothing will make you cooler and keep you safer than a vintage Mercedes wagon."

Happy Motoring, Mark

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DrDKW

maybe a vintage Mercedes sedan

Certainly not going anywhere fast either

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-Typos courtesy of my mobile phone.

The clatter of a turbodiesel . . . chick magnet.

my ex girlfriend loved my mercedes, but she wouldnt want to own an older, like almost every person i meet.

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1984 300SD Orient Red/ Palomino
1989 560SEC
2016 Mazda 6 6 speed manual
1995 Ford F-150 reg cab 4.9 5speed manual

Though curiosly, they only listed the '79 to 81 wagon, which I believe, wasn't a turbo-diesel.
Maybe they considered the turbo models too fast for teenagers!

Happy Motoring, Mark

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DrDKW

If I had a kid, and they were hard on the accelerator pedal, I would get them an auto 240D.

Safe, Slow and stylish

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2007 BMW 328XI

Teens belong in something big (for safety), cheap (because they'll probably destroy it), and slow (safety again). Because of #2, I'd try to avoid anything particularly rare or classic. 123 wagons are too rare to give to some teen to total, unless they're almost there already.

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Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.

Interesting that they chose the 90hp N/A wagon with SLS and the Evil Servo climate system as an ideal teen car! LOL. One of those is probably the least likely old MB that I would want.

My guess is that finding a nice example of one of those would cost far beyond what the average teen is willing to spend anyways.....I have never actually seen one of that vintage around here, ever. Just some turbo wagons.....and the later W124's....I've seen some sedans of that time frame, but never a wagon.

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-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

My 16 year old son drives a 1985 300D just for that reason-Big, Heavy & Slow (by rice rocket standards)

I thought it was more interesing (or maybe just curious) that along with the other 9 choices from 2003 to current models, they would pick a car that's 28 to 30 years old!
The article didn't discuss whether a teenager would WANT a 300TD, though when I was that age, given the choice between paying for my own choice, or driving an old Mercedes, I would have, and did choose - the old Mercedes. That 'old Mercedes' however cost $200, not 6 to 14 K, or whatever the equivalent was in 1973.

Today, I do have a 5-speed '84 NA 300TD without the dreaded ACC of any kind. Of course it's a Euro model. Does have the SLS though.

Happy Motoring, Mark

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DrDKW

My 21 year old is driving my 82 300cd. She loves it, calls it Neville and has been driving it since she was 16.

Neville is getting a little shaggy these days, especially the leather.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

I bought my 1978 300D when i got my license, but for slightly different reasons: A) I wanted as few electronics and computers as possible so i could fix every thing. B) It didnt say Civic anywhere on it. So far the slowness does not bother me, cant say the same about the people following me
i do however live in upstate NY therefor in the winter its cold and there's salt on the roads...rust...
most people cant fathom why i would get an almost 32 year old car, oh well.
Its probably because its a rich town so people so up in their 2007(new then) Bmw's and dont see why i would want to fix it "you just take it to the dealer" "its got a warrenty" ugh

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-1978 300D

I agree I had my 300CD when I was 16 and it was a great car but to be honest I would not give any teenager I know a TD or for that matter a CD too rare.....a nice 240D would be the perfect fit..

Safer? I don't know about that! ANY car you can lay down in usually isn't exactly "safe" when you're a teenager!