We are proud to introduce our new, W123 of the month thread. We will be picking one W123 per month to feature in this thread. To be considered for W123 of the month simply send an email to W123ofthemonth@gmail.com
Your email must contain your BW username, first name, and location (state, province, etc. is fine). Also, your email must include a paragraph that will be included in the thread, as well as several pictures.
Paragraph: The paragraph you write should tell something about you, your car, or preferably both. Don't be afraid of making it too long, we can always cut some of it out if we absolutely have to.
Pictures: We want a few specific pictures and angles, these are...
Front
Side
Rear/side angle
Interior from driver's side
Engine Bay (optional)
And 1 owner's choice picture, this can be any angle that you think really shows off your car, or maybe a specific modification that you are especially proud of, this is where you get to let your artistic side show.
Submissions will not be selected based on the condition of the car, but rather on the quality of the paragraph, picture angles, and most likely, by the flip of a coin....
We look forward to your submissions and to showing off our member's cars.
Thank you.
__________________
Doug
1984 300D 120,000 miles "Silver Blue Metallic"
2001 Ford Explorer Sport, White
This 1983 300D was given to me by my grandma since they were moving to a different location. At 138,038 miles it was my first Mercedes and my first diesel car. Initial reaction when test driving it around the block was that it was slow and tanklike with the infamous diesel clatter.
Thanks to Benzworld and their fabulous W123 enthusiasts, I grew to know more about my newfound "hobby", if I may say so, and learned how to do maintenance myself. Not only that, I also made new friends among fellow owners and Mercedes-Benz vehicles alike. In addition I also joined the Mercedes-Benz Club of the Philippines.
A specimen as clean as this is hard to find. I must admit I did alot of cleaning to get it to this state. To put it figuratively, I merely "wiped off the dust" since it was in pristine condition and was extremely well taken care of.
In 1979, my dad bought the family's first Mercedes, a 300D sedan. I was immediately impressed by the 123 Mercedes-Benzes, vowing some day to buy one--a coupe to be exact. So finally, a quarter century later and memories hardly faded I found one on Denver's Craigslist.
I bought her on Fourth of July weekend, 2005. I had been searching for over a year--a year filled with failed attempts on eBay and discouraged searches on Hemmings Motor News. But this was my lucky day...not only was she in the color I wanted (Diamond Blue) but she was also one of the last of the final production year and had only 81,000 miles! I immediately called the seller and offered to send a deposit via PayPal--sight unseen!
I arranged a flight over the long holiday weekend to Colorado with cash in hand--literally cash in hand! When I arrived I was impressed by her condition and surprised to discover that she had rear seat headrests and adjustable front seat orthopedic back rests. (Rare options for U.S. models.) I took her for a drive and announced that she no longer needed the tacky "FOR SALE" sign on her rear window--she was mine!
She had spent most of her live in Florida--nearly twenty years. The original owner was a U.S. Lt. Colonel who had purchased her in August 1985, through the military sales program in Germany, where he was stationed. She was shipped to Fort Lauderdale, Florida about a ten months later. He sold her in 1999 to the second owner, a Mercedes mechanic in Pampano Beach (I even have his photo courtesy of the previous owner.
I shipped her to San Francisco where she now resides with me, her fourth owner. She has proven to be a great city car. My other car, a 1997 Porsche 993 Turbo, is ill-suited for city streets--every bump, crack, split in the road threatens to dislodge loose fillings! My 300CD attacks potholes and road irregularities with aplomb, defying the aged streets of San Francsico all the while proclaiming "bring it on!" She is not super fast--but she has no pretense otherwise. Friends call her "antique" (not quite...yet), "shiny" (not so much the paint as the chrome), "old school" (I like that one the most), "upright" (let them have their characterless CLKs). I refer to her as the "coupe"--because for me there is no other coupe.
Best,
Derick B. TeeKing
Fleming+TeeKing
Strategic Advisors LLC
__________________
1981 300SD DB881 ext./code #236 leather int. aka: thistle green ext./olive int.
1982 300D, DB877 ext./code #135 mb-tex int. aka: petrol green ext./creme int.
Username: StreekG
Name: Steven
Location: Victoria, Australia
Since i was born i have been raised in a family of Mercedes-Benz
enthusiasts. I grew to love them very much, especially the W123. I bought
the car about 7 months before i got my drivers license, at first i never
intended on buying a Mercedes because i never thought i could afford it, and
was going to buy a little RWD Corolla hehe, but after some hard looking i
found the perfect W123, at a good price, there were faults in the car which
i got fixed as soon as i bought the car. The 280CE is by far my favourite
model Benz as my brother has had a 280CE for over 6 years. I've had a few
people telling me lately that i should save my money and buy a car in better
condition to mine as my car hasn't had the best history before i bought it.
I love my car to death, the last thing i would want to do is sell it, i will
save my money and fix this car to be in perfect condition, everything about
my car turns heads and a lot of people talk to me when they see me driving
it, and i love the colour, its a rare colour to find in the W123 CE. This
car will be with me for a very long time, i can't see myself selling it,
everything about it, i love.
This is 'Sadie", my 1983 240D. She has 94,000 original miles and is in pristine mechanical and cosmetic condition. I drive this car 80 miles everyday to work and back. It retains its original sand beige paint and has a flawless palomino MB Tex interior. She features an automatic transmission and electric sunroof. Everything functions properly, even the clock. Fuel milage is exactly 30 mpg in the city or hiway. I bought this car recently from the original owner in California so, it is 100% rust free. She has been religeously maintained by the original selling MB dealership. This is my 2nd 240D and I cant tell you enough about what a joy this car is to drive. I began my career as a Mercedes-Benz technician in 1983 so, I have a deep passion for these cars. I am currently a Technical Advisor for a Mercedes-Benz dealer in Ft.Worth,TX. I hope to put 1,000,000 miles on her. I think she can do it!
Thanks,
Cliff Fitch
W123tech
Ft.Worth, TX.
I drive a lot of miles to work and back, 140 round trip, so what better vehicle could I choose to put so many miles on and have so few issues with? I've had a few of these W123s', a wagon and two coupes, all Diesels. I just love them. There are a lot of vehicles out there to choose from but in my opinion the W123 Diesel is the best for the kind of driving I do. I really like the coupes, but also loved the wagon.
The one I'm driving now is a 1984 300CD, color is Petrol – Blue/Green with Cream Beige MBTEX interior. I've had it for a little over a year and put over 30,000 miles on it. I stay on top of all maintenance issues and I must add that it is in excellent condition with all systems operating within normal parameters. This vehicle has no issues and needs nothing.
The modifications I've installed are Euro vacuum adjustable headlights, a great improvement in visibility over the US version. I put on a set of polished "Bundt" alloys to give the appearance a little kick. I have the warning triangle in the trunk lid as well as the jack hole plugs. Then there is my cup holder, a MUST for those long commutes, which utilizes the pivot arm from the old cell phone holder and my custom stainless steel coffee mug with an actual Mercedes W123 grill emblem on it. The audio system I've installed consists of all Sony Xplod components, CD head unit, 10 CD changer, XS-W4021 4" 2-Way Speakers up front, XS-V1330A 3-way 5-1/4" speakers in the rear deck, XM-2100GTX 2-channel car amplifier and XS-L102P5 10" subwoofer in a Q-Logic Box in the trunk. All installed with NO cutting and using original speaker covers. My lovely wife say's it sounds 10 times better than the 15 speaker JBL system in her car. Additionally I've got Sirius Satellite Radio with a Streamer GT head. All this audio equipment really helps on those long drives to and from work.
I've owned my 1980 240D for just over four years, and of course love it! It
now has just over 163K miles. I bought the car from the original owners, an
older couple from Florida. He was hosing the car down and I asked him if he
ever thought about selling it. When he asked me how much I thought it might
be worth, I told him "around $1500", after all, it was a 22 year old car
with 150K miles on it. He said he would think about it, and finally said "no
thank you". So, I flew back to Chicago. The next day, he called and said he
would sell it to me because he wanted his "baby" to have a good home. Little
did he know....Anyway, I flew back down to Ft. Lauderdale and drove it back
home with absolutely no problems. I started fixing it up a little bit at a
time, when my friend who owed me a lot of money said he would tear it down,
fix the rust and repaint it. Nine months later, it was done. (See my gallery
pics of the restoration). The paint quality and shine is amazing! He wet
sanded the final top coat before buffing, so there is no orange peel. I have
since done all types of maintenance including front end parts replaced,
valve job, timing chain. Fortunately, I have all maintenance records from
day one from the original owner! Cosmetically, it has new fog lamps,
headlamp housings, new Cibie lights, grille insert, hood pad, Blaupunkt CD
radio, the 150K mile badge form MBNZ, custom license plate, a 3rd brake
light, and trunk triangle. (Thanks to the guys on the forum!) I have also
purchased shop manuals, original sales brochures and several how-to books. I
just entered it in its first car show, and spent a week detailing it. Here
are the pics:
Username: Jez280CE
First Name: Jeremy
Location: Sydney, Australia
Having always loved the W123 coupes, I bought this one 18 months ago and it is my first Benz. The 280CE is the only W123 coupe option here in Australia, the 300CD's never made it to our shores I believe... I looked for quite a while for one in good condition and this one came up on an internet search. It was owned by a Benz specialist parts and service centre down in Canberra so after speaking to the owner down I went with a fist full of dollars to drive a hard bargain. The previous owner had it serviced at the service centre, and he was an elderly gent who had got too old and sick to drive any more. It sat still for the best part of a year apparently, before he rang the service centre and said that he wouldn't be needing it anymore so they bought it from him.
Since buying the car, I've never once regretted it. Some friends were certain it would cost a bomb to maintain, break down all the time and fall to bits. I knew better of course, as I'd done my homework! I've taken the car to the highest snow capped peaks in Australia on ski trips, and I've taken it through the hottest, driest parts of the outback on sealed and unsealed roads. I drive it to work every day, and enjoy nothing better than a summer evening 'pillarless' cruise with all the windows down and sunroof open.
What solid, comfortable machines these are. I've had no real mechanical or electrical dramas, regular servicing plus minor tinkering here and there keeps everything ship shape. I'm sure I'll get many more years pleasure out of her.
On a bright December afternoon, my dad and I were driving to grab some lunch when we saw this wagon that was for sale by the side of the road. I said, "Look there's a wagon and the price is perfect!" so my dad said we could go eat first and head back if the car was still there. True enough after a good meal, the wagon was still there on the way home so we decided to look at it. As it turns out the other potential buyer was also to see it that same afternoon, only we got there first, and the seller said since we got there first they can give us the sale should the original buyer back out or lower his price. We test drove the car around the block and it was good and strong, started on the first click and looked decent for its mileage--369,366 miles! The seller was saying it only had 269k miles but obviously it didn't show that, but that was fine. It felt like an average car of those mileage would feel like yet something caught my attention. When the other buyer test drove it, I was able to hear its engine and it sounded healthy and true to the infamous Mercedes diesel clatter.
At the end of the day, it was our first diesel Mercedes wagon, and it was the highest mileage vehicle we ever purchased as well. I spent week after week of cleaning the interior, fixing whatever needs fixing, and buying the parts or grabbing old but good used parts in my bin to transplant into the wagon. Luckily, there was a 50% New Year's sale at the local junkyard and we were able to get a whole good driver seat for $45! Of course we loaded the seat unto the wagon's cargo area and went home to install the parts. It's currently still a work in progress and needs a few more tidbits but the car is already there and functions perfectly, if not with a bit of character.
Compared to the sedan, this wagon is a beater. The aluminum trim is oxidized, it's a repaint, the engine is nowhere near as nice, and it's a bit shaky (giving that character mentioned above). But it's a solid, reliable vehicle that has more than ample space in the cargo area to haul stuff around. Hopefully it will stay in our family for a good while.
Included are some images of the wagon taken on June, 2006:
Some fun facts:
Currently has 371,634 miles
One of the first wagons to be turbocharged (manufactured 6/81),
1981 300TDT
Light Ivory (option 623) was the original color
Repainted a lovely burgundy
MB Tex Palomino (option 154) is the interior trim
One owner vehicle prior to us
No history of engine or past maintenance, so it's unknown if engine was rebuilt or not. Next projects are to swap the instrument cluster with a good one but retaining the electric speedo (to maintain correct odo reading). It seems the fuel gauge is bad and stuck. One of these days a used tachometer w/ clock might also be added, but we'll see.
For October's w123 of the month I'm enetering my 1979 280ce. I bought thisacr in 1991 and I would say it was love at first sight. Now that I have found a website full of people that love there w123 as much as I do. Althought the car is not perfect it is still nice. One of the things I hat eabout it is the foggy window trim that will never shine again. I love the look of w123 body style gas or diesel. I really like the lines and the sporty look of the coupe. There's a little information about me and my 1979 280ce. Here are some pictures of my 1979 280ce:
The AutoGuide.com network consists of the largest network of enthusiast-owned enthusiast-operated automotive communities.
AutoGuide.com provides the latest car reviews, auto show coverage, new car prices, and automotive news. The AutoGuide network operates more than 100 automotive forums where our users consult peers for shopping information and advice, and share opinions as a community.
Linear Mode
