Hi everybody almost read every page. I'm 19 My dad bought me a w126 90' 560 Sec, and himself a w140 92' 500sel. Love to drive both of them! He has been a mechanic all his life which helps me out so much or else I would not be able to afford these cars.
I was born into it. My family always loved Mercedes, my mum and stepfather always had a nice older Merc.
My older brother had a few from before i had my license, his 280CE was around for about 10 years before somebody hit it sad day.
To me it's just normal to want a Merc, before i got my license that's all i wanted.
I don't buy a Merc to get noticed, even though i do get noticed.
It's just what i like.
I started my Mercedes venture at 17.
Now 25 and still loving it.
One thing i have noticed though.
I will always get waves and beeps, from Porsche drivers, or new AMGs. Rarely other older Benz, most of the time they don't look at all, except for the occasional C126.
My dad loves Mercedes. so does my mom when she was young she told my grandpa "I don't want an expensive car dad, just get me a Mercedes." Ha she didn't know back then. My dad is great at fixing them he's owned 3 of them in his life. The first one he got was because our neighbor up the street didn't pay my dad after he fixed the car so he kept it. Now that car is a parts car, the other two he bought from EBay. $3k for both of them. He gave me the 560 Sec but it is now totaled because of a hit & run that happened. I use to drive the 560 Sec to school but now I'm driving the 500 Sel. I don't think I'm bigger than I am though because I drive a Mercedes. I do enjoy every minute behind the wheel though. What I don't enjoy is when I'm coasting and people are tail gating me. It's like they are in a rush to get to the red light, or in a rush to stop at the stop sign. The 2 Cars definately are head turners. I live in a small town not too many Mercedes around. Whenever I go run arons around town I take my dog with me in the car. She loves it, that's when I get a lot of attention driving a Mercedes with a chow chow in the car. My dog itself gets as much head turners as a Mercedes lol.
Bought my 1st Mercedes 4 years ago when i was 37 years old. Always dream of owning a W126 especially an 300SEL model. Was lucky enough to purchased from a friend's work mate who happen to owned it for the passed 23 years. So got bitten by the Tristar logo, eventually bought another W124 260E (in-laws) and W209 CLK200 (wifey). After owning and driving each one of them, the W126 is still my favorite even though it has the least power of them all. The feeling of driving it every weekend still gives a feeling of nostalgia when i fist sat in one when i was just 14 years old.
Now it's all restored with OZ AMG's, it's one of a kind in my city of Kuala Lumpur. Will be looking forward to getting a W221 in a year or two when i get bored of my daily driver VW Passat B7.
i first caught the bug in my 20s (early 1970s) when i fell in love with a forest green 113 on a used car lot. they wanted $5k for it which seemed to make it an impossible dream. it would be another 20 years till i bought my first merc, a 190e 2.3. since then i've had many and various models till now i finally have a 560sec and a euro 280se (which is still in transit to me).
i've had the sec about 10 days and so far i've had new tires put on, Michelin Defenders, and had the 120k service done. my mechanic is amazed at the condition of the car both mechanically and cosmetically. and i'm in love with it. it's like driving a powerful, nimble cloud. it's so quiet all i hear is some wind noise. it seems effortless. now i want to put bigger wheels on it - ideally 17" AMG Aero 1s. between cost and availability that might take a while. it's good to have goals
Vehicle: 1981 300 SD, 1991 Geo Metro 4-door Automatic
Location: Antelope Valley, CA
Posts: 347
I never thought of myself as a typical 126 owner. In fact, I never REALLY considered ANY Mercedes until I purchased my '81 300SD.
I was aware of Mercedes...when I was a kid growing up in La Cañada, CA, Mercedes Benzs were just another small car, often with a white oval license plate behind the yellow California plate. Later on, my dad had a friend (in fact, the man who gave me the test for my first amateur radio license) who drove a diesel Mercedes. My dad was always trying to talk me into getting one, touting the sturdiness of these cars. As a teenager, the last thing I wanted was a car that was barely able to get out of its own way...and with no bills, I was easily able to afford gasoline at 49¢ per gallon. For FE, I turned to motorcycles.
Fast forward about 40 years. My Geo Metro died horribly, and I needed a car fast. My wife wanted a Crown Victoria, but couldn't find a decent one in my price range (read...cheap). Found a '81 300SD sitting in a vacant lot on a street corner for $1100, complete with bondo, rust and a rattle-can red paint job. But...it was within my price range. And it ran. And it didn't need to be smogged.
Only after I purchased this car did I realize what I had gotten myself into. I assemble wind turbines for a living...the turbines I build were originally of a German design. I immediately noticed a similarity in the design between the turbines I build and this car. There are also some similarities between this car and WWII radio equipment...having refurbished a couple BC-348 receivers (along with a bunch of other ancient amateur radio receivers), I immediately felt I was in familiar territory with this car.
Finding this website was also helpful. The people here (especially mclare, who was nice enough to send me the service manuals in digital form) have helped make owning this car a real pleasure. Don't get me wrong...it is a 30+ year old car, and has probably been abused most if not all its life. But...the fact that it is still running, and still actually almost presentable (I actually get compliments on it...even with its "urban camoflage" paint job) says a lot about the quality built into these cars. I think it is one of the best automotive purchases I've ever made.
__________________ Attempting to disprove the common wisdom that the cheapest Mercedes is the most expensive!
My 2 cents worth. = ALL of the W126 owners that I know in San Antonio are MALE & well over 50YY (I'm 66), except for one "20-something guy", who inherited his grandfather's treasured 560SEL.
(More a half-dozen members of the BEETHOVEN MAENNERCHOR drive 126 M-B sedans. - All of us are >60YY.)
Furthermore, it seems that every retired general or retired O6 in Metropolitan Bexar County has a 560SEL or SEC, as their "old man's hotrod".
Over the last 42 years I've owned at least 2 dozen M-B diesels and have always had at least one. - ImVho, the M-B diesel is "the car" & nothing is tougher or better designed.
(Having bought my excellent '86 300sdl to keep forever, I'm now looking for a special one-owner 560SEC for a "Sunday car".)
NOTE: The only young woman that I personally know who "by choice" drives a M-B diesel is my much beloved 20YO niece, who didn't want "a car", when she went off to Converse College in SC. - She wanted MY "Euro-spec" 300D. - I gave it to her for Christmas.
my best to all, satx
San Antonio, TX
Last edited by satx78247; 01-29-2013 at 08:58 PM.
Reason: addenda
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sad day.
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