1985 Mercedes-Benz W123 300D from North America - Comments

This car has been great. I've only had it a few months, but nothing has gone wrong yet. It runs really smooth and quiet, except at idle like most diesels. No real squeaking sounds or off key engine tones. Interior is in mint shape besides a little bit of black "cancer", as my friend called it, on the side of the driver seat. Air conditioning blows ice cold still and the heat works great! The cassette player wasn't working when I purchased the car, but I have since replaced it. Overall, very good condition.

I had a 2000 Ford Focus, and reliability was non existent. Even with a warranty, I was constantly pulling my car into the Ford dealer. I like Ford cars, but the Focus just wasn't doing it for me. My dad suggested that maybe we sell my car and get a different one. So I tossed the idea around a bit. Then my dad told me that a friend of his had an 85 Mercedes that he wanted to sell. This man had bought the car brand new in 1985. Its always been garage kept and maintained by a specialist. All records are in the glove box. He even had an extra set of 5 wheels with studded tires for use during the winter months. When I first test drove it, I almost said "No WAY!" just because the car seemed so slow and sluggish. I am 18 and I want a fast car! But, after driving the car a bit more and taking it on the highway, I fell in love with the handling and feel of it all. Plus the style of rolling around in a Mercedes. I've had the car for a few months now and I am hooked on Mercedes. I don't know if I'll ever buy any other make of car again! I paid $4500 for my Mercedes which seemed a good deal for what condition and history the car had, not to mention the spare set of wheels with tires. Overall, I'd recommend this car to anyone, even if you are wanting a fast car. This car will change the way you look at cars from the day you get one. Try and find one that has been babied and garage kept and you'll be very pleased!

Ah, I wholeheartedly agree. I'm a 20 year old college student, and I bought my 1985 300D when I was in my senior year of high school at 18. Sir TurboTank had 229,000 miles when I bought him, and now he has 237,000. It's been an amazing investment, and I can't recommend this car enough to someone with a restricted budget who wants a safe, reliable, economical, comfortable and handsome vehicle. Street racers need not apply.

Again, reiterating these past two "brilliant" comments, I am a hormonal, 16 year-old, male 1985 Mercedes 300D Turbo-Diesel owner, who loves the look, feel and drive of my baby. I relish the times where I can truly feel the 18 year-old car handle anything I ask of it, whether it be steep terrain, quick manueuverability or a pleasant ride. I, too, at the onset of my time with it, thought it slow and boat-like, but this notion was quickly dispelled when I realized what it actually was: a smooth ride with excellent value close to two decades after it rolled off the assembly line. This "slow" characteristic is lost in a few weeks to a steady driver of the vehicle; you feel the car's patterns of shifting and accelerating, and can quickly tame it into something more than merely slow. Lastly, and most fatherly, the sheer beauty of this car shows the craftsmanship that went into its design and still impresses me. I paid $3500, and wouldn't sell it for anything on the market today.

If only they still made them today or if only they had improved the rust proofing!

I have an `85 300 TD claiming 175,000 miles, but more likely Lunar mileage. Sadly it's now retired through rust, but I honestly feel if you can find a good one of these and rustproof it then you 18 year olds may never need another car!

Phil.

I am a 20 year old college student, and I too can only say wonderful things about my '85 300D. I bought the car in my first year of college from a little old man in my town who was selling it to make room in his garage for his new E-class. Later in the year I was at my independent Mercedes mechanic (if you can find one of these establishments it will make your maintenance much more affordable) and who did I see there? The man of course! He told me that he was so disappointed with his new Mercedes, that something was always breaking, and the car was only a few years old - he told me that he wished that he had never sold the 300D.

When I bought the car 2 years ago it had 285,000 miles. and now "Hans" has just passed the 315,000 mark. I love my car, and hope to drive him for at least 1,000,000 miles.!! My friends think I'm crazy, and that I'm obsessed with an old, noisy, smelly and slow hunk of junk - I try to explain to them that he is the highest quality vehicle ever produced, and will outlast the next 3 cars that they drive, but they never listen. I guess I'll show them when I'm still tooling around in my venerable old car with the tens of thousands of dollars that they've spent on cars since college collecting interest in my bank account - who's laughing now!

Sadly though, his transmission will need to be replaced soon. Many have asked my if I'm mad that I bought the car only 2 years ago and have to buy a new transmission - but I only say that this makes me love the car even more - what other car is so superbly engineered that it's transmission can run trouble free for well over a quarter million miles? I am always happy to replace anything that has served it's purpose so well.

I am also glad to know that I'm not the only one who's obsessed with these cars! Perhaps, though, we shouldn't go around praising these cars so much or everyone will get one!! We should guard our secret treasures!!

Well I've gone and done it now - W123 300D's are very thin on the ground in Hong Kong, so I've probably just overpaid for a somewhat crusty 1981 machine that has needed some welding in the sills, but it's having had one owner from new and signs of lot of replacement parts give me some reassurance and at approx 115,000 genuine miles it seemed worth acquiring to keep down the miles on my beloved G Wagen (290 GD).

Trouble is within days I found a similarly crusty, but irrisistably cheap long wheelbase 300D with similar seemingly original mileage an engine as smooth as a (Diesel) sewing machine so I now have TWO new projects and a devilish idea to mate the rear of my derelict station wagon to the long wheelbase car and make something very spacious if a bit slow. Why did the Turbo's only go to the US?

Watch this space, but seeing I came here in 2003 and not much has happened since I'm probably talking to myself here!

Phil.

Philhealey@yahoo.com.

I just bought an 85 300D turbo diesel with 200k miles at an auction for $1500 US. No rust, straight panels, hardly a dent anywhere, but a bit of oxidation on the paint. To my satisfaction I found that everything is functional (don't know about the sunroof as I haven't tried it yet). It is missing the sound system as it was a police impound vehicle. I was really pleased when I drove it away and discovered the power this thing has - it will definitely handle any traffic situations it encounters with ease. It drives as an MB should - straight and true and solid as a tank. This 21 year old (the car) rides better than some brand new cars today. It's like a well crafted sewing machine; effortless operation that will last forever. It vibrates noisily at idle, but at speed is very smooth and responsive.

I was looking for a cheap, reliable diesel to convert to veg oil fuel, but was looking at newer (90s) MBs and late 90s VWs when I found this steal. I'll spend about $800 for a vegoil kit, maybe $1k on serious audio, and a few hundred on a cruise control (only option it doesn't have) and new struts and then I'll ride in style for FREE. The more I drive this car the more I love it. If you see a good example - get it. You won't regret it.

Mercedes diesel part 2…

My first venture into the diesel market ended in a sad tragedy with a maiden voyage explosion that send something through the block of a 240D that I had bought off eBay. I never did find out exactly what happened, but the choice came down to placing a new/used engine into the 240 with all its manual attributes or looking for something a little more luxurious. Quite a toss up – fuel economy, wife in as co-pilot… I now have the 85 300D.

Initial observations on the car are a little rust and acceleration. The rust is something that will be addressed in due time. I think unless you were a completely fanatical original owner or happen to get it from one, you were probably going to encounter some rust. Really quite a shame when you consider just how well the car is put together overall.

The power and acceleration were a little less than I would have expected for a turbo so I did a diesel purge and ran a bottle of injector cleaner (all Lubri-moly) through and it made a marked improvement.

I was fortunate that all the windows, sunroof worked – seems also to have that as a problem. Door window switches will need to be reviewed as well as the power antenna which runs, but the mast cable may be broken.

Overall after 2 weeks of driving, I’m very happy and comfortable in the Benz.

July 1, 2006...

I recently bought a 1985 300D with 178,000 miles on it. It is in excellent condition, original paint, and no rust. I am disappointed with the acceleration. Once you get past that, it is an excellent car. Especially considering it is over 20 years old. I plan on converting it to Waste Vegetable Oil fuel. I paid $5,200 in Asheville, NC. Maybe high, but the car is a cherry. Yes, it does feel really great once it gets up to speed.

I purchased a 1985 300D at an auction 2 years ago. It has been virtually trouble free, except for the air conditioning compressor, which cost $700 to repair. It had 191k on it when I purchased it. It now has 291k.

I don't care what anyone says, the car is anemic when it comes to acceleration. That is to be expected though, it wasn't a surprise to me. The motor is built for efficiency, and historically, longevity. It does cruise very well at 80MPH. I was concerned about it starting in very cold weather when I bought it, but I've never even had to plug in the block heater. I'm not sure how long I'm going to keep the car. I think it's safe to say that I will have it until the motor goes.

The only real drawback to the car is that it is terrible in snow or on ice, I don't care what anybody else says about traction, it's actually dangerous in snow.

I have 10 Mercedes diesels and love each one. They are the best car ever designed. I have studied these cars from the ground up having bought all the microfiche available for all Mercedes 1950 to 1997. I also have hard copies as well. I have completely rebuilt all of these cars and I can tell you they are marvelous.

I like the coupes the best. I recently bought a 300CD with a 4 speed manual transmission. It is unreal. It really makes the diesel perform. Changing the air intake really adds performance.

One thing to note: why I love these cars is because they were designed to run on marijuana/hemp oil originally. In fact, if you run them on that bio-fuel exclusively, they don't pollute, will reverse the greenhouse effect and put Americans back to work growing crops to fuel our love of cars. By the way, it can also be refined into gasoline so we can tell certain countries to go pack sand and to keep their oil. Maybe with Mexico losing the war to the drug cartels with 6000 kidnappings and murders a year because of US drug policy, mated to the fact that we just sent them another 450 million to help in the war (money that we could have used to save our own people) it might be time for change. Think about it. I did. That's why I drive and love these cars. JCx12.

The turbos were never made because the turbo ducting was gold lined. At the time this could be long blower pressure.

I recently purchased an '85 300D Turbo with 305K miles on it for $750. It needs work but the body and paint are in good shape, no rust, and the interior is excellent. I have had to replace one drive axle, and it needs other minor repairs, but it runs like a Swiss watch.

I have a '77 240D, which is one of the most reliable cars I have owned. If you think a 300D is slow, try a 240D. To me, this is a hotrod. If you take care of these old MB 4 & 5 cylinder engines they will run easily 500K+ trouble free.

I am a bit older than most of you guys (retired) and have had lots of cars. These old Mercedes are the most reliable and, overall, most economical cars I have owned.

Steve H.

I'm 17 and I just got a 1980 300SD. It's easily the best car I've ever driven, and the best 1600 bucks I've ever spent. It seems fast to me, but that's probably because my last car was a 1991 Escort with about everything wrong with it.

The only problems with the car are a drivers seat with a collapsed left side, terrible brakes, and Minnesota rust. It only has 190,000 miles and from what I've heard that makes it a baby.

I acquired my 300D when I was a senior in high school 8 years ago. I was recently involved in a collision in the interstate and have some front end to damage to my car. I am extremely devastated, the car was running beautifully.

The 300D is a wonderful car, even at 24 years old, it runs amazing, especially if you keep it well maintained. I had the AC replaced the steering fixed, and vacuum shut off fixed, but other than that, very little was required.

My car is truly a part of me and I am dreading having to get something else if mine cannot be fixed. They are not like any other car you will ever drive.