Comments: 1-15, 16-17
The car had trouble with the heater. It would only come on if I said a special prayer or whacked the dashboard.
It leaked oil like the Exxon Valdez.
I had to replace the motor mounts.
Okay, my Mercedes sounded like a truck and smelled like a semi, but I LOVED THIS CAR! My kids always joked that it was a piece of junk and they hated to drive it because it was so heavy.
What I learned is heavy metal is where it's at. October first, I was hit by a drunk in an SUV going 70mph. She hit my back and then she hit me again driver's side. My heavy metal ate up her front end. Although I have spinal injuries, had I been in any other car, I could have been dead.
When it was time to get a replacement vehicle everyone said get a Japanese car. I am the proud owner of a 1979 Mercedes 300 Diesel.
I own a 1983 mercedes benz 240d. I would just like to say that I love my car and would not trade it for nothing in the world. also 70mph is no where a minor accident.
These were really safe cars. There was no need for things like airbags and all these new gadgets. They were engineered safely. That writer who said it is a minor accident surely did not owned a Mercedes. So better keep your mouth shut about safety. You are welcome to go ahead and take a new car and test the safety with an accident like the one mentioned. You will probably not survive it.
I have a 1979 300D and I love her. She is built like a tank...thankfully, I have never had an accident, but I feel very safe driving her... she is a heavy duty little work horse! Hats off to the older Benz. To the person posting the web page... any quirks to replacing an engine mount?
Alright dudes, about safety. New cars are safer hands down. Sure, the mercedes is a very safe vehicle, but it will not compete with side curtain airbags, and the like. More technology means a safer ride. An older car may withstand a larger accident than a newer one and still be able to drive away (I drove my 82 lesabre onto a trailer after hitting a tree at approx. 45 head on) while the new one is totalled out, and rendered immobile. However, the guy with the new car might have got away with a case of whiplash vs. spinal injury due to increased technology in crumple zones etc. I'm not going to say you won't get hurt in a new car, just that they ARE typically safer than they used to be. Why else would they continue to use air bags etc?
In 1991 I was rear ended in Germany on the autobahn in heavy fog. The 2 girls in the car that hit me had been drinking and were traveling at a rate in excess of 200 kph and I was traveling at the same speed as most other cars right around 60 kph. They were in a new Audi with airbags and neither one survived. My rear bumper was literally pushed into my seatback and I walked away with only a broken rib from the seatbelt. The car I was driving was a 1983 300D. I have always wanted another one of these fine cars and finally found one in almost perfect condition in Kansas last month, it`s a 1983 300D Turbodiesel.I am now a happy camper :)
The greatest durability design in automotive history, period. My 300D's front end lasted 300,000 miles before repair was needed ($350 parts/labor). The original transmission lasted 325,000 miles before major repair was needed ($1400 parts/labor). The engine has 330,000 miles on it and still holds excellent compression and has had no major work done. This car has not been strictly maintained either. It is your average daily driver driven by average people for 25 years. 300,000+ miles are the rule, not the exception on these cars.
Yes, you will need to maintain any 25 year old car, parts will wear out. However, the vehicle was tremendously overdesigned. There are many affordable service alternatives to the Dealer, and many online organizations which can help you understand your car and maintain it.
I'm never getting rid of mine.
We had an old Benz and were hit at about 45MPH - drove it away, albeit with about $5K (1984 dollars) in damage. These cars were built stronger than Sherman tanks! Although they do not have modern safety advantages such as ABS and air bags, they are safe cars.
I own both a 79 300D (non turbo) and a 83 300D Turbo... never have I driven anything so well designed in both body and mechanically. I'm a female and have no problem getting under the hood and wrenching, can't believe how easy they are to fix and get parts for at a resonable price. Had a wreck in the 79...huge dodge dually, she came to a complete stop from 60-0 in seconds, dog in road, she didn't swerve, hit her brakes or honk her horn, needless to say I swerved to avoid but came into contact with her left bumper... little damage to the car and this was a huge dually and I was going 55...now my 83 the engine just gave out...400K miles on original engine and tranny... going to swap the engines and make the 79 into a turbo, no difference in the specs only the piston length by a fraction... love these cars... never knew they could be so addicting...
Changing the '79 non-turbo to a turbo is NOT a small undertaking. The turbo models have additional engineering to compensate for the stress the turbo puts on the engine. (i.e. there are oil jets on the turbo models that shoot a stream of oil into the underside of the pistons to assist in cooling) Additionally, you would have to swap the injection pump to a turbo model to supply the volume & pressure of fuel required, change the entire exhaust manifold assembly, add an additional oil line to lubricate the turbo, and this is just scratching the surface. I would rebuild the non turbo engine and ride for another 400-500 miles. Hope this helps!
Owner of 5 MB Diesels.
One accident statistic can't tell you much but its fair to say modern cars are much safer. They may have softer bumpers and sustain more damge in a low speed crash but, when it comes to a full on head for instance the modern car wins hands down. The crash testing of modern cars is stringent and demanding. Thanks to the higher (european) requirments of the tests most cars are now very safe. If you drove a 123 merc head on into a new E class the results would be plain to see. The newer car would slice into the front of the other and smash its cockpit.
Depends which new car.
Some new cars still can kill you in an accident.
Especially SUVs, that are not designed to withstand accidents.
Did you notice many of the new sunroofs are
not steel, or it is bigger?
What's there to protect you when your vehicle rolls over?
Some new cars were NOT designed so that the engine will
NOT fall into your lap and kill you in a front collision.
Get a reliable old tank like the mercedes or volvo
and you will be able to
walk away after the accident.
This is simply not true. The engine in the modern car will not end up on your lap, it will break from its engine mounts and drop away.
In England they drove a modern Renault supermini into a 1990 Volvo 960 head on at at a combined speed of 80mph. The Renault had light footwell intrusion, the front of the Volvo was completely destroyed.
Please enough of this old tank nonsense, there is a good reason why you only hear from people who have survived big car accidents!
Yes I agree, my next door neighbor used to think his old Mercedes E-Class was the safest car on the road. His son used it and had a head on crash with a 2004 Opel Vectra. The Mercedes was turned inside out, the Opel occupants survived with broken ribs and one broken ankle. Just look at how much heavier the modern car is, look how much thicker the pillars are.
I thought airbags were an option, at least on the 123 they were.
I have a '82 300D Turbo Diesel with only 120,000 miles on it, and sadly yesterday I got into a bad accident. I'll start off by saying I came out fine physically, my 300 not so much the case. I rear ended a mid 90's Lexus LS going about 20 mph, in typical older Mercedes fashion the front end now looks like an accordion. The grilel is smashed into the radiator & the hood is bent to hell. But as no surprise to me, the old girl cranked over & I was able to drive it(actually didn't sound bad either) to a parking lot to be towed away. I've had it 7 years and it was my 1st car, I could not imagine driving anything else.