The untimely demise of our VW Passat (see COAL) in early 2008 left us a one vehicle family. (See COAL for the Mazda MPV.) During this time, we were able to make logistics work living in a city and swapping use of the minivan with public transportation and ride sharing services. In the fall 2008, I left my job to start a consulting business (not particularly well-timed with the recession) and, given the finances, didn’t want to spend money on another new car.
Slowly, I began to look at used options when I read a New York Times article about a guy in New Jersey who drove Mercedes W123 body diesels as his main daily driver cars. And I thought, BINGO! I need one of those famously indestructible cars in my life as a twofer – my first classic car AND a new (to me) daily driver. (Others had opined on this idea on CC – here and here.) Enter a white 1983 Mercedes-Benz 240D.
In retrospect, this was not the most well-considered decision of my life. First, by the time I came to this realization, it was January in Minnesota – not prime car buying time. Selection was limited, to put it mildly. Second, while I had always admired the look and reputation of the W123 body cars, I had no experience with them – never drove one and had only ridden in one once many years prior for about 10 minutes that was owned by a friend’s parents. Third, we are talking a car that was, at the time, 26 years old. Meaning, shit happens in two plus decades, and it would likely make sense to go in with reasonable expectations and an eye toward a good inspection. Fourth, the subject car was being sold on Craigslist on a farm about 2 hours away from home. Meaning my ability to conduct said inspection was further limited – by distance, time and the frigid Minnesota weather. And, fifth, this was the infamous Mercedes four cylinder diesel – workhorse, yes, but one of the slowest cars known to creation. Oh, and it had an automatic. Starting a 26 year diesel in subfreezing weather requires a special sort of patience (it did have a block heater, thankfully).
So, after convincing my wife and my sons to drive 100 or so miles to the southern Minnesota farm where I met the very amiable young man who was selling the Mercedes, I decided to plunk down $2200 for the car. Now, a few things about these cars. They are super duper solid and have the build quality of a vault. This model had about 170K miles so it still had “life in it”, as they would say. It rode well, made no weird noises, was super quiet and, once up to cruising speed, could run for miles and miles without a hitch. On the drive back, a couple of things, however, became clear. The dashboard lights were about 2 watts – meaning I could barely read the speedometer in the dark. The heater took awhile – a LONG while – to generate heat. And winter traction wasn’t fabulous – it had been awhile since I had driven a rear wheel drive car and, while it had decent Michelin tires, I had forgotten the difference drive wheels make in the snow.
The Mercedes was a definitely a tank in terms of build quality, but no car escapes the ravages of time unscathed. Within the first month, the oil cooler lines began to leak heavily, necessitating new ones – to the tune of nearly $1,000. The infamous vacuum system acted up constantly – door locks would open or not open, depending on some voodoo I couldn’t figure out. I bought special equipment to see if I could diagnose the door vacuum issues, to not much success. My then grade school aged sons complained non-stop of getting locked inside the back seat when one door or another wouldn’t open.
Then there was driving in winter and fearing that the car wouldn’t start – having never owned a diesel car in the rigorous climate, I was paranoid about going somewhere without plugging in. The glow plugs did do their job and I never got stranded, but there was an ever present concern whenever I went somewhere in subfreezing weather for a long period of time. Finally, the A/C system didn’t work, meaning getting quality defrosting/defogging could be hit and miss.
However, by far the biggest downside was the general slowness of the car. For around town driving, this was not a big deal. Once up to speed, the car was as fast as any other car. It handled well and, once I reacquainted myself with the nuances of RWD in winter, I was fine. But highway merging was another matter completely. I had to plan every entrance with care – a long lane with no one bearing down on me in the right lane. Most times, it was okay, but I also knew I had little margin for era. The automatic shifted fine and worked well with the engine – it was just a simple matter of too few HP for the car’s weight. Add in family members and it was a bit too much drama.
All this said, the Mercedes had many virtues – and had I more time, money, space and knowledge, I could have made the car work. The W123 may be a bit stodgy, but it’s a classic body style and Mercedes clearly over-engineered the car. No wonder that I saw many of these cars as taxis years later when I was traveling in Morocco. Excellent space usage, solid build quality, comfortable (but controlled) ride and basic, well-designed systems would make the car a natural for long term use (for warmer climates).
In the end, however, the Mercedes was not cutting it as the back up family car I needed. My eyes had begun to wander to other cars once the warmer weather came and, by September, I was looking at another classic RWD replacement – this time a blue Volvo 240 wagon (COAL to come). After several weeks on Craigslist, I sold the car to a couple who lived on a farm about an hour and half north of the Twin Cities. Maybe there is something about rural life and these durable cars that went together better.
Now that I am just about an empty nester, I think about the possibility of trying another W123 diesel for a pure warm weather collector. If I did, I would probably look for the turbo 5 cylinder engine or, at a minimum, a 4 cylinder with a stick shift. Those cars still have a remarkably handsome profile, even 40+ years after they were first introduced. I see a few wagon versions in my neighborhood and I think, “Maybe someday…”
Great COAL, thank you. I agree on all points. I was offered one of these about 25 years ago, a pristine 12 year old example for $2200. It was slow. Even the existing owner, a prim and proper older Asian lady complained how slow it was. If it’s too slow for her, it was way too slow for me. In retrospect I should have bought it based on the exceptional MB qualities you describe. Too bad, it got away.
We had the turbo, drove it over 13 years and 160k miles, loved it dearly.
Had to sell due to environment rules in the Netherlands, no old diesels in the center of our town…
Thanks to the turbo, 125 bhp, no problem merging in traffic. Max speed of 100 mph is sufficient in NL.
Sometimes it is better to live in a country with less rules…
No mystery as to why farmers took to diesel cars as it can be fueled from the same tanks as their equipment. In most states, agricultural & construction diesel fuel doesn’t pay road taxes. Use is supposed to be limited to off-highway vehicles and is often dyed to distinguish it from taxed road fuel. I can only guess as to the enforcement priorities of Minnesotas farming regions.
My BIL farms and says that people come around from time to time to sample the fuel in your road-going vehicles to make sure you are not cheating by using tax-free fuel in your personal vehicles.
However, diesels still make sense there because there are other on-road diesels on the property and it makes sense to keep a tank to fuel them too, so 1) you always know the quality/freshness of your fuel and 2) you almost never have to go anywhere to fill up. Plus, because every farmer deals with diesels on equipment he understands them and can properly maintain them.
I will confess that I have suffered from this itch from time to time as well, but never found the right one at the right time. I am amazed that you did not have rust issues in your climate.
There was some rust on the car – in fact, I mentioned this COAL to one of my sons yesterday and he said, “Oh, yeah, the one with the rust.” I don’t remember it being as bad as you would expect for the age and climate. But he was right, there was rust around the rear wheel wells.
My fifth grade teacher had a brown 240D that was certainly the most interesting car in the parking lot to me. While I was a student in her class, she upgraded to a new 260E. Since she knew how much I loved cars, she took me on an errand run after school so I could ride in it (my mom was also a teacher at the school). Obviously, this made me a pretty big fan of ’80s MBs.
I considered getting one of these some years ago when my commute got a lot longer and gas prices spiked. (This was before the US started producing large amounts of shale oil.) But I couldn’t get past my concerns about the age of the cars out there and about their slowness. In the end I never even contacted anyone who was selling one.
I would have liked to get a W201 190D, but they’re thin on the ground where I live.
Back in the 1990s I had a friend whose father owned a 240D – I remember it had about 250,000 miles on it at the time. My friend always talked about how painfully slow it was, and how his father (who did a lot of driving for work) knew the “best” entrance ramps on the highways near their house… i.e., those that had loooong acceleration lanes.
My friend had talked about the slow 240D so much, I wanted to experience it for myself, but I never did get to drive that one or any other W123. Too bad. Even today, though, these cars seem like the most commonly seen late ’70s/early ’80s survivors on the roads around here.
Love the car, white over blue like my w123, but understand the reasoning for parting with it. Mine is a turbo 5 and while it will hold its own on the interstate, I have resigned it to a hobby car with antique tags. When my business partner and I had the veggie oil taxi fleet from 2006-14, we had 3 turbo 5 w123s and one 240D. The 240D handled the downtown just fine in any weather, but myself and our 2 other drivers despised airport runs or any other trip involving good old Rt 81. It’s quite hilly in this part of Appalachia and going from 65mph to 35/40 mph made the highway trips exciting.
When we folded the company, the 240 was the first to go. I thought about using as an around town car but I had ( and still have) too many projects and daily drivers. A college kid bought it and ran it around campus so I saw it regularly. After he graduated, he took it with him and I lost track of it then. Rumor is he still has it in Richmond VA.
I had a ’77 4-speed, which I also COAL’d. I liked it, but you have to have a certain sort of demeanor to like these cars when they’ve aged. You need to be the sort of person who’s never in a hurry, and happy just to get where you’re going. Different strokes for different folks, really.
I drive a diesel car and have done for many years but no rust or performance issues mine is turbo and from Citroen and fully galvanised so it wont rust, I did have a non turbo Toyota Corona wagon with auto that wasnt fast in any sense of imagination but not Mercedes 2.4 slow either it got off the line ok and went well up to about 70kmh when the lockup torque convderter kicked in from there acceleration was glacial the only option was not to select overdrive untill you hit traffic speed and just let the coal roll out the tailpipe top speed around 120kmh some 70mph but that took forever to reach, the Citroen does that in 3rd if you really want to.
Great writeup and a valuable perspective. I toyed with the idea of a Mercedes tank of this vintage, but never was brave enough to take the jump and see what ownership was really like. The timeless styling and reputation for build quality and *insane* original MSRP makes these very appealing, but I was always afraid of being nickled & dimed (or Benjamined & Granded) to death by things like those cooler lines you referenced. This is a car for someone with mechanical aptitude, who can eliminate the labor costs and make it an affordable proposition. The rest of us have a very expensive, if durable, 30-40 year old car.
Never found the diesels appealing. Slow, stinky, recalcitrant in the cold. I’d be looking for a gas six.
I also bought a commuter 240D around the same time (2008). When the automatic died I swapped in a 4 speed manual, and it was another animal, i.e. not as suicidal for highway use. A friend is suffering through the ownership of a 300TD wagon, in particular the rear suspension has been an expensive and unresolved endeavor. As with every old vehicle, buy a nice one, it will be cheaper, most likely even in the short run.
I don’t consider myself a “Mercedes guy” but I find these appealing. I even think I could deal with the lack of pace for around town and local highways. Your comment about the Moroccan taxis brought back the memory that the only W123 I’ve ridden in was a tax; however it was in the Netherlands, but driven by a Francophone North African, though perhaps from Algeria not Morocco. Our French was better than his English, and our Dutch was non-existent, so we communicated in French. I remember being slightly disappointed that we didn’t get the taxi that was next in line, a Buick, because it seemed that riding in a Buick taxi in Europe would be more exotic than a Mercedes.
I too, have been mulling over buying a Mercedes of this vintage. Having never driven or even rode in one, I still find myself drawn to to legendary 123/124 series.
The only time I’ve seen any up close is at Pull-a-Part.
They still show up for sale here in the rust belt on occasion, but I’m not quite ready to pull the trigger.
For now, I’ll just watch Ken on “Mercedessource” on you tube.
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Very solidly built, but yes, it’s best to be able to do your own work on them, otherwise they can quickly become expensive. My brother used to flip these back some years ago; he’s find owners facing their first breakdown in cars old enough that they were afraid of the repair bills, and sold to him very cheaply. Sometimes he could fix them right there on the street and drive off.
He would re-sell them to Indian immigrants in the Midwest, who apparently held these in very high esteem and were willing to pay a good price for them.
You mention two makes I always keep my eyes open for. The Volvo 240 and the Mercedes W123 in the 300D or turbo D version. Not getting near a 240D. Either would be nice to have and in a stick a real bonus. I did drive a 300D back in the 80s when new and it was somewhat slow as the entrance to Highway 24 east was uphill. However, once at 65-70 mph you get the feeling that that car was made for 65-70 mph and would go forever. In the Bay Area both the 240D and 300D was thick as thieves on the streets in the mid-70s and up.
How big is the engine compartment? Sounds like a perfect vehicle for a Chevy V-8 and Turbo-Hydramatic swap. I suppose Mercedes built the thing with enormous inner-fender/spring towers that destroy under-hood space.
The 2.4L Diesel belongs in the recycle bin. Engines that weak, and cars that accelerate that slowly are unsafe and should be illegal.
The successful cheaper transplant engine I have seen was an older Datsun/Nissan SOHC gas one. Not monster V-8 power but at least double that of the non-turbo diesel. It looked so right that I suspect Nissan copied the MB gas engine cylinder head design. V-8 transplants in old European cars can be tricky, having been involved in a 302 Ford into Volvo 144 swap.
Yes the 2.4 diesels are deadly slow but I warn that even the gasoline 2.8 dohc six in a 123 has less than satisfying acceleration for anyone who has driven a modern Kia/Hyundai. The 3.0 sohc six in a 124 is fine but be sure first that you can live with the 2.8 gas 123.
A website/dealership in the LA area called Mercedes Motoring sells beautiful and refurbished 123s at unbelievable prices.
Wasn’t sure if “unbelievable prices” meant “unbelievably good value for unusually nice old Mercs” or “it’s unbelievable how much money a small fraction of us have to spend on the nonessentials”, though I had my suspicions. Didn’t take long to answer that question!
Only price I could find in that impressive gallery was 60 grand for a 1984 sedan with 12K original miles. There were a few “inquire for price” and “$30K in receipts”. The owner/founder created a cool niche.
When I was stationed in California, a buddy of mine owned a 1971 Mercedes Benz 200D.
It seemed to take days to climb the I5 ‘Grapevine’. We could have got out and walked faster than that.
However at 100MPH it cruised silently and sipped fuel.
I had a similar experience with the a W115 220D. Great car once started but it bit of struggle to get going in the cold although it never did fail to start. Mine was a four speed manual so it was slow but it least you felt in control of how slow although first gear was really short geared.
What I did love was the lovely, big windows, solid structure and great handling.
Many fond memories of a 240D like it! My parents bought one new in 1979. Pastel gray and blue MB Tex. I have mentioned it before, I don’t THINK I did an actual COAL writeup on it. Anyway, it was a 4 speed manual, which helped some. But it was slow, dreadfully so, when going to our mountain place, or trying to pass on two lane roads going to the beach. Around town it was decent enough in traffic, and like you mention, on the interstate once up to “full boil” it was surprisingly peppy. It had a power sunroof, power windows and cassette which were all options at the time, so it was not a complete penalty box.
The only problematic thing I can recall is it ate water pumps, quite often. There was a service campaign on them and they were always free I think.
They kept it 13 years and just over 100,000 miles, and replaced it with an Accord SE-i, which was a huge leap forward in power, comfort and general driving pleasure. I sure wish I had the 240D now though!
I’ve owned three 240Ds – a very rusty, tired automatic $200 beater/project car, then a couple of stick-shift versions. In addition to having some DIY ability, a stick-shift, solid body and healthy engine makes all the difference in these cars.
My automatic 240D suffered years of abuse by the PO’s teenagers, in addition to poor accident repairs and extensive rust. After a couple months of fix-up, I wound up with a tolerable 240D. I even got the AC working! The lack of overdrive or lock-up converter, along with the other issues, made it nearly intolerable at highway speeds, but it was a great ‘lazy man’s ride’ for local errands and cruising around for weekend yard sales.
My second 240D purchased as a parts-car, was even rustier, but it was a stick, had never been wrecked and drove so much better than #1, I decided to fix-up that one too and nick-named her ‘Beirut-Taxi’. It proved a fine highway car and I enjoyed her for a couple years until I found #3, a solid, nearly rust-free stick-shift with, as it later turned out, a factory replacement engine. This one is the best driving & running 240D I’ve owned.
I sold Beirut Taxi to a neighbor, who enjoyed it for a couple years until it was stolen, then my tired automatic 240D through the classifieds to a Middle-Eastern guy for $1000.
Happy Motoring, Mark
We too experienced legions of these in Morocco, late 2000 in our case. They use them as long-distance taxis there (city to city), and smaller stuff like Peugeot 205 for in-town use. Both fleets seem to be strictly segregated as to where they can operate.
We rented a driver and his W123 for a day excursion to see some ruins hours from Fez (or Marrakesh?) and while it was surely a diesel, I no longer know which one it was, it cruised extremely well through the desert. My biggest takeaway of the day though was that the driver was able to remain on his cell phone for hours on end talking to someone in the middle of the desert; whereas I who worked in San Francisco, the supposed technology center of the free world, would not once be able to keep a cell phone connection intact while crossing the SF-Oakland Bay Bridge every evening.
I too, like others here have considered the W123 and while it still appeals, got to own newer models since. As much as I liked those, the charm of the W123 still gets me looking at them whenever I see one. So who knows, maybe one day.
The W123 charm can get under your skin, even when it’s as slow as a snail. There’s something timeless about them. If you DO pursue a turbo diesel, find an ’85, the last year they were imported – it’s got the best record. You could import one from Europe, being 25-year exempt, but it won’t be a bargain after you factor in the cost of shipping it. Finally, there’s a large collection of original and restored 123s of all models and stripes in the South Bay area of San Francisco run by a fellow who’s more of a fan of finding and preserving them, but always has half a dozen on sale (they’re not cheap). I wish I could remember the name, but a little Googling should uncover him. Good luck!
Here in Europe we even had the 220D and the 200D! So, even slower.
We briefly owned a 220D and it could barely get to highway speeds (120kph). It was a first year model (1976) with round headlamps inside the rectangular housing. Looked stunning in blue over blue (CLOTH! Not MB Tex!), but like every blue W123 dashboard, it was cracked, and we hadn’t even heard of Coverlay back then.
We eventually sold it, i wish we still had it though, but I was too young to influence a decision back then
Now my daily driver is a W203 with the common rail 2.2 liter 4 cylinder Turbodiesel, producing a healthy 150 horsepower and everything but slow
I have a 1983, 240D stick I inherited from my dad. This car is an absolute gem. No rust, always starts up, built like a tank. I agree and can relate to everything mentioned. I use the car in warm weather only and never bring it into the city. Every year something needs to be fixed and I’ve replaced quite a lot, including the engine. That said, this car is the most reliable vehicle I’ve ever had. It’s outlasted everything.