If you thought the W124 diesel we featured the other day had plenty of life left in its wheels, this 66,142 mile W123 example should be able to run laps around that car. A slight exaggeration, of course, but there’s little doubt both chassis have exceptional reputations for durability when equipped with the diesel powerplant. This one remains in excellent shape and appears to be a real-deal survivor with original paint, excellent chrome, and of course, an interior that looks like it’s never been sat in. Find it here on eBay with bidding at $5,900 and the car located in White Marsh, Maryland.
As the seller points out, this 300D is equipped with the 5-cylinder 617a engine, considered by many to be the most robust of the “modern” Mercedes diesel engines. This is the one you see in taxi cabs in Kenya with odometers sporting numbers north of 400K, and still running just fine. To say Mercedes overbuilt these cars is an understatement, and I’m sure there are eyes on this example from all over the world. Despite their reputation for ruggedness, the ultimate irony is that in this country, they were simply used as high-end commuter vehicles to convey workers from their jobs and back to the suburbs. Now, they’re still doing that, but for college kids and ski bums.
The interiors of vintage Mercedes cars are well-known for the durability, and considering how many still look fairly minty even after putting in 300K miles or more of daily duty, it’s no surprise that a low mileage cabin practically looks like it just left the showroom. The wood trim, the MBTex seating surfaces, the carpet, the plastics around the console – it all looks wonderful. The steering wheel shows no signs of excessive wear and the dash is uncracked. The super detailed photos reveal some signs of use on the switchgear, like the headlight switch and the parking brake release, but who cares? Replace them if you seek perfection. The factory Becker radio remains in place, too.
As per usual, there’s no information included about its maintenance history or any major repairs completed, and I would assume the seller himself has not undertaken any updates. The engine bay looks as spotless as the rest of the car, and there’s no tell-tale signs of neglect worth noting. Honestly, given how hard these Mercedes are to kill, I wouldn’t be too worried about having a thick book of records to accompany the sale, but a pre-purchase inspection may be warranted just the same. I don’t know that these will ever become tremendously valuable, but clean W123s will always find favor among enthusiasts looking for a reliable classic.
Owned the identical car in 1990 . It was instrumental in making me a married man. Kept the wife, got rid of the car, it was built like a tank but slower than a VW bus.
A tank but as Fred W has stated, being a non turbo, it proceeds V E R Y slowly.
At this vehicle age, count on numerous deteriorated vacuum hoses that operate the door locks and HVAC. Best to have a Mercedes mechanic as your good buddy as these hose leaks are maddening to track down and to replace.
Figure also on replacing every rubber mount, gasket, and seal but after you do, this baby will run nearly forever if maintained per Mercedes maintenance schedules.
This car has that classic “can’t mistake the look for anything but” Mercedes Benz. Really nice.
I drove a later W123 300D turbo last year. Back when my daily driver was a 240D, I’m sure the 300D would have seemed to have some pep. Compared to a modern car, the turbo-diesel accelerated from a stop like it was stuck in 6th gear. I’ve lived a few places where merging at 300D speeds would constitute an anti-social action.
Looks like it has a lot of wear and tear at just 66k miles. The steering wheel is pretty smooth, seats are worn even though the center parts of the front seats look replaced, and the brake pedal looks like it’s had a lot of use. The dash obviously has a bad dash cap on it. I’ve owned 8 of these models at various stages of mileage. My current one has 160k and the interior shows less age than this car.
A coworker had an ugly slime green one with a matching interior.
I lived on a hill in San Francisco and the poor car could barely make it up the hill when she was dropping me off.