As car enthusiasts, we all have our preferences. While some lines can’t be crossed, there are certain vehicles that are so useful in that one thing they do better than any other model that exceptions can be made in terms of our brand loyalties. While I may be a fan of old and expensive German tin, I’ll always consider a clean Fox body as a worthy addition to my garage. In the same vein, I feel most of can appreciate how overbuilt the W123 lineup of Mercedes-Benz products are, even if you’d otherwise never consider owning a finicky European make. Check out this clean 1982 Mercedes 300TD wagon listed here on craigslist for a somewhat heady price of $30,000.

Thanks to Barn Finds reader Barney for the tip. Now, a few years ago, prices took off on the best-of-the-best W123s. We actually saw a wagon wearing a rare shade of Petrol Blue paint sell for $100,000 in January of 2024. That was an outlier for sure but it did put the world on notice that exceptionally clean W123s had a new audience in terms of what they were willing to spend; no longer could you assume that such a vehicle would only appear to a college professor in Vermont. The car shown here has average miles for a W123 but still presents incredibly well, with an interior that looks like it belongs in a car with far fewer miles than the 236,000 on the clock.

But therein lines the great appeal of the W123: even when the miles are high, they are really aren’t. The interior materials hold up incredibly well, just like the overbuilt drivetrains. The bodywork on this particular car also looks to be outstanding relative to the number of years it’s been on the road, and the cosmetics are greatly enhanced with the addition of European-style headlights. The seller notes that the 3.0-liter turbodiesel inline-five runs well and has been regularly serviced; in stock form, it makes a respectable 119 horsepower and 170 lb-ft of torque.

The only reason for the sale is due to a pending move out of the country, and as this was the seller’s second car, it’s not making the journey (plus, due to the reliability of W123s, you can still find them in almost any international market.) The black paint is unusual on this chassis, as we mostly see blues, whites, browns, and silver; it’s a refreshing change of pace and makes the car seem more intimidating than it really is. The wagon would be my preferred choice of a W123, and the turbodiesel makes all the difference in this car being easy to live with on a daily basis. The price is top dollar but if the car is as good as it looks in person, it could be worth it.