If you’re hunting for a taxi cab to use in your aspiring career as an Uber driver, this 1976 Mercedes-Benz 240D that was just extracted in Rochester might fit the bill. Known for being impressively long-lived if not particularly exciting drivers, the color of this car with its diesel powerplant make it a no-brainer for livery service. Find this barn find 240D here on craigslist in upstate New York, or go here if the ad disappears.
This primrose yellow color is one of my favorites on the older Mercedes, and despite being quite dusty and dirty, it doesn’t appear exceptionally rusty. Now, given the car’s location in Rochester, a thorough underbody inspection is a must along with taking a closer look at the bottoms of the front fenders. The W115 is a venerable member of the “bank vault” era of Mercedes, but also one of the least desirable and most affordable to obtain.
Fortunately, the seller has listed this unloved diesel with a reasonable $2,350 or best offer price tag. Mileage isn’t listed; all the seller says is that the car hasn’t seen daylight since 2002. The 240D holds a warm space in Mercedes’ and enthusiasts’ hearts for the simple reason that a car similar to this on was donated to the company’s fabulous museum with 4.6 million KMs on the clock, as driven to that mileage by a taxi driver. This one still wears its matching hubcaps.
I also like the Bosch driving lamps on the front bumper, as those are typically smashed out by rocks at this point. The interior presents well for a car laid up as long as this one was, but there are areas of improvement needed if you want this 240D to be closer to perfect. I’d re-wrap the steering wheel, repair the seats, give it a good cleaning and call it a day. While I wish it featured the four-speed manual transmission, this slow-shifting and fun-sucking automatic will have to do.
What a noble and well built MBZ, and such a great history of reliability and service, especially as European taxis. But its the only car I know of that whose zero to sixty MPH times are calculated by the calendar and not a watch.
That’d make a great project car for someone looking to make thier own fuel from used fry oil. Don’t have any experience with deisel engines myself but for a bit less this one might make a nice trainer for lack of a better term.
Decent running 240D’s don’t seem to sell for much more than the asking price of this car. I don’t know how representative eBay is of the market for this car as a whole, but if you search completed listing that have sold over the last 90 days what appear to be nice drivers don’t have much value.
Steve R
Wishful thinking on the sellers part. $500 dollar car at best.
I firmly agree on your price point on this car. I have the virtual twin to this car but mine is the 4 speed manual and is still a daily driver. $500 tops.
I had a German taxi yellow 78 240d 4spd with 175k that I bought for $600 in 2000 and drove for 2 years until my new job gave me a new Mercury Mountaineer as a company car (out of pity??..or the oil spots in the parking garage???). Each time I went to the junk yard for parts, you could see how most died,,,,,,most likely rear ended pulling out in traffic! Sold it for $500 after putting on 22k miles. A good honest machine making all the right noises if you like steam engines……and I do.
If you have a long commute this would be a decent long-term solution.
Not a car you buy for 0-60 acceleration, which is around 20 seconds.
Just FYI for any future “This would make a great Uber car” posts…
Ridesharing companies like Uber and Lyft have a limit on the age of car you can use for the service. This age cutoff varies by city, but the car generally has to be newer than the 2000 model year. I was a Lyft driver a couple years ago to take advantage of a bonus they were offering, and their car requirement was 2003-and-newer at the time.
Its got some curiosity factor, but sooooooo slow, they only way to have one of these and not go insane is to have a manual, or even better, the seldom seen 4 speed “on the tree” that some of these had.
Great comfortable slow cars. Vacuum leaks on these cars make transmission shifts terrible, making it even slower. Get all leaks sealed and these cars will treat you well.
is that the 5 cyl diesel? a million mi engine!
Yeah, that’s the much sought after V-5! You might want to check out the original ad to verify this.
It’s slow and plain. And I want it.
I would be even more interested if it was a wagon.
No, it’s not a 5 cylinder.
It doesn’t have leather as mentioned in the ad and W114/115s did not come as factory build wagons either.
Maybe 1500 if its made presentable
Ha,
I have one these sitting outside (And it starts in the cold, thanks to a “new” type of ignition..neat….Drive it more or less daily….only it’s a 300D…5cylinder….paind $2000.00 for it….have another one with turbo….Really no big deal…I call it my “UBER WAGEN”
Vive la Panhard
never mind lyft and uber. Buy it , fix it and drive it. They run forever.
Even Benz’s had their quirks, as all cars do. This car is most attractive when Running, but YELLOW? Reminds me of European taxis of the era.
In my neck of the woods here in Brooklyn. But where is it in upstate. If I had any time left which I don’t I’d drive up there. Could be between one and six hours drive dependent how close it is to Brooklyn. But I’ve always liked the 240D’s. Rode a few of them in Israel in 1985.
I wish the seller would have tried to see if the engine is loose and turns over.
One of the slowest cars known to mankind.
wonder why it was parked , inspection sticker was older than reg sticker , did it not pass NYSSI ???