34k is a good price.

__________________
1998 Ford Escort ZX2 5 speed - 279,000 miles My Daily

1992 Mercedes 300D 2.5 202,000 - Pure junk
2000 Mercedes E320 Black - 136,000 miles - Needs repair

Don't forget to grease the screw and threads on the spring compressor.

Yeah, I used to be a staunch," all new cars suck" guy. The truth is cars made within the past decade are surprisingly stout, well made, and reliable. The 90s and 00s were a learning experience for automakers with electronics. They've found that sweet spot for reliability and cost.

Once you get past those new fangled 'puter phobias and invest in a pirated mobile code reading solution (because you know, it's just another tool), troubleshooting becomes so stupid easy. Fixing stuff on my 380sl requires a whole different mindset and diagnostic equipment.

Anywho, mileage on 30+ year old cars doesn't mean anything anymore. Plastic, rubber, and other components get tired and fail. Not to mention, it's laughably easy to roll these odometers back but I'll trust ******** of Naples to know a genuine product.

Like others have, the AC most likely doesnt work, the suspension components are probably all hard, hoses again are hard too ( watch out oil cooler hoses) , and the door seals might not be supple.

At least the engine has been broken in. I saw an 800 mile 560sl and the first thing I thought to myself was how that poor engine didn't have time for a full break in run through. The poor valve seals probably dried and didn't seat right which means that poor engine will never really run right.

You'd think an owner would have at least driven the car partially to catch any bad components during the warranty period. If that was me I'd go at least untvthe first 5k and park it. Any bad parts would reveal themselves.

I'd buy it, if only to hear an om617 putter again.

__________________
-Typos courtesy of my mobile phone.

I recently rented an A220 4Matic with 5K miles on the clock. Smelt new with a genuinely impressive finish inside the car for sure. Sells for the same price as the W126 discussed here. In “Eco” mode, the car returned 32mpg on the highway - not bad for a new car. Not far off from what a well cared for OM617 delivers. (Won’t touch on space, ride quality or comfort because the A Class is considered entry level compared to Mercedes Benz’s current offerings, despite the price.)

All went well till the DSG began shuddering/ shaking in every mode but “Sport”. Mercedes arrived and towed it away solemnly, claiming a known electrical transmission fault.

Anyone on these forums who thinks that electrical components on these cars will be trouble free past 2025 needs a serious reality check. This W126 will still chug on long after these cars have been scrapped. Will probably be worth a little bit more too! All in, I’d negotiate a $30K selling price. Another $4-5K of dealer sourced rubber components will give you a factory fresh looking, trouble free attention grabbing Panzer tank that will probably outlast all of us!

__________________
Why I will never do business with "DieselKraut" again

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/mercedes-benz-used-parts-sale-wanted/378935-why-i-will-never-do-business-dieselkraut-again.html

Hear hear!! Yessiree Screwdriva...your assessment is SPOT ON! My sentiments exactly. Definitely a "Panzer tank that will probably outlast all of us". Perfect analogy. IMHO, electronics are what is ruining new cars of all stripes. "Reality check" is right!
Automobile manufacturers have, basically, ZERO experience and history with computers, programming, chips, memory, etc, etc. They're ALL fools for not partnering with the real computer giants of the world and developing their platforms with known technology and experience. I believe they had the opportunity early on for, what would be, the smart move. Their response.....thanks, but no thanks, we got this. In other words...."hold my beer" heh heh We're all seeing and experiencing how THAT is working out.

You're mistaken.

Automakers have been using silicon wafers since the early 70s. Don't forget, car electronics need to operate in extreme temperature gradiants. Try using a MacBook pro in the same extremes that a car goes through and it wo quickly die.

They know what they are doing, moreso than Apple and Google who bring on engineers and suppliers familiar with automotive reliability .

2025 is only 6 years away.

Given the availability of critical parts that are now NLA, let's revisit this thread and see how everyone is holding up.

If part availability keeps being as dismal as it has been lately, In 6 years, the only people who will still be driving these cars will be enthusiasts who know how to fabricate parts, personal junk yard owners who have fleets of rotting w123s, and collectors who never drive their cars.

Not to mention, you live in Pittsburgh mate. Your om617 will still be going. That chassis on the other hand will probably be so riddled with rust from our salted roads that I doubt it will pass a state safety inspection.

Don't get me wrong, i love my old Benzes and will still drive them. But even I know that the days of daily driving in salted wintery environments are coming to an end.

I mean really, my neighbor has a 2006 Prius with 300k miles on it. Those electronics are still solid AF. That car is going on 13 years old. Technology marches on.

We all will eventually be driving modern beaters whether we like it or not.

__________________
-Typos courtesy of my mobile phone.

I hear ya, man. All valid points. Hear about any "Tesla's" bursting into flames, lately. Or the "auto pilot" taking over and crashing the car? Surely you've read about car's software able to be hacked remotely, right? Take control of a cars steering, brakes, accelerator? Sound like good times? Silicon wafers and what's goin into cars, now, are like comparing night to day.
I'm in my early 60's. I'll stick with analog, thank you very much. The 300SD video, which I used to begin this thread, would EASILY last me the rest of my life. Not only in comfort and style, but in safety as well. I wouldn't drive a "Prius" if I was given a brand new one!
Civilization has survived quite well, for thousands of years, without digital enhancement and computers. Human beings have not changed, physiologically, and we don't need to trust the whole of our lives and much of our decision making to this "digital existence". It will be our downfall....
On a lighter note....I've got a good handle on the salty roads of winter in the northeast. It's not as bad as most people think.....IF you know how to deal with it. Gotta protect your cars undercarriage. Many products available for this. Also, during winter, pull your car in the garage (with drain) and hose off said undercarriage as many times as necessary to "ease your apprehension"....lol
Cheers!

Yes, I know. And that's pushing it.

I hear you on the NLA point. I'm yet to find a single critical part unavailable for my W115 240D or W123 300D. Said another way, I've been able to source every single part I need. Some may not be available from the dealer, but every mechanical part has been available (Both have the OM61X motors and are being fully mechanically restored.) That said, very important for us to be very vocal about this to Mercedes as a community, and not abandon and flee (I have a separate thread open on the 3 steps owners can take to help address this). The Prius is a genuinely good example of a toaster with wheels, built well with a longer duration expiry date in mind.

I can guarantee anyone will be able to source everything you need to restore all the rubber and mechanicals on this W126.

__________________
Why I will never do business with "DieselKraut" again

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/mercedes-benz-used-parts-sale-wanted/378935-why-i-will-never-do-business-dieselkraut-again.html

I don't play with Teslas, self driving anything, and battery only powered cars. I frankly see these over sized golf carts as stop gap technology for the next big thing: hydrogen fuel cells.

Fully self driving cars won't be around until my old age (60s) and I just turned 30. The infrastructure just isn't there and until those fringe cases of, "my Tesla Autopilot drove me into a berm!" are solved I ain't going to be playing with that.

Same could be said for internal combustion engines and steam. Human beings lived just fine for several centuries with just horses.

You can call me the devils advocate


Look mate, I totally get that old w123 love and I don't want to dampen it, but just be aware of what it is you have. After 6 years of ownership of various Daimler-Benz classics, you just can't escape the glaring engineering oopsies of that infallible German engineering - poor metal rusting prevention being one of them.

I spent 18 years just two hours north of you and another 7 puttering around the frozen wasteland that is the Eastern seaboard. Parking these cars in the garage after winter driving just isn't enough to prevent rust.

The drain ports get clogged with grit or worse are just weirdly designed ultimately preventing water from draining away.

It's not a question of if, but when it will rust. You are only delaying the inevitable by garaging the car in the winter.

The only way you prevent these cars from rusting is by total wintering. IE not driving at all when there is snow and that dusty "white" salt crap on the ground.

Which is a total shame, because these cars are absolutely made for winter driving. That heater is like a warm cozy blanket.

In my not so humble opinion, if you love your w123, you will park it over the winter and not drive it until the salt is off of the ground.

Or move to the desert like I did. The sun belt is where old Benzes go to live our their lives for the rest of eternity.


Yeah man, I know. It just f**king SUCKS. Eventually, only rich dinguses who can afford the inflated prices of the classic center in Irvine will be the only ones who trailer their classics to some car show in Monterey.

/Totally bitter about getting old and thinking the old 'ol days of cheap Benz ownership will last. I miss the 2010s.

Are you talking about the parking brake? If so, you can apply 12 volts to the parking brakes they will release. No need for the factory software if this is the case.

__________________
-Typos courtesy of my mobile phone.

Are you suggesting that most new cars won’t give 6 years of trouble free service?

__________________
Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz

When I think of all of my vehicles (and those in my family), the ones that had the most electronics issues were my W126's (both), and my W124 300E. Especially since the number of electronic issues I've had on my 2015 and 2017 have been 0. My W210 wagon has issues with lamp warnings, and that's it.

When you factor in how many times more complex modern cars are than the old ones, and yet they are as reliable as they are, it really proves they've come a LONG ways.

My brother recently traded his 2009 E350 4matic with 142k on it, still running fine...never had any issues and he put over 65k on it in 3 years. His latest is a 2016 E400....space ship! You forget about the old cars quick when getting a massage from the heated/cooled seats and accelerating from 0-60 in barely 5 seconds.

__________________
-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

The main attraction of the older diesels for me is their thoroughly engineered mechanical nature. That and nostalgia. However, chassis, safety, and engine technology has not stood still since the 123. Where the 617 is overbuilt using lots of cast iron modern engines use advanced alloys to achieve even greater durability. Nikasil, alusil and the like is nearly impossible to wear out if applied properly. While tapping on the door of a 124 will result in a nice thud the more hollow sounding door is not an accurate representation of the chassis strength which will be significantly improved in the modern counterparts.

__________________
Rindfleischetikettierungsüberwachungsaufgabenübertragungsgesetz

If you want a modern car built like the 70s, the G Wagon is the last of its kind. It's on my to buy list too !

__________________
-Typos courtesy of my mobile phone.

Respectfully, I'm not just suggesting - I'm insisting that they don't. I've shared an example of a 2019 vehicle malfunction above. I can share more from experience or direct observance (none of that hearsay here). The most I've seen a "modern" german vehicle last without major issues is 60-65 months. This includes low mileage examples.

__________________
Why I will never do business with "DieselKraut" again

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/mercedes-benz-used-parts-sale-wanted/378935-why-i-will-never-do-business-dieselkraut-again.html

If that were actually true, no one would be buying them.

Every single make and model of every car on earth will have examples where one rolls right off the dealer lot and has a problem, but for most of them, this is not the case. We have several MB's in the family (and have had in the past) of 2001 or newer vintage, all have been perfectly reliable. The only exception being my dad's 2007 wagon which had the timing gear failure, but that is a mechanical issue related to improper manufacturing, not even electronic in nature. My 2015 diesel had the DPF get clogged, but it was replaced under warranty. The electrics on the modern cars are much much more reliable than the earlier ones. W126 tachometer? Climate control unit?

My repair budget and frequency on the older cars was waaay higher than it has needed to be for the newer ones. They are so reliable that its boring!

__________________
-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

Again, this is not something we should limit to your experience or mine, as we have no way to determine how well you keep your older cars vs. newly manufactured examples that have a similar benchmark.

You'll forgive me for not screaming in horror at the thought of a tachometer not functioning correctly (vs. transmission faults, timing gear or DPF filters etc.) Instead, I often ask myself how many 1999-2009 vehicles do we see running on the roads today? Or that are worth anything? Have a chat with owners of the W211 chassis to learn about the Sensatronic brake control (SBC) unit failures. Or have a chat with W220/221 owners to talk Air suspension or massaging seat failures. Let's not forget Command units. The list goes on and is bespoke for every model after the W124 (wiring harness faults were electronic but really had to do with the coating itself).

Sure the classics are far from perfect. But they'll never let you down without telling you miles in advance that something needs sorting. A quick, inexpensive dealer replacement part will get you back on the road and last for another 10+ years. I've never ever been stranded anywhere and I own 5 pre-1996 vehicles across 3 countries. The binary nature of electronics will never allow for that. And sooner or later, you'll learn just how serviceable the newer stuff really is.

There's a reason these vehicles enjoy the reputations that they do.

__________________
Why I will never do business with "DieselKraut" again

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/mercedes-benz-used-parts-sale-wanted/378935-why-i-will-never-do-business-dieselkraut-again.html