Wait, I thought that's what this forum was

I'm still liking the price of diesel here, in my daily route I see the prices of it varying from $1.99 to $1.83. Even if the price went up I don't know of many if any 3400lb cars that get 28-35mpg every tank regardless of the amount of stop & go traffic subjected to.

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Jeff M.
Mercedes W123 DIY pages are now located here.
1983 / 1984 300D Sold
2000 CLK430 Cabriolet ~58k Sold
2005 Avalanche 4x4 ~66k

Sheesh - you all should consider yourselves lucky. Just saw that diesel here in San Francisco was $2.49 (ten cents higher than premium gas) at the Chevron down the street.

I wouldn't consider myself obsessed yet, only have two so far, but if I ever find a cream-puff SDL or maybe SD or even a REALLY nice older model I think I'll be pushed over the edge. Not so much because they're cheaper to run, I just find that maybe someday being able to drive even when oil based products become too rare or expensive is a great advantage. I'll probably convert my ugliest 123 to bio/WVO soon. The cream-puff diesel will probably never show up. BTW, diesel is running 10 cents more a gallon in RI, but it's probably temp until heating oil reserves are rebuilt (1.59 gal for heating oil !!! and I have empty double tanks to fill).

At that price you ought to save one of those tanks for your diesel.

My 230CE get the same or better fuel economy than my 300DT so it's more economical to drive the 230CE plus the CE is far more fun to drive.

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DJ


84 300D Turbodiesel 190K with 4 speed manual sold in 03/2012

Betcha my 300D turbo (1987) is more fun to drive than your 230CE! (I have to admit that I always wanted one of them though!)
That said, I think my '71 220 (gasser) is a lot of fun to drive compared to anything else I own, but that type of fun can't match the W124 dieselturbo! Like when I'm pushing 85 MPH and there's over 1000 RPM yet to go on the tach, all the while realizing I still get close to 30 MPG Yipppeeeee!
dieselhotrodding at its finest.
Dieseldiehard
1971 220 (gas) 4-spd manual 106441
1979 300TD w/ ’85 turbo engine 295530
1983 300D 243280
1985 300TD 217300
1987 300D Turbo 258230

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'95 E320 Wagon my favorite road car. '99 E300D wolf in sheeps body, '87 300D Sportline suspension, '79 300TD w/ 617.952 engine at 367,750 and counting!

As stated above, diesel prices here in the bay area are typically higher than most gas fuel grades! But that doesnt stop me from driving any less. Just adjusted valves, replaced fuel filters, air filters, and oil. The car runs like a clock!! Afterwards I drove from Sacramento to Santa Cruz to visit friends, then up highway 1 back to San Francisco. Just walked in the door 5 minutes ago.... that was such an exhilerating drive I could have kept on going and going and going. I love my 300D more and more every day...

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Nate

1995 E420
1992 BMW 525i
1984 300D Turbo sold
1993 Volvo 244 sold
1995 Volvo 944T R.I.P!


"The details are not details. They make the product."
-Charles Eames

www.cbs.nu

Dieseldiehard,
Are you sure? The 230 just loves to rev and seems much lighter than my 300D. It handles like a sports car. Its a really lively little car. I forget that its only a four banger since it's so responsive. I've never driven a W124 diesel so I can't compare but I bet also you've never driven a 230CE. I'm curious, how much hp does your 300D pump out? I'm itching to run my 300D on a dyno after the mods I've done to my engine. I'm sure mine is running at least 10 hp's over stock. The mods I did made my 300D a whole lot more fun to drive than it was before but the 230CE is still more enjoyable. I think the 4-speed has got a lot to do with it.

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DJ


84 300D Turbodiesel 190K with 4 speed manual sold in 03/2012

I love MB diesels, even the problematic 05 CDIs. I first fell in love with MB diesels as a little boy when my mom got her MB 300SD in 1988. She stopped driving it in 1999 when the LS400 came along, I love that car as well. Between 1999 and 2001, it sat up, going months at a time without being driven, gathering dust in a parking garage. When my dad totalled out his Caddy in September 2001, he had to drive the 300SD daily for about three months until he got his present car due to insurance battles. In 2003, it became my car, and I've been driving it ever since. It has no A/C, and the seats are a bit torn up, and it needs a new paint job. I'm planning on getting an oil change and oil filter change, as well as tranny fluid change and new tranny seals. But, I have a 1982 300DT coming. The assistant for our former mechanic (former because he refinishes rims only now) is selling it because his wife is demanding a SUV to haul her grandchildren around in, and the W123 is simply too cramped to haul them in (I feel for her, the LS400 is cramped for my two nieces' car seats, so I know that W123 has to be worse). It's been well cared for, ice cold A/C, no leaks anywhere, interior looks great, exterior nice, he upgraded the rims to 15" flatface chrome style Although the odometer is broken, I don't worry about that. Although I'm probably getting the 82, the 81 won't be going anywhere for quite a while. It's still going to be here.
-Joe
P.S.
Is someone obsessed with a MB diesel if they purposely look for old home videos of the car in better days, to see the gleaming paint, and just to hear that diesel klatter and cooling fan roar? (woah, I'm quite longwinded when it comes to these cars)

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'81 MB 300SD, '82 MB 300D Turbo (sold/RIP), '04 Lincoln Town Car Ultimate

Sooner or later every car falls apart, ours does it later!
-German Narrator in a MB Promotion Film about the then brand new W123.

My wife is not at all pleased with our diesel-smelling garage but have given up complaining.

My nightly ritual includes popping up the hood to check the oil, coolant, brake fluid levels. I also check for oil in the clear filter I installed in the vacuum line to the shutoff valve which will indicate faulty shutoff valve. I keep my engine pretty clean and with a flashlight I inspect for possible fluid leak and any abnormal change under the hood (e.g., loose vacuum line, etc..). I have a piece of cardboard under the engine to capture any oil leak, if any, that may drip. I wash my car once a week without a miss rain or shine. So far, ALL buttons, gauges, levers, switches and flaps work the way they were designed to function without any trouble.

I feel rewarded when from time to time a note is left on my windshield with a name and telephone number of a potential buyer should I decide to sell my car.

Is this an obsession?

That might be a little overkill for me. I'd worry about these items in a car that's not reliable but these cars are about as dependable as they get. I might peek at the dipstick every now and then but its always at about the same level everytime I check it. I'll look at the other items you mention at every oil change or before a long drive. I mainly rely on the gauges in my MB and I check them often as I drive. I only worry if I hear or smell anything unusual.

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DJ


84 300D Turbodiesel 190K with 4 speed manual sold in 03/2012

YES to all questions for me!!

I have been a diesel fan for years but am new to the mb diesels. And I am totally hooked.

So is Honda. Did you all hear that Honda will produce a 40 mpg diesel? I'll still sticking with my mb!!

Could someone logically explain to me why diesel is so high? We all [or most of us] know the refining process and it makes no sense that diesel should be higher than gas. Seems to me that the cost of diesel spiked when folks started buying $40,000 diesel pickups enmass. Around 1998 it jumped from .82.9 to $1.25/gal. and now is higher than the highly refined gas. Makes no sense to me.

Cheers,

Bill

As I stated in my early posts, I owned 186 MB diesels 115,123,126(use to buy and sell them to pay my tuition,years ago),last week I bought number 187,for personal use this time,anybody can beat my record?

I think the refiners and oil companies blame it on winter months and the increased demand for home heating oil. Personally, I believe it's just an excuse to make more money.

Personally, I believe it's just an excuse to make more money.[/QUOTE]


Me too, but I'm still running diesels! I'm amazed the truckers haven't started yelling or striking yet. Diesel here in southeast Pa. is $1.99. Bought some in Va. Thursday for $1.85 and felt like I was stealing!

cheers,

Bill