Who here has an Orient Red W123? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Veloce300DT · #1 06-01-2004, 03:08 PM

Heres mine.

WannaWagon · #2 06-01-2004, 03:22 PM

I believe that is the color of my '81 300TD, though it's hard to tell for sure because it doesn't look anywhere as nice as yours! My paint needs attention, though I think it will be less work than I thought at first. The other day I rubbed out a small area of the LF fender where there was a big drip stain like someone spilled acid on the fender. But the stain came right out with Meguiar's Cleaner/Wax and the spot looks beautiful now. That really got my hopes up for detailing the car! No photo to attach yet, unfortunately.

Veloce300DT · #3 06-01-2004, 03:26 PM

If your cars finish is oxodized and faded, try using Meguires Color-X. It eliminates any oxodizing, revitalizes paint color, and shines with a durable coat of polymer protection. Ive used it on trunk and hood since moving to the city- I live in an industrial area, and the fall-out combined with salt air made the trunk start to show early signs of oxodizing. Color-X made it look new, and the protection has lasted quite a while.

AndyRM · #4 06-01-2004, 03:54 PM

The orient red is without a doubt my favorite MB color. That is why I am taking my time trying to find the right one. I know if I settle for another color, an Orient red one will come along soon after. I know some people say it's crazy to pick the color instead of the carbut I'm in no hurry. When I find it I am sure it will be worth the wait.

Andy

R Leo · #5 06-01-2004, 03:58 PM

I do.

Veloce300DT · #6 06-01-2004, 05:27 PM

Andy-

That approach is the same approach to finding the right W123 I took. I owned a gold one, loved the car, hated the color. after 40K well served miles summer had arrived and I wasnt about to put $$ into having the a/c fixed along with some other normal wear items. So I sold the car for a decent $4200.

I then scoured the classifieds and autotrader looking for the "right" 300DT. At the time I had to have midnite blue with parchment or palomino int. THEN I found it. The car was located in Fl. 2 owners, all records, 145K miles.

My friend in Fl. lookeda t it for me, and had it checked by a mechanic. Car was in great shape! So i bought it and had it shipped out to CA. WEll, the shipping co. never picked up the car to begin with, and after a 3 month battle for a refund I got the money, picked a new compan,y and had the car delivered finally. THEN the unthinkable happend. An accident in the road on a portion of the highway barracaded on both sides by cement barriers took the life of my 300DT. There was no way to avoid the debris in the middle of the road, which ended up eating away the suspension.

Back to the drawingboard!!
So another 6 months pass from the loss of the midnite blue one, and I stumbled upon the car I have now. 1 owner, every record since new, down to immigration paperwork, bill of sale etc etc etc.
145K miles. Orient Red, Palomino. Garaged. The car was in San Diego. I took my chances and flew down with a cashiers check. Once I saw the car I knew it was the right one. I will never forget walking out of the terminal to see it awaiting my arrival. At the time it was in unbelieveable shape. NOT 1 DING!!!! I signed tranfer of title, handed over the check, and drove back home to the Bay Area- did it in 6 hours!!!

I'll never reget it. I wont regret holding out for the right color, and I wont regret loosing any of the past w123's ive owned. I love the Orient Red, and I recieve unending compliments on how beautiful the color is, not to mention the car itself.

Dont buy a w123 until you know its the right one. If you want Orient Red, hold out until you find one thats in exceptional shape!

Since purchase Ive showered a good $6k on the car mechanically to get it in perfect shape. My neighbor backed into the drivers side doors, and am going to wait to have it fixed when i have the money to have the whole car repainted with clearcoating, protecting it more so from the salt air, and erasing a couple little dings that have accumulated from being in the city. the wheels will be repainted, and beltline trim will be replaced. the work is going to be contracted by L.R. Spencer Co.
www.oursl.com

Happy Motoring!!!

Lets see some more Orient Red W123's here, I know there are more!!!

WannaWagon · #7 06-01-2004, 08:24 PM

Veloce: Thanks for the tip on Color-X. I'll give it a try.

So, what's the deal with Orient Red? Is it a rare color, or were you just curious?

Veloce300DT · #8 06-01-2004, 08:45 PM

I dont think its too rare, but I guess compared to the thousands and thousands of tans, ivorys, whites, variations of blues, and silvers, it is. LOL

Im just curious, and wish more pople had pics of their cars!!

Yes, you will definitely see a huge difference with color-x. If the cleaner you used did a nice job be ready to see the results from color-x. it will blow you away. I used it on my friends pearl black 300DT, was oxodized on roof trunk and hood, and I did the whole car. It turned the car completely around from looking blah to looking like a bang!

And if youre going to wax, you may aswell use some rubber protectant to blacken up, clean, and protect the bumpers and tires, it puts the finishing touch on a clean car. Have fun!

Try Meguiars vynil&rubber trim shine for kicks, its a simple and easy to use product.

Veloce300DT · #9 06-01-2004, 08:50 PM

Also-

If you wanna go the whole 9 yards-

To brighten up the headlight surrounds, and taillights use meguiars plastic polish. It also works wonders on wood and on the clear plastic of the instrument cluster.

If your wheels are dull and embeded with brake dust try some simple green. spray on wet wheels, let it soak, and then grab a scrub sponge and the brake dust will discintegrate, brightening wheels.

quiettype · #10 06-01-2004, 08:50 PM

I just got an 84 300d in that color.200k miles, PO used amsoil synthetic,only needs rear brake pads.I have 17 inch Prime rims and Bosch euros to light the way. I used Maguiars scratch X to remove the worst oxidation on the hood,roof and trunk.It looks very nice now.
It should be on the road within 10 days.Life is good.

Veloce300DT · #11 06-01-2004, 08:55 PM

quiettype-

I would LOVE to see pics of the new car. Please post them as soon as you get any!

Good luck with the car, Happy Motoring!

Eric Eliel · #12 06-02-2004, 01:56 PM

Orient Red here too. Bought mine in January after totaling my last 300D. I had been looking at this car (friend of a neighbor) for a year and had offered to buy it a year ago. The owner moved to Florida and shipped the car to his dad in Tucson AZ. It spent 3 months in Tucson in the fall and I then heard his dad didn't like the car and really didn't need it.

So 5 days after wrecking the previous car, I flew to Tucson and drove this one home along I-8 in the winter.

Paid $3,000 for the car, had 114,000 on the broken odometer. I figure it has 135,000 on it. Within the last 5 or 6 years it had a $4,000 paint job (original color), complete rebuilt front end and a factory rebuilt transmission from the dealer. The owner was a vetrinarian in an affluent area and the car was very well taken care of. The only major thing that needed work was the a/c. Lots of minor easy stuff that apparently annoyed Gramps.

Just had the valves adjusted this morning ($55.00 key buy!) and the motor has very tight compression. Hey its all good.

Happy Day!

Veloce300DT · #13 06-02-2004, 02:25 PM

WOW!!! sounds like a NICE car. Id love to see the new paint job!
So far there are 5 of us who have posted that have Orient Red. Hopefully 6 soon (andy). I know a member on here has an immaculate 240D in Orient Red with bundt wheels. So thats 7. Hmmm....

WannaWagon · #14 06-02-2004, 03:30 PM

I know a woman in my area who has an orient red 300TD wagon that looks exactly like mine, right down to the oxidized paint, though hers is rougher than mine overall. She often visits a friend just down the street in my neighborhood, so we often cross paths!

Just to keep a happy thread alive, I'll share the story on my wagon. It's kinda interesting.

I just bought it last week after spending a couple weeks checking it over. I noticed it in front of a neighbor's house and had been thinking about buying one for a while, so I asked him about it and he said he was willing to sell. He got it only in April, along with a couple other cars, from a friend who owed him money. The friend bought it at auction not long before that. Prior to that, it had been owned since new by a doctor in the Bay Area and driven lightly (avg. 7k miles/yr). The story goes that, according to my neighbor/seller, the doctor had a midlife crisis of some sort, abandoned his practice and took the wagon on a road trip to Mexico. It ended up being sold at auction to pay his debts when he came back.

The only records that came with the car are the complete set of owners manuals, all in good condition. So needless to say, that's why I spent so much time checking the car over. An indy mechanic picked by me found no problems and it passed a compression test with flying colors. Virtually everything works on the car and it looks great except for the faded paint. The factory maintenance manual shows that it had regular dealer service up until a few years ago. So with just a little trepidation, I went for it. I'm now working on bringing the maintenance up to speed and getting her in proper tune.

Relevant content: I love the color and can't wait to make it shine!

Veloce300DT · #15 06-02-2004, 03:51 PM

Sounds like you found an interesting 300TD! I love the Dr. story, adds a nice bit of history to the car. I find it to be very interesting to uncover information about the previous owner of a Mercedes. Oftentimes they are full of neat little things. an old neighbor of mine lived in South Africa, shes gotta be around 80 or so, and I used to take care of her car for her after her husband died- 1966 230 Fintail. her husband bought the car there, and it has stayed with her since new, moving to CA. and the whole bit.

My grandparents lived in Cairo for 2 years in the mid 70's, and my grandfather being a prominant business man, was treated to 1st class service while residing in Egypt. my grandparents were provided with 2 600 SWB limos, complete with chauffers, for every day use! I love seeing the pics every time I visit them.

My cars history is neat I guess. It was purchased new in 1984 at Mercedes-Benz Manhattan. 1 year later, the owners relocated to San Diego. They drove across country in it, taking the time to have the oil changed along the way (records verify oil changes were made in New Mexico, among some other places I cant remember right now). The car was driven daily untill 1988, when they purchased a 190D 2.7 for daily driving. It sat preserved and maintained regularly, driven far less than avg., awaiting my purchase of it in 2003 when the owners couldnt drive anymore.
After purchasing, I removed the rear seat to clean, and found a photo of the owners taken in the mid-90's.
A friend of mine lives in NYC, and as a gift shipped me MBZ Manhattan dealer plate frames, which are now on the car.

I dont think I will ever let this one go. I hope to keep this car for the rest of my life, however long that may be.