10k: 1985 Mercedes-Benz 300TD Wagon Turbo
The Mercedes W123 series was the predecessor to the modern E-class sedan and is known as one of the most rugged cars ever built with examples running millions of miles all around the world. The US versions came with USDM big bumpers, round sealed beam headlights and US specific emissions requirements. This 1985 Mercedes-Benz 300TD wagon looks in exemplary condition and is currently for sale on ebay bidding at $9,100 reserve-not-met with 2 days to go (buy-it-now of $14,950), located in Los Angeles, CA.
The Mercedes W123 was introduced in 1977 as a replacement for the W115 sedan and featured a lineup of inline 4/5/6 engines in gasoline and diesel. The W123 was available as a coupe, sedan, long wheelbase sedan and touring (wagon) and sold extremely well with more than 6.7 million units distributed world wide before being replaced by the W124 in 1986.
This W123 is powered by the most desirable of W123 power-plants, the venerable OM617a, a 3.0 liter inline 5 cylinder turbocharged diesel engine. The OM617a puts out 123 horsepower and 181 ft-lbs of torque while returning more than 30 mpg. While we prefer a manual trans, they are extremely rare on this side of the pond and this example is equipped with a 4 speed automatic slushbox.
The inside of this W123 is in excellent shape and the rugged Mercedes interior looks minty clean. This car does have 157k miles on the odometer, but this is just getting the beast broken in. This car has been cleaned and lubed up for the photos, clearly the seller isn’t a novice, and the car looks really clean in the photos.
This example is selling the high side of what the W123 market currently looks like, but its in excellent condition. Bottom line: we really like the usefulness of the wagon, the luxury of the E-class and we’ve driven many miles in W123s and have never regretted a minute of it. They were blessed by Stuttgart with some of the most comfortable seats ever put into an automobile.
See another sweet aging Mercedes? email us here: tips@dailyturismo.com
I had two of these in the past. They are, indeed, rugged but are prone to some issues like the awfully complex heat/air conditioning system, window regulators that break, self-leveling rear suspension and other items. BUT, they are fairly easy to work on, parts are plentiful and at 157K, this example is barely broken in. My first 300TD wagon was sold with 359K and my second had over 200K when sold. Ditch the newer style wheels for some Bundts or even steel wheels with color coordinated wheel covers! Another 200,000 on the clock is certainly do-able.
I've been driving a 300 Mercedes wagon since 1991, over which time I've owned two such cars and put on combined mileage of some 500k. In both cases I've owned the TE version, as opposed to the TD version, and found them to be extremely reliable and capable of carrying almost everything, either in the spacious rear or the robust roof rack. I've learned that maintenance can be made very economical by avoiding taking my wagon to Mercedes Benz Canada for service, and instead where possible I order parts on line from US parts suppliers who are prepared to supply parts at US prices and not some hyped-up overcharged price.
~ i haven't seen a diesel – stick shift Mercedes wagon of this period. that is one i'd label a keeper. i enjoyed the 300 CD – automatic i was driving until cold weather dictated its sale.
I had an '84 300TD turbo wagon, just like this one except not quite as nice. Before I sold it, I found an aluminum-cased 4-spd manual trans from a later W123 240D (base 4-cyl, non-turbo) sedan. If I had kept the car I would've done the swap and improved the driving experience immensely. To DT's knowledge, there was no manual W123 wagon offered in the US…but you can find them as grey-market imports occasionally.
It is a wonderful car. This model has lots of different features that are not available in modern Mercedes models.