Ah geez, now I've done it. My classic search has ended with a Euro W123.

"Mazarin" (Mazarin) 03/20/2019 at 12:20 • Filed to: Mercedes, Mercedes-Benz, W123, 280E, greymarket

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I’ve been looking for a classic that I could drive the hell out of, and I finally found it. To be honest, I don’t know why I didn’t start here to begin with.

I had started looking at old Mercedes-Benzes, but toyed with getting back into older J-Tin since I’ve had a few Starions. The thing is, I wanted a cruiser and an automatic (GASP) since my F56 Mini fulfills my need to row. I got so far as to zeroing in on a Toyota Corona, but it just didn’t work. Too much too do, not enough parts, etc.

Even with that, I kept looking at older Mercedes. The coupes and convertibles are ridiculous as far as prices for anything pre-1975, with people selling rotted husks of metal that was once a car for $8-10K. Rotisserie restores hitting 6-figures easily. But for some reason, the sedans were generally affordable, though all over the place on price. Non-running examples that looked like a rabid wolverine on cocaine lived in the interior could go for anything from $500 to $5K. Modest, running examples were starting at $2000-2500, but more commonly at $5K+. $8-12K+ seemed to be the sweet spot to find one in “pretty good but not concourse” shape. Problem was, that was above my budget, and anything below $5K was in LA (I’m in San Diego).

But this one 1981 280E (later found to be an ‘82) kept popping up in my searches. I didn’t initially want this model, the W123, and wanted a stacked-headlight front end design, but this one was just too clean to ignore. It was above my price point anyway, so I kept searching with no luck within 2 hours of me.

I let a few weeks go by with nothing coming up that piqued my interest. Except this W123 kept showing up. I wondered if the guy selling it just never took the ad down, but one day the post was updated with a reduced price. So I looked more into it and found so many people sing the praises of this model of Mercedes as a classic you can drive daily. Many tout of 500,000-mile examples on nothing more than basic maintenance. Some even call this the best car Mercedes ever made.

I finally decided I’d message the guy and see what was up with it and what he was willing to take. Turns out he was willing to take my offer, but from there I was finding out more about it and why it hadn’t sold - It’s a “grey-market car.”

In the 70s and early 80s, the US tightened the noose around emissions and gas mileage, as well as adding a very big, ugly bumper to every car of that era. For those looking for more oomph, Mercedes (among other manufacturers) was able to import their freed-up versions with few modifications for US roads before selling them to the public. They stopped this practice (because America) in 1985.

This was one of those cars, the owner told me, and said that the car couldn’t be smogged in California because of this. He said it would need extensive and expensive mods to make it work, or you’d have to “know a guy” who could pass it for you. This seemed to scare a lot of people off, so it sat unsold for a couple months as he dropped the price. Even so, I got him to drop the price even further (to offset his ballpark figure to get it to pass) and I pulled the trigger.

This thing is amazing. The interior is nearly flawless - the rare cloth/vinyl seats are nearly perfect. No tears and just a bit of stitching that needs to be redone. Nearly everything works. The only things that don’t (so far) are the antenna, dash lights, rear defroster, and the odometer. The “Economy” gauge doesn’t work either, but let’s be honest - it never did. I may have an easy fix on the dash lights (cleaning the connectors on the dimmer switch) and I’ve gotta check the fuses. But everything else works. Windows, sunroof, locks, all other gauges, glove box, wipers, lights... AC is there but the belt is off so I figure it needs a rebuild or at least a recharge. The big issue is the idle. It’s running SUPER rich but it’s still driveable without much trouble. I got it home from Oceanside to San Diego without an issue.

Also, the W123 community has blown me away as well. Everyone seems to have incredible pride in keeping these on the road - even if it’s not theirs. I joined a Facebook W123 club the night before I was going out to check this out and they tagged a respected mechanic in the club - who happened to have a shop down the street from my work. He also happened to be going by where the car was around the same time I was going to look at it and offered - unprovoked - to take a look at it and ensure I was getting something good (which he did). Now I’ve got someone else in the area who messaged me, excited to find another W123 in San Diego and offered to help me get everything buttoned up as well. It’s really amazing and I’ve thanked them all profusely.

I can’t wait to get this Merc in top order and drive it everywhere. What a find.

Chariotoflove > Mazarin 03/20/2019 at 12:28

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Not only did you find your Sprit Car, you found your people.  That’s fantastic.

vondon302 > Mazarin 03/20/2019 at 12:32

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As a lifelong rust belt resident these kind of stories almost make me mad. That might be a 5 digit car in my area. Damn I need to do a car buying road trip.

Nice score.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Mazarin 03/20/2019 at 12:33

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Those were handsome sedans, well proportioned. Too bad not manual transmission, though.

Mazarin > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 03/20/2019 at 12:38

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Manuals are even cheaper out here . There was a mid-60s fintail for $2500 and  a white 70s Merc for $2000.

CB > Mazarin 03/20/2019 at 12:41

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Looks awesome. Congrats!

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Mazarin 03/20/2019 at 12:42

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I am not manual transmission obsessed as many are who frequent Oppo. I enjoy driving them, but I also enjoy driving a decent automatic.

MattHurting > Mazarin 03/20/2019 at 13:14

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Looks great! So much so that it made me to do a search in my area. Look at this bad boy:  https://cosprings.craigslist.org/cto/d/colorado-springs-1981-mercedes-benz/6832668372.html

arl > Mazarin 03/20/2019 at 13:42

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Ah, so gas engine, eh? Good for you. The diesel’s are so slow they’re almost dangerous to drive on modern roads (esp. the older non-turbo diesels).

My family has owned a few old Benz’s. I love them (just not the diesels). 

Mazarin > arl 03/20/2019 at 13:45

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For real. From the dealer, this Euro 6 was supposed to have 185 HP. I t does not have anything near that much right now tho. I could only imagine how much of a pig diesel would be hahaha

VincentMalamute-Kim > Mazarin 03/20/2019 at 13:55

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That is an example of a good looking car. Wheels too. You really scored. I need one now.

It’s hard to describe how slow those diesels were. And I’m talking the turbos. G etting beat off the line by a bicycle? By an old lady with a walker? There’s currently nothing with wheels that slow.

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > arl 03/20/2019 at 13:58

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Well if you maintain a turbo properly and tweak the injection pump, they are decent. Most cars people have experienced have been neglected a bit. Mine is fine, of course it gets a lot better by 2nd gear.

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > Mazarin 03/20/2019 at 13:59

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I like my US spec car but I would like a Euro TD with manual windows and sunroof. The motors and everything weigh a lot and I’ve had to do some work on them. 

Mazarin > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) 03/20/2019 at 14:27

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It’s weird - the fronts in mine are vacuum powered and the rears are manual

Jordan > Mazarin 03/20/2019 at 15:03

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W123's are great cars. I want a 300D with a manual transmission, crank windows, tan or palomino MB-Tex seats, and preferably in Cypress Green, with the body color hubcaps

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 03/20/2019 at 15:55

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I am manual transmission obsessed. But I’ve driven multiple Mercedes with manuals and, well, I’d rather have the automatic, as odd as that is for me to say.

arl > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) 03/20/2019 at 15:59

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Yea, the last one I drove was a non-turbo and it was a dog. Like “ I thought I was going to die in a fiery crash trying to merge” kind of dog. I’ll bet a turbo with good maintenance would be a good bit better.

Tapas > Mazarin 03/20/2019 at 16:04

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CONGRATULATIONS!

ALSO, ADD A SUPERCHARGER!

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > Mazarin 03/20/2019 at 16:50

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My windows are all electric and the door locks are vacuum. I saw a green euro TD, all manual controls, so nice. My rear window regulators are wearing out. I know the motors work but I think I need to change the regulators, one makes a thunk when it starts to go up.

Mazarin > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) 03/20/2019 at 17:02

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There might be a tiiiiiiiiiiiiny leak in my passenger window. It’s definitely slower than the driver’s window.

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > Mazarin 03/20/2019 at 17:41

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I do have a slow vacuum lean, if I don’t drive it for three days it won’t unlock the other doors automatically unless I start it and wait for it to build up. 

MiniGTI - now with XJ6 > Mazarin 03/21/2019 at 01:05

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Congratulations on a beautiful find. My motivation for getting the Jaguar (85 XJ6) is similar. I love my manual  MINI but sometimes an automatic luxobarge is what is needed. I love driving it and contrary to folklore it’s been perfectly reliable since I’ve got most of the things that would break in any 30 year old car sorted.