Yesterday’s Autopian Asks question about the world’s toughest cars reminded me that I had seen a couple of old diesel Mercedes-Benzes for sale for cheap earlier in the week, so I went back to see if they were still available. They are, so now you have to choose between them.
Our choices yesterday were a Pontiac Bonneville with some obnoxious visual mods and a Hummer H3 that couldn’t help being obnoxious no matter what you do to it. In a close contest, the Bonneville came out the winner, but many of you said you would probably de-chicken it. A lot of you wanted to yank the red seat covers out of the Hummer, too.
Silly graphics are one thing on a $1,000 car, but on an otherwise nice and low-mileage near-classic like that Bonneville, it’s just tacky. Unless there’s a good story behind it. But at that price, I think – and I can’t believe I’m saying this – I’d rather have the Hummer. I would of course remove all the aftermarket stuff, and find more suitable wheels and tires, but I think it has good bones.
A few years back, I went through a phase where I really, really wanted an old Mercedes diesel. I looked at a few, but I never did pull the trigger. I still think about it from time to time. I like the idea of a car built to a standard, not to a price, and simple diesels might be the most future-proof cars around. They’re getting up there in age, though, and to some degree they’ve been discovered by the classic car community. Now might be the time to act. Let’s check out a couple of them.
1980 Mercedes-Benz 300SD – $2,900
Engine/drivetrain: Turbocharged 3.0-liter diesel OHC inline 5, four-speed automatic, RWD
Location: Gaston, OR
Odometer reading: 134,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
Flagship models are supposed to represent the best of what a manufacturer can do, and I don’t think any flagship has ever done it better than the Mercedes S-Class. Even now, when Mercedes-Benz is more interested in putting video games in its cars than in making a car last decades, the S-Class has a presence that few cars can match. An old flagship like this, pushing fifty years old and well past its prime, isn’t going to impress anyone. But it’s still a well-made, durable ride.
The W116-chassis S-Class was available with a few different inline six and V8 engines, but in North America and Japan, you could also get it with a five-cylinder turbodiesel. This engine is famous for its reliability and durability, and has found its way into other vehicles including off-roaders. The seller acknowledges this, and even says that if you only want this car for the engine, they’ll buy the rest back from you after you pull it. But it does run and drive great as it sits, so I think yanking the engine would be a shame. This is a million-mile car if you treat it right.
The interior is in really nice shape, and by the way, this is leather, not M-B Tex. This is an S-Class, not some mere W123. The seller does say that some of the power windows need repair, but they’re willing to help you fix it. There’s no mention of the HVAC controls, which are sometimes a problem with these older Mercedes models. Best to ask questions, and try stuff out.
I don’t know what the hell is going on with the paint job. It looks like it may have had a two-tone paint job as part of a fleet or something, but then why isn’t it the same on both sides? It is kind of unique, I guess, but if you wanted to repaint or wrap it so it’s all one color, no one would blame you.
1984 Mercedes-Benz 190D 2.2 – $3,800
Engine/drivetrain: 2.2-liter diesel OHC inline 4, four-speed automatic, RWD
Location: Portland, OR
Odometer reading: 362,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
From the largest Mercedes of its time, we move to the smallest. The W201 chassis was introduced in 1982 in Europe, and two years later in the US. This car replaced the long-running 240D here, and it was a huge step forward in technology and refinement, but still built like a tank.
This car is powered by a 2.2-liter version of the new-for-1984 OM601 four-cylinder diesel, which replaced the old OM616 in the 240D. It’s a little more powerful than the older engine, but not by much; it makes just 72 horsepower and 96 pound-feet of torque. Acceleration is as gradual as you’d expect, but you should try not to be in a hurry anyway. It has a ton of miles on it, but the seller says it still runs and drives great.
The interior is in pretty good shape, but there is some wear and cracking on the driver’s seat. The seller says that the driver’s window doesn’t work, and neither does the left rear door lock. The seller says one of the reasons they’re selling it is that it has “no A/C.” And I think they mean it; it really doesn’t have it. Can you imagine a Mercedes-Benz that didn’t come with air conditioning? It would never happen today.
European luxury cars in the 1980s really embraced the earth-tones. This brown was pretty common on these cars. It is losing some clearcoat, but aside from that, it looks good. There’s no rust on it, and I don’t see much in the way of dings and dents either. It does have one cracked front turn signal lens, which is probably an eBay thing, unless you get lucky and find a W201 in a junkyard.
Yeah, they’re old, and slow, and probably not as safe as modern cars. But I think you’d be hard-pressed to find anything better built than these two for the price. Take care of them, keep them clean to keep the rust at bay, and they might outlast you. Which one would you rather be stuck with for years to come?
I disagree that the W201 could be said to replace the 240D which was a W123. The W124 replaced the W123.
Neither, the second most expensive car in the world is a cheap Mercedes.
S class for me. I like the style of it more and it’s cheaper and has lower miles.
I’d fix the issues and finish off the 2 tone look and drive it as-is.
190 I could throw a Chinese 12v ac unit in for a few hundred bucks. I’m not rebuilding the injector pump on an ancient Mercedes.
Unpopular take: crush both of these. They pollute too much.
I feel like we should all point at you and shriek like the aliens in Invasion of the Body Snatchers at that comment…
https://youtu.be/GEStsLJZhzo
I’m not anti-diesel, just anti-older diesel. Worked in road construction for several summers…
I test drove and almost bought a 190e with a 5spd, that was a “fun” little car! The auto and diesel would make this thing an absolute road warrior but I just don’t know if you could call it fun. The SD needs some polishing, but I think your efforts would be rewarded in the end, I would convert it to fryer oil and get real friendly with my local restaurants.
300SD. Has AC, lower miles, and looks easier to work on.
The only M-B I’ve ever driven was the old 200D that belonged to a friend’s father. That was my first inkling of how nice a car could be…just beautiful. Yeah, the acceleration could be generously described as “stately”, but once you got up to speed out on the freeway, it rode and handled wonderfully. You could’ve driven that thing all day and arrive well-rested.
300SD! Well, this was easy…gimmee the tank! I want the tank! Ha ha…I like both but as far as awesome ol classic Benz’s, I prefer the older one. They are so iconic and basically run forever. I even like the two tone blue even though it’s obviously not stock. I had a friend who owned one of these in that sort of yellow creme color. Those seats are gorgeous but would prefer the M-B Tex. I will thoroughly enjoy cruising around in this beast!
Gaston, Oregon?
What does that 190D think it is?
That 190D has tangled with the wrong car!
No one says no to a 300SD
Darn right!
190D: “I’m dismissed, rejected, publicly humiliated…
Why, I’m more $ than I can bear for what I am…
More veggie oil?
What for? Nothing helps, I’m disgraced”
300SD, you’ve pulled yourself together
Golly, it’s lovely to see you, Merc
Looking so down to the ground
Almost every Autopian here’d love to have you, Merc
Even when running your fuel pump
There’s no car in town as admired as you
You’re everyone’s favorite car
Everyone’s awed and inspired by you
And it’s not very hard to see why
No car’s slick as this Merc
No car’s as quick as this Merc (not true, ha ha)
No car’s sheet metal is as incredibly thick as this Merc
For there’s no car in town half as gorgeous
Perfect, a pure paragon
You can ask any Autopian
And they’ll tell you what car they prefer to ride in
My, what a car, that Merc
Give five hurrahs
Give twelve hip-hips
300SD is the best
And the rest is all oil drips
No one fights like this Merc
Has bright lights like this Merc
In a Shitbox match nobody bites like this Merc
That’s right
No one hits like this Merc
Matches wits like this Merc
In a Shitbox match nobody wins like this Merc
What’s the hero next door?
What’s a super success?
Don’t you know? Can’t you guess?
Ask it’s fans and it’s 5 million hangers-on
There’s just one car in town that’s got all of it down
And it’s name’s M-E-R-C
M-E-R-C?
M-E-R-C, oh
MERCEDES-BENZ!
They both have their appeal, and the pneumatic windows/locks and HVAC issues common to older Mercedes scare the crap out of me… I don’t want more projects in my life.
I’d have picked the 190 if it had AC, but since it doesn’t I’ll go with the S-Class which is probably a smarter choice anyway.
Having spent many years steeped in diesel Mercedes, I’m taking the 190.
Fixing that early S-class is an exercise in rare parts, and if you wanna turn up the wick, you’re gonna get more out of the 190.
I had to go with the S. I just feel that a W201 that isn’t a cosworth would always leave me feeling somewhat disappointed.
The 5-cylinder diesels had such a distinctive sound at idle. I could identify it a block away blind-folded. The 190 is more my thing, but not this one. I dislike the wheels and no a/c? I’ll take the 300 SD and spend the price difference repainting it and swap in some Euro-spec headlights.
I don’t care for old diesels, but I’d take the S class, it at least has a classic look to it. The 190 looks newer to me than 84, I’d have guessed this was an early 90’s car. I’ve always had an irrational hated for the 190’s, I always thought the people who drove them were trying way too hard to look well off.
300SD, paint it black and embrace your inner Goth.
S-Class for the win. I could get it re-sprayed in its original dark blue for under $1K across the border and it would turn heads again.
A co-worker has a 1981 W123 with the same engine and he swears by it. He says no other car he’s owned has been cheaper to maintain than his old Merc. We could become clackety diesel buddies
The 190D looks pretty modern for 1984. But even discounting the bones of the 300SD to being developed in the last ’60s/early ’70s, it’s the car I’d rather drive out of these two. Really not an old diesel fan, though.
W116. I grew up with ’70s and ’80s Mercedes, and always enjoyed driving my dad’s straight-6 W116. I didn’t enjoy troubleshooting the vacuum leaks that would render the door locks and HVAC partially or fully inoperable, but that’s just life with older Mercedes Benz.
*Even* with the weird paint? I’m keeping the weird paint.
My first W123 had been repainted at least 4 different colors, and was (maybe roller painted?) banana pudding yellow when I got it. The trim on the doors had been painted on, since the actual rubber/plasic pieces were long gone.
My second one was plastidipped black. I think it might have been silver underneath? I never peeled it off.
The most expensive car in the world is a cheap Mercedes-Benz.
As a Mercedes-Benz owner – No.
If you do your own work, the ones made in the very early 1990s or before can be quite cheap to keep operational. Avoid anything that is later/more computerized than that, have a tool set, keep all of the maintenance up to date, and with the ability to fix it yourself, you’ll come out ahead. Parts will be rapaciously expensive, but when you replace those parts, it will be as good as new and you won’t have to worry about that part again for some decades to come.
The 300 SDL I used to own turned out to be cheaper to keep on the road per mile and per year than a 1996 Ford Contour I owned before it. That impressed me, because the Contour was damned cheap. That also included an automatic transmission rebuild for the 300 SDL in those miles, which I paid a mechanic $2,500 to do.
This car regularly made long road trips across the USA for my job. I absolutely needed something capable of reliably doing so, and that 300 SDL, even with over 250k miles on the odo, served me well. Had I been making payments on a decent $12k-15k 5-7 year old used car for that duration, I’d easily have paid $5,000+ more on the whole over the years.
It looks like the price has been lowered to 2700 for the S class on his Craigslist ad.