Some people like having flashy new things, whatever the cost. But others want to get their money’s worth out of a purchase, and won’t accept anything less than near-immortality from their possessions. If you are of that latter persuasion, you’re in luck – today we’re looking at two sedans that might just outlast you.
Yesterday we looked at two trucks, one with twice as many cylinders as the other. By a huge margin, you chose the smaller of the two, electing not to drive something the size of a cruise ship that gets eight miles to the gallon. But those of you who did advocate for the great big Dodge did so passionately, and I admire you for that. But you’re definitely in the minority.
Me, I’m abstaining from this one. I already have a truck I like better than either of these, and it’s right in between them, size-wise. I know, I know; I don’t let any of you vote “neither,” but I get to. It’s just how it is.
There’s an old urban legend about an eighty-year-old guy who walked into a Sears store carrying a wad of shredded rags that used to be a bathrobe and demanded a replacement. When the clerk refused, he pointed to the barely legible “Lifetime Warranty” tag inside the robe. “I’m still alive,” he said, “and I want a new robe.” It’s one of those stories that probably isn’t true, but I really want it to be. And if it is true, I really want to know what the old man was driving. I bet it was something like one of these two. Let’s check them out.
1981 Mercedes-Benz 300D – $5,000
Engine/drivetrain: Turbocharged 3.0-liter OHC diesel inline 5, four-speed automatic, RWD
Location: Burbank, CA
Odometer reading: 126,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
A lot of appreciators of long-lived, durable items dismiss luxury brand names as frivolous crap. And in many cases, they’re right, but not always. Mercedes-Benz these days may be just another luxury badge, coasting on past glories, but what we have here is one of those past glories: the W123 chassis sedan. It’s not luxurious by today’s standards, full of high-tech gizmos and bragging rights; it’s just a carefully-designed car built very, very well. Quality is a form of luxury too, one that’s not so easy to find these days.
Most W123 sedans sold in America were diesels, and you’re probably familiar with the glacially slow 240D and only slightly peppier 300D. Mercedes was well aware of the deficiencies of these indestructible but low-output engines, and in 1981 added a turbocharger to the US-market 300D, which brought about forty extra horsepower to the party and made the 300D a more respectable performer. This engine has a reputation for clattering and whooshing its way to some astronomical odometer readings; this one, at only 126,000 miles, is just nicely broken-in.
It looks pretty good inside; M-B Tex vinyl is incredibly tough and long-wearing. The seat springs and horsehair stuffing can sag and need rebuilding, and the driver’s seat of this one does look a little droopy. And it has a ratty-looking cover on the steering wheel that isn’t doing it any favors. The armrest appears to have popped a seam as well. But it’s all fixable, and worth fixing.
The paint is dull and faded, there’s a blemish on the front bumper, and it’s missing a piece of trim from the right front door. And that’s just what I can see; there are no photos in the ad of the rear of the car. The cosmetic condition of this car shows that these things are going up in value; a W123 this shabby was about half this price only a few years ago. I guess that means it’s worth shining it back up.
2005 Toyota Camry LE – $4,995
Engine/drivetrain: 2.4-liter DOHC inline 4, four-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Kent, WA
Odometer reading: 181,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
For four decades now, everybody has known that if you want a reliable and durable car, you get a Toyota Camry. It doesn’t hurt that they’re also nice cars, comfortable to ride in, and pleasant if not exciting to drive. And unlike a lot of cars, they just got better with each successive generation. They have such good reputations that even beat-up examples with 300,000 miles on them are in demand. This fifth-generation Camry is still a ways under 200,000, and it’s certainly not beat-up.
It has the quintessential Camry drivetrain configuration: a four-cylinder engine with an automatic transmission. It works, it’s enough power to get around, and it’s easy to maintain. This one has a timing chain instead of a belt, too, which eliminates one maintenance item. It’s being sold by a dealership, so we don’t get any useful information about its condition, just a list of options and features. But that’s the beauty of shopping for a Camry; it almost certainly runs and drives perfectly.
At first glance, the interior of a Camry looks like any other car: lots of cloth and plastic, nothing special. But it’s all very well-made, and it holds up extremely well. This one has a hole worn in the floormat from the driver’s heel, but otherwise it looks neat as a pin.
Outside, it’s a perfect answer to an Autopian Asks question from last week: it’s hard to get more inconspicuous than this. Hell, unless you look closely, it’s hard to tell there’s a car in the photo above at all. It’s in good condition, though, with no rust and only a few blemishes.
I’ve always liked having things that last; I still regularly use tools that I’ve had since high school, and I have shirts older than Thomas. And after years of buying cheap cars that were on their last legs when I got them, I have an appreciation for vehicles that can stand the test of time too. These two have a hell of a lot of life left in them, if you treat them right. Which one looks like the better start for a long-term relationship?
I’d go with the Camry, after trying to negotiate the price down a grand or hopefully two. I’d do directly to the local car audio shop for a nice Car Play and speaker upgrade, make sure it’s got good tires on it and cruise. Given my current driving habit it would probably last a decade without major work needed.
You forgot the ~$130 or so for a decent set of floor mats, but yeah, that’s likely all you need.
Weathertech or those weird super expensive wicker(?) ones people were talking about a few months ago.
I clicked on this post thinking “man this is the easiest choice in the world” and then saw the W123’s pics. Yeah, sorry, even for me that interior is a “pass”. And the Camry is hella clean.
It’s easy as W123. The VX30 Camry with the 2.4 engine is a fantastic car, but $5,000 for a base model is highway robbery. I’ll take the rolling bank vault and not worry about getting to my destination on time.
What is so base about it? Power windows/locks/mirrors/driver seat, A/C, cruise control. All it is really missing over an XLE is leather and alloy wheels.
I got the Lexus equivalent (ES330) with 95,000 miles for 3 grand with four fresh Michelins.
No salt corrosion but Florida sunburn on the paint.
But those deals typically come via heirs of deceased seniors looking for painless transactions. Needed a cam belt and valve cover seals.
Gave it to my oldest grandchild.
It’s not the old Mercedes I really have my heart set on but I take the train to work and don’t really need what the Camry is offering so I’ll take the W123.
Mercedes for me today. A German tank of a car that will get me to the ice cream stand, slowly. Also reliable enough to do the occasional road trip.
An M-B like that is also on my short list. I don’t do as much daily driving now that I WFH so I might as well do it in style in that Benz. Also, I already have an 09 Corolla 5 speed with 250k miles so why would I want a Camry?
This isn’t even close. The XV30 is a damn fine platform, and this one looks very clean and well cared-for. This is why one of my kids has one, and the other kid wants one.
The W123 is, as the author described, one of the best cars ever built. But this one… what the hell happened? MB-Tex shouldn’t look like this after so few miles. And what’s up with the dash destruction around the ignition switch?
Yikes! If this is what a Cali car looks like, I’ll stick with Midwest rust.
Seriously- it looks like a flaming raccoon got loose inside that Mercedes
RABID flaming raccoon. With a serious attitude problem.
The sun does a real number on these things (ask me how I know). If they’re not garaged, then this is what happens over 40 years or so.
Diesel fumes give me an instant headache, so I’ll have the Camry. I like being anonymous on the road anyways.
Headaches for you and everyone else.
I do not get the love, hell, even the tolerance, for those vile stinkpots.
They all belong in the damn crusher.
Merc for me. There’s nothing wrong with the Camry but it lacks any soul. The Merc will be slow but the styling is timeless. Also I can tinker on it to bring it back to its glory days.
Cars don’t have souls. They slew their Gods a millennia ago. They were more trouble than they were worth.
A ’70s or ’80s diesel Mercedes-Benz is on the very short list of vehicles I must own in my lifetime (the list is down to 3 at this point). I can’t believe I haven’t bought one yet. I love these cars.
Realistically, the Camry would be a better daily driver, but it is a car I would abandon on the side of the road if something expensive broke. It is a great transportation appliance, but it is not a vehicle I would care about beyond its ability to get me where I need to go.
I voted for the Benz because, while I may not want it as a daily driver, this is a vehicle I could see keeping forever even if it doesn’t make rational sense.
This is 100% my mindset as well. Camry is fine but boring as sin, the Benz might take 30 seconds to get to 60, but it oozes so much character that I don’t care at all.
A neighbor had a W114 220D and I got to drive it once. I owned a 2001 Jetta TDI for 16 years and put 166,000 miles on it and it was a better car in almost every way. I have a soft spot in my heart for W123s, but this one is not the one.
Todays choice would depend heavily upon what you plan to use the car for.
For a weekend and ocasional use car, the MB is far more interesting and, as noted, will likely increas in value as time passes. But not as something you really rely on to be trouble free. Yes, the powertrain of the MB is pretty bulletproof, but the car is borderline ancient and we all know that stuff just gives up with age no matter how well desiged. Seals dry out, rubber cracks, things corrode. The MB may run till the earth falls into the sun, but you’ll be replacing increasingly hard to find parts that broke from UV exposure all the time if you use this alot.
If it’s for the daily slog to work through traffic in all weather, or just to have an extra car that you know will start when needed, the Camry is far more modern and comfortable and will likely have less issues overall. It’s just a dependable, unassuming appliance for the road.
For me, I’ll take the Camary becasue when one of my my daughter’s cars won’t start on a cold morning, I can throw her the keys to the Camry and know it will just go with no drama. I don’t need another collectible that I have to tinker with all the time, I have enough projects.
W123 Benz for sure. At the end of days, the only cars left will be 123s, and 400,000 mile Lexus LS400s. That engine is overbuilt to the point of madness. And talk about low running cost, you don’t even have to buy fuel! Just filter the cooking oil from Whataburger down the street.
It will still be slow, but it will be comfortable, and smell like French fries.
Even the small time restaurant next to ours has a company come and get their waste oil now, pretty sure they aren’t giving it away now.
That is awesome! That’s what old Rudolf invented it for. Where I live a lot of places still have to pay to get their used oil taken away.
That Camry has the same engine as the 2010 Scion TC I have to teach my kids to drive with. That engine will burn oil till it starts to eat itself to death. There is a fix that involves replacing the rings around the piston but it’s generally not worth that level of effort. I’ll take the slow W123.
Mercedes for sure. If I’m going under with maintenance costs, at least I will look good. The grill alone is worth it. Plus the 3 point hood ornament. Clean it up, heck if I’m going broke, have the paint redone. True bonus for us salted Midwest denizens: no rust
The Camry is a fine car, and well past the troubled Car Talk-documented Toyota Camry Syndrome/flexplate eating years. It’s rust free, unassuming, an car and nothing more.
So I’m going to fill up at the diesel pumps instead. Maybe shim the pump a smidgen like Grandpa’s Rabbit. The Merc is interesting, and that grabs me more than a car that’s just going to be a spare for when a sibling has a breakdown.
Besides, my sister and her wife drive a Camry just like that one, but brown. We don’t need two in the family. No dupes.
The engine/transmission issues are not usually make me get rid of a car. It is usually the livability issues. With the Toyota I could find parts from junkyards for the rest of my life. Voting toyota.
Once they get to a certain age I’ve noticed they get picked clean of all the parts that typically fail in short order.
Would love the Merc, but I’m taking the Toy.
The type of cheapskate who buys something like one of these is surely going to notice the difference in gas and diesel prices (nearly $1.50/gal locally) and make their decision accordingly.
I’ll take the Mercedes. It’s slower, it’s heavier, and both are insanely reliable. However I won’t be able to say “let’s take the Mercedes today”. They are harder to find parts for I’m sure but when all the little things are fixed…it’s perfect
No, it means they’re asking too much. I’ve had quite a few Benzes over the years including several diesels of this vintage. They are getting rarer, but 5k still gets one in way better condition than this. Virtually everything in these pictures is worn, faded, or cracked aside from the dash somehow. My guess is this sat out in the sun for 30 years with a dash mat on it, not collecting any miles. The only saving grace is that it doesn’t appear to have any rust from the pics, but I’d bet the rear window seal is shot. As much as I like Mercs and especially the old diesels, my vote is camry.
Mercedes going up in price…buy now, drive, flip in a few years.
Begrudgingly I would take the Camry. The Stealership connection here makes me want to massively low ball them and even if I managed to get the price down to 3K I would want to really inspect that thing. the Dozer Merc is honest I suppose, but honestly not great. I almost expect Lou Dorchen from Hot Tub Time machine to walk out and extol the benefits of that BioDiesel rolling Fries (not Coal).
Mercedes for me. I love the classic looks, and if it makes its own cloud of smoke to cover my getaway.
Plus, no dent in the rear bumper? That Camry ad is 100% fake.
I guess I’ll go Camry, even though it’s so boring it hurts. If the Benz was about a grand cheaper it’d get my vote.
Toyota maintenance vs Mercedes maintenance? Yeah.
Plentiful, and cheap parts.