Looking at a '79 Diesel Hipster Memecedes on CL right now

>>14730081

5th Gear put explosives in the engine bay of a diesel mercedes and it still started up.

Africa loves Mercedes
It will run forever.

Link to CL?

Unless you're poor as fuck it won't eat your wallet, parts are easy to find and cheap. Not to mention the w123 community is huge so if anything goes wrong you'll be able to find a guide that walks you through the repair.

>>14730081
It will eat your wallet if you don't service and repair it yourself. It's 37years old, so of course some things will need fixing. The thing about those cars is that the drivetrain can run pretty much forever if you keep up with maintenance and fix the small shit that happens (leaky seal, bad hoses, radiator etc.)
At that age, rust is definately something you need to look at, and anything made out of rubber that has not yet been replaced will need to be rather soon, most likely. Don't expect it to be a perfectly pristine vehicle with absolutely nothing ever breaking. Small things will go wrong, it's a classic car after all. These cars just aren't prone to catastrophic failures, and are still somewhat economical to run by american standards.

I drive a 1994 Mercedes C180 (gas). If the maintenance was alright it will run forever. Look for rust on the sides of the window and in the bottom of the trunk. Look if it shifts nice and try to spot strange sounds while riding. Drive the car from the spot it was parked and look for fluid on the ground. If non found it is good.

>>14730081
>I'm constantly hearing "it'll eat your wallet" and "it'll run forever", so which is more true?
Both, negroid. If the car is kept, you'll do fine. If it isn't, you'll have yet another reason to end your empty, meaningless existence.

Whatever was ahead of the curve at the time (such as the climate control if so equipped) will inevitably break, everything else will work forever.

>>14730081
MBTex was developed using Nazi space magic (look it up), thats why the interior of old mercedes is always in good condition.

>>14730081
vw diesel guy but I've checked out these things and know diesels. what people mean is that the engine is legendarily long lasting, but a car of this age will require other repairs fairly frequentlyi. Parts and advice very available for cars this old, because there is such a following. Engine compartment a bit cramped... some oddball bolts and parts, but do it if you like the car and are willing to work on it

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>>14730081
Rust monster, some really fucking ridiculous design choices that probably seemed like great ideas back then and just generally not very maintenance friendly if it's not related to the engine.

CV boots for example are a fucking bitch to replace, you WILL need a buzz saw and a welder if you want to do it properly.

Springs are separate from shocks which is nice and terrible at the same time.
Nice if you need to replace the shocks, terrible if you want to replace the springs.

If you're looking for a first car or DD, I'd steer clear unless you have nerves of steel, patience of a Buddhist monk and wallet of Paul Allen.

Okay, it's not THAT expensive, but as a rule of thumb for all mercs: If you can't afford two of them, you can't afford the first one.

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The engine is fairly accessible and easy to work on though, there's just about enough room for everything down there, as long as you remove the air filter housing.
Generally you'll rarely have to look down there though, unless it's that piece of shit valve cover gasket leaking again.

>>14730081
It better be a turbo or you might as well kill yourself.
Non turbo engines are not made for turbo as they were not built and tested with a turbo due to german autism could not handle the PSI with a turbo installed.
An OM617.912 is almost a world apart as an OM617.952.

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>>14730081
>Nazi space magic.

Finally found my bands name! Thanks, Anon!

>>14730081


It'll run forever as long as it's been maintained. Usually the valves need to be adjusted every 75-100k. The injectors can be problematic due to flow issues when they get up there in miles. I'm almost at 300k on my 83 300TD and aside from routine maintenance the only other thing I've changed is the injectors. I'd check the coolant overflow to see if it's clean and without traces of oil and make sure the blowby isn't retarded. I'd also go with the turbo diesel if you have any desire to go over 60mph and merge effectively.

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>>14732217
>and wallet of Paul Allen

>>14732796
TRY GETTING A RESERVATION AT DORSIA NOW, YOU FUCKING STUPID BASTARD! YOU, FUCKING BASTARD!