[V8] A V8 Avant in my future?

[Roger M. Woodbury]

Yes, yes, it's all true:  I am repeating myself in my senility!

But the more cars I see rolling down the road, the less impressed I am and
the more I believe that all the best cars have been built.  I think the '87
300DT wagon to be one of them.  For that matter, ANY of the later 300D Type
W123 Mercedes wagons were terrific, too.

Here's the link to the one that prompted my current
rant....http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/GARAGE-KEPT-DIESEL-WAGON-RARE-3RD-ROW
-LOW-MILES-CLEAN-/330584058753?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item4cf8586b81.  Note
the interior.

Now there are probably some stories here...the extra plug on the left rear
flank was placed there, why?  Early cellular antenna, perhaps?  Also note
the right side headlight wiper is screwy, and I wonder why the dealer didn't
fix that before putting the car's pictures up on eBay.  I wonder if the car
might have been hit and repainted?  

But note the interior:  never seen one of these before in a US car, but this
appears to be a car made for and imported to the US, by Mercedes.

Eight days to go in the auction and the bidding is at $4500 or so.  

I am not in the market myself at this point.  But older cars represent
terrific value, all things considered.  One of my favorite independent
mechanics is a died in the wool GM guy.  He has done some work for me in the
past, (NOT on my Audis, but on my "other" kinds of vehicles).  His own
personal family car is an '97 or '98 Chevy Suburban, now passing 300,000
miles, and he also subscribes to my "all the best cars have been built"
'club'.  The reason is simple:  parts are plentiful and cheap for his type
of vehicle, and there has been no substantial improvement in Suburbans made
since the end of the "old style" body in 1999.  The newer versions are more
complex, more electrically connected, but generally perform the same way,
get the same relative fuel mileage and offer little more value per dollar of
acquisition and operational cost than the older series.

If the arch enemy rust can be kept at bay, the older the better and they
will run forever.

Roger 

-----Original Message-----
From: cobram at juno.com [mailto:cobram at juno.com] 
Sent: Sunday, July 03, 2011 10:12 PM
To: rmwoodbury at fairpoint.net
Cc: v8 at audifans.com
Subject: Re: [V8] A V8 Avant in my future?


It's deja-vu all over again.  Seems you (we've) had this conversation quite
a few times.  A few points, of the less than 1500 '87 300TDT wagons sold by
MB in the US, ALL of them had leather interiors AFAIK.  If it looks like MB
tex, it's leather.  Rust isn't bad at all, just changed the rear brake lines
and hoses, did the fuel lines while I was there, everything else is still
solid.  Trap oxidizer was removed by Mercyless Benz long ago on their dime,
and they installed a new turbo, manifold and front exhaust while they were
at it.  You'd be lucky if Audi could find a model of this vintage in their
fiche, let alone fix it for free.  They seem to go in the high 5's around
here..IF you can find someone willing to part with one.  I get a "if you
decide to sell" note on my windshield about once a month.

BCNU,
Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes.

"Roger M. Woodbury" <rmwoodbury at fairpoint.net> writes:

> The most interesting car of the whole bunch that I saw this morning
> was an
> '87 Mercedes 300D-turbo wagon in Texas. This particular example is 
> an
> extremely interesting one because it appears to be a US spec wagon 
> but with
> cloth interior.  To my knowledge Mercedes has not imported ANY MB's 
> without
> at least MB-tex interior for thirty or more years, so this one is 
> and odd
> ball.  It also has heated seats, not particularly common with MB's.
> 
> The 6 cylinder turbodiesel was in these cars only one year, and was
> a
> magnificent engine with a LOT of power and terrific fuel mileage.  
> Plagued
> by trap-oxidizer and thermal reactor problems, Mercedes warrantied 
> their
> systems for the life of the car, and I wonder if this car has had 
> the "fix",
> or if Mercedes would still honor their original warranty.  I had an 
> '87
> 300D-turbo sedan for a short while and as a driving car for long 
> distance,
> they were just wonderful.