“The greatest cars ever made.”

-Mercedes-Benz Enthusiast Digest

About 12 years ago I discovered the magic that is the Mercedes Benz diesel engine.

I was looking for a cheap but interesting vehicle to drive for work.  I saw an ad on the Craigslist for an ’81 Mercedes 300D.  Hmmm…diesels get good gas mileage, right?  It was in the Michigan megalopolis of Homer, about a 90 minute drive.  Got there about dusk and looked it over.  Not too bad!  Test drive….everything necessary worked.  I couldn’t believe what I was about to do…so I called my wife on the test drive.  “WHAT AM I DOING?!” the words of madness poured forth.  I decided to sleep on it.  Why not?  To quote George Carlin “Take an effing chance!”  So I bought it for $1100. 

Once I got it home and started cleaning it up, I found a large yellow softball on the floor behind the driver’s seat.  “Well this is kinda wedged in there…” I pried it free only to reveal a HOLE in the floorboard.  Oh that hole was where a driver’s seat bolt was.  Oh the driver’s seat is suddenly cockeyed.  Sigh.  I dealt with that car and its foibles for about 3 months and sold it for $400.

I had the diesel itch.  In 2020 I found a beige ’82 300D being sold off in a collection.  Everything checked out rust-wise (no hole in the floor).  Bought it, sold it 6 months later.  That one will be documented at a later date.

In 2023 I decided to scratch that itch again.  This time I needed the big one, an MB 300SDL.  My son was nearly as tall as me and wasn’t fitting in most of our car’s back seats.  SDL stands for “sonderklasse longwheelbase”  I consulted the Mercedes master mechanic John Woods from WoodsandBarclay.com and he put me in touch with a guy who called him recently looking to sell a 1987 300SDL that John had sold him a couple years prior.  Sebastian lived in Seattle, WA so I took his word that it was a good car, bought it and had it shipped home.  It was as good as advertised.  Love that clankety diesel sound and the sweet smell of diesel exhaust.

I’ve made some repairs myself (radio, power antenna, heat control monovalve, oil changes) but had to shell out some big bucks for suspension repairs that popped up after 9,000 miles of ownership.  I’m driving her as much as I can on work days and the morning school run.  Clackety opulence.