Mercedes Benz

My story - I'm from Lebanon and I've always had a soft spot for old Mercedes. Back in Beirut W123s and W116s are commonly used as taxis, and you'd often see a W123 with 7 people sitting inside, bumpers falling off, bullet holes in the doors, holes in the floor but somehow it was able to do hundreds of kilometers safely every day (even if they did look like they were about to fall apart). Relatedly, when I was a kid just getting interested in cars the W126 chassis was in its prime, and I thought it was the coolest car on the planet and I always wanted one. Flash forward 30 years later, I moved to Santa Monica, California and decided that I would get a 1980s Mercedes. After seeing a few cars on Craigslist, I happened to be walking by an independent Mercedes mechanic in the area and saw the smoke silver nose of a 420SEL sticking out the driveway. I went over to investigate, and found that it was for sale! 217k miles on the clock, clearcoat was a bit faded but it was owned by the same guy for the previous 30 years, who maintained it meticulously and the mechanic gave me 80 pages of service history where I could confirm that it was in good shape. Many of the things Pierre mentioned on his channel were done, including a partial (not full unfortunately) front suspension rebuild, replacing all the vacuum actuators in the climate control system and everything worked even the electronic headrest adjustment and monovalve. I bought it for $2500, I've now driven it over a year and added over 5,000 miles and it has simply been the best car I've ever owned. I absolutely love it and the jobs I've done have been relatively minor. I hope to keep it for several decades to come.

I’ve had several Benzes over the years. Including a 560sl and a 300sdl. The 560 was my driving to the shore care. Absolutely trouble free for the five years I had it. The 300sdl was my favorite. I gave it to my nephew and told him that it would last his lifetime with just a little regular maintenance. One of the plastic clips holding the drivers window broke. It sat in his driveway for a year exposed to the elements before he disposed of it. My most recent acquisition is a W124 e300 diesel. It has the biodegradable wiring harness, which is causing some issues with the idle when cold. I have found a Mercedes tech out in California who is building me a brand new harness with Delphi wiring and connectors. He was also kind enough to warn me about the vacuum pump which will let all of it’s bearing loose into the crankcase, grenading the motor. I have a new pump coming from auto haus AZ.

My best friend worked as a diesel tech at a used car lot and brought home a 85 300SD. I purchased it from him for $800. Fell in love with it immediately. Havent looked back since. That waa late 2017