Yes,

I have owned several of these cars in addition to having several friends and co workers who own them as well. To be blunt and to the point its obvious to me that you have had little experience with these cars and quite frankly are in the dark about some important knowledge in order to service them correctly. If your ever in the Atlanta area I would be glad to show you two correctly tuned OM-617 series engines in my 300SD and 300D that both have in excess of 300K on them each that don't smoke. In fact I would even be willing to drink coffee with you as you thumbed through my Bergsama Motorworks Diesel Performance Tuning and Repair manual so you could perhaps have a better understanding of how to work on them.

You are right about some of the later model diesel engines however as there have been several recalls and repairs made. If memory serves me one of those recalls was for the trap oxidizer on the OM-603 series engine which is a much later design than anything that appeared in the 123 chassis car. I don't have much confidance in any of the later model Diesel engines after the OM-617 but then again Volvos made after the 740 make me really nervous as well. :)

Thanks for catching my gramatical mistake. Perhaps you should trade your wrenches for a red pen and serve the world in a different way. Out of politeness to the other people reading this exchange I don't plan to respond to any further comments. Your more than welcome to e-mail me directly with any more information that will convince me that the two fine automobiles in my garrage are smoke belching junkpiles.

Yes,

I think a lot of the common misinformation about diesels is spread by people stuck behind city busses and other vehicles that do belch out huge clouds of smoke. Additionally some of the "badly designed" diesels such as what General Motors offered in the early 1980's are to blame for this as well.

I do most of my own service work but "critical" things such as injection pump timing and valve adjustments go to my highly skilled MB mechanic. The same holds true on my Volvo. Jobs that are really messy or that require skills that I do not possess are left for the professionals. I am sure that many people here have learned the hard way that its important to go to a specialist for their "weird" car so that they get someone who know's what is going on. Volvo's and Mercedes are engineered "differently" than the common domestic and Asian car that so many McMechanics are used to. Specific knowledge is critical as are high quality original parts. Fortunatly there are so many Volvo and Mercedes lovers out there that both of those critical elements are abundant.

Btw Im jealous. Not only do you have a 280SE but you also have a 780 Bertone Coupe. :)

Yes.

Unfortunatly a lot of Jap cars have this same issue. Following your maint schedule usually keeps you out of trouble.

Hmmm,

I have heard about the climate control issues but never experienced any major issues. As for resale it depends on the area your in. Here in Atlanta Ga you can pick up 123's pretty cheap. Even at 3-4K a car that can easily go a million miles and has an abundance of cheap replacement parts to go even farther if you have the patience is a cheap car.


There are two schools of thought when it comes to automobile ownership. There is the expensive route and the cheap route. The expensive route involves buying a car as cheaply as possible and then trading it in constantly to avoid doing any major service work to the vehicle in a false effort to save money. The Financing costs, Insurance costs and resale value costs easily outweigh any major repair costs. The Cheap way involves buying a high quality car and spending a good amount on one that is the one you want and keeping it as long as you can. Over 20 years or so even a $2,000 repair is cheaper than going through 5 or 6 cars to keep from writing a big check.


The reason I bought my 240 is its a cheap and high quality dependable car that I plan on keeping a long time. Same thing for my 123 and 126. In comparison to the "new car shuffle" it is a very cheap way to own a vehicle. My S70 was one of the most expensive cars I ever owned. At about $600 a pop for every service visit and constant problems covered under warranty and then the insurance costs and finance costs and about $20K of resale value loss. On both Benz's I spend less than $600 per year in service costs each and have yet to be stranded from either one (something I could not say about my S70). Hopefully the new 240 is nothing like the S70.

I do agree there are "some" expensive aspects of the MB product line there is stupid cheap and smart cheap. Smart cheap involves spending more money to get a high quality vehicle that will last and stupid cheap involves trying to spend the least money possible and getting screwed in the process and having to buy multiple vehicles and loosing money in the process. As well Even at the 3-4K figures you claim Volvo 240's are not far behind Mercedes in resale. When I was looking at my Wagon I was told to start at $3k and start deducting for quality issues.

Considering the reliability and longevity of both the Volvo 240 and the MB 123 cars and their relatively low entry prices I cant think of cheaper cars to own. On top of being cheap to operate they are both quite safe and comfortable vehicles.