1981 Mercedes-Benz 300TD Estate

Along with many other folks around the world, I’ve always been fond of the W123 chassis Mercedes-Benz. Clean, unmolested T models, or the estate versions seem to be much harder to find these than their sedan and coupe counterparts, though. Here’s a clean 1981 300TD turbodiesel with 142,000 miles on it near Memphis. That kind of mileage would cause alarm for many other vehicles, but for the W123 Benz, it merely scratches the surface when talking about the break in period.

The seller states:

This vehicle is finished in the classic MB color #623H Light Ivory . The H denotes the use of Dr. Herbert paint at the factory (Mercedes at the time used Glasurit paint, and Dr. Herbert paint concurrently). The interior is a very durable MB Tex finished in Light Tan. This is a special vehicle that was purchased new here at Mercedes-Benz of Memphis. This wagon was special ordered by it’s original owner, Mr. Donald McClure of Memphis.

Mr. McClure was such an avid fan of Mercedes-Benz vehicles, that he decided to personally take delivery of the vehicle at the Mercedes-Benz factory August 10,th 1981 at Sindelfingen Germany. Mr. McClure ordered this vehicle through the local dealership via the European Delivery program. This is an officially imported MB and not a grey market car. Mr. McClure selected the options and paid for the vehicle stateside. He then flew to Germany, toured the factory, and watched the car being built on the assembly line. Upon completion, he was presented the keys to the wagon, and went on a European vacation with the car. At the conclusion of the vacation, he returned the car to the Mercedes-Benz factory, where it was then shipped back to Mercedes-Benz of Memphis, and delivered to Mr. McClure.

The car has perfect books and records, when I say this, I mean it quite literally. The vehicle has never missed a scheduled maintenance service. Under hood detail on this car is some of the best that I have ever seen on a 123. There is no visible oxidation on the aluminum, and since the car has been here in Memphis, there is no rust, and the car has never been in salt. Keep this one thing in mind, you cannot duplicate originality at any cost. Notice the Cadmium plating on the lines.

Every aspect of this vehicle points to it being well cared for over time. The body is in excellent condition, and the paint is still excellent. The chrome is still very nice and has no pitting. The tires still have plenty of tread , the air conditioner is VERY COLD. The car has no known fluid leaks , and it has been serviced by my MB certified mechanic in the last 30 days.

While the seller pegs the value of this particular Mercedes at $16,500, the bidding with just over four days left is a tad over $8,000. I would suspect a value of around $12,000 to seem a bit more reasonable. From the bevy of service receipts, documents and history provided, though, this could very well be one of the best W123 estates on the market at the moment.

For a little more background on the W123, here is a period video (in German) from Mercedes-Benz highlighting “die mittelklasse” or the middle class Mercedes:

-Paul