Motor/Mouth is an ongoing series about WFMU staffers and their vehicles. This installment is about my current car.
Chris T. (NIghtmare Lounge / Aerial View / Communication Breakdown Archives)
Main form of transportation: 1983 Mercedes 300D
Mileage: Approx. 224,000
Where did you get it? On eBay. It was in a town near Cherry Hill, NJ. It took three buses to get there from Hoboken.
What made you pick it? I first read about the Mercedes 240 Diesel in either the Village Voice or the New York Press (I don't remember which). The article described the 240D as being a bullet-roof city car. I also borrowed a friend's 300D and liked it. I picked my particular car because it was in great shape, had never been in an accident and was $3,000.
How long have you owned it? 6 years.
How much longer will you keep it? It's all about the corrosion. Rust never sleeps.
Favorite thing about it: The sunroof.
Least favorite thing about it: Since the accident, water gets in the passenger footwell. The A/C doesn't work (though I think the new auxiliary fan, yet to be installed, should fix that) and the driver's seat should be rebuilt. The foam is shot..
Rate your satisfaction level from 1 (least) – 10: 8.
What is your dream form of transportation? Friggin' flying car. An auto-gyro. Failing that, I want: diesel engine; 4-wheel drive; convertible top; automatic transmission (I like a car that shifts itself).
Anything else you’d like to mention: About six months after I bought this car I was in accident while on the way to WFMU to do "Aerial View". An 18 year-old girl, with her father in the passenger seat, turned left in front of me by the Target store in Jersey City. She miscalculated how far away I was and I hit her rear bumper with my right fender. I eventually got her insurance company to pay for everything but it was a RPITA (real pain in the ass). More pictures after the jump.
Gorgeous!
Posted by: Joe | May 10, 2009 at 04:13 PM
I bought the '83 300 TD wagon about six years ago, and loved it! It drove great, and there's something kind of cool about staring at the star on the front hood while driving along. It cost about 3 grand also. I was told that as long as I changed the oil regularly it would last forever. I had a great Mercedes mechanic (Dieters of Oxnard CA) who was an old german guy that really knew his Benzes.
Then came the Shell Rapid Lube incident.
I took it in for an oil change, which was done by a Shell Rapid Lube that doesn't exist anymore. They didn't put the oil filter on right, all the oil leaked out and the engine blew up.
I almost cried. I figured that I would have that car until my kids got out of college, and now I was out. I had to sue the rapid lube dealer, and after just about a year, I get a $10,000 check. The lawyer and legal fees took their chunk out, and I bought an '89 MB Wagon which looked pretty sharp but never really worked as well, which I sold last summer for a 2002 Xterra, the first car I've ever owned that had a cup holder.
I miss that wagon. Good luck with your ride.
Posted by: Rick Garcia | May 10, 2009 at 11:51 PM