1979 Mercedes 230

IrishRover

A friend of mine has recently acquired this 1979 LHD Mercedes 230.
I was never very keen on this colour (I don't know what its official name is but I always called it "canary yellow") but now I think it makes it look very "of its time" and so is a feature of the car in my eyes now.

He's given it a bit of a clean and it's come up very well. There doesn't appear to be much wrong with the bodywork. I think this car might be worth something to the right person. What do you think?















Can anyone say what this button is on the top right? I thought the symbol might mean rear window demister but we don't know really.

junkyard

I think the're in limbo a bit at the moment as regards prices.
Has the VRT been paid on it? Another few years and they will be a classic i'm sure. I would think the car would make between 800 euros and 1500 euros but I could be wrong. I have four stashed away myself.

IrishRover

Wow, four 230s? You must know them well so. What appeals to you about them?

What's that button for then?
I don't think the VRT has been paid btw.

junkyard

Ejector seat? Only joking I've never seen a button like it before, usually the sunroof button is at that spot. I'll check and see if any of my cars has an owners manuel and I'll get back to you.

PaulK_CCI

the button is either for heated seats, but then there should have been two, so I guess it's for the optional Engine Compartment heater...

The fact that the car is LHD I presume it would have originated somewhere in Sweden, Finland, Norway.... where this optional extra was almost an neccessity with temperatures dropping to well below the -20's in the winter.

Regarding prices for these cars, they're still fairly low in Ireland, especially for reasonable to fair examples. Here on the continent it's a different story, because of the more 'generous' Tax exemption band of 25 years in most countries. The 123 series has already been playing a major role in the market place and prices for excellent, low mileage, very well preserved examples are fairly strong to steep. A low mileage 300TD Turbo with all the options (cruise, leather, el windows, abs, you name it) is currently being viewed as the most desireable and practical of the 123 series, and is currently on the market through a Mercedes specialist for a very hefty pricetag of 16k!!!!!!

IrishRover

Ah, didn't know that 123 was the chassis type.
Was there really an engine heater option? How does that work?
I think the car may have come from Turkey though.
I wonder does the symbol look like a radiator and could it have anything to do with the viscous fan coupling? The switch can be pressed up or down but returns to the mid position in the picture. I can't remember if I tried the button with the engine running though.
Interesting about the tax situation in the Netherlands.

MercMad

Great car those !!

Built like the proverbial "brick sh1thouse" !

I'll be looking for one myself very shortly. Its LHD status would mean that its value over here would be very low. A mint 200 went for €250 about 6 months ago for example !

I have seen a lot of these lately and their values are wild............as are the descriptions their owners give regarding condition !

A few crop up on eBay but again unless you can inspect each car you are basing your purchase on a picture of uncertain age or even origin !

PaulK_CCI

MercMad wrote:

Its LHD status would mean that its value over here would be very low. A mint 200 went for €250 about 6 months ago for example !

Woww, if you ever see another mint lhd pop up for under 500 please let me know, I'll have five of them please!!!

but as usual I would seriously suspect that the car would not have as MINT as the owner would like us to ave believed. Did you actually inspect that car

The 123 series are very popular, and there are a lot of them out there, hence the enormous price differences. They are so robust, that they can easily be run on a very short 'shoestring'. It does mean however, that the hapless soul you sell it to after you're done with it, will have some serious bills to enjoy in the near future. That's why you can pick them up for under 1k and top models with low mileage/one owner/prisitine to mint condition for up to 10k and more...

IrishRover wrote:

Was there really an engine heater option? How does that work?

There was. Not sure how it works exactly. I would imagine a standalone electric heater in the engine compartment, raising the temperature above a certain level. I have seen electric heatercores that would run straight down into the oil pan of Swedish VW Beetles, Volvo's and Mercedes 114's, heating the oil temperature above a certain temperature. You plug them into your house with a standard 220v plug so that you could warm up the car before you leave the house, or leave it on overnight to avoid it freezing solid.
I have also seen Petrol operated standalone heaters in the 'front' boot of VW's... wouldn't feel too safe using them, but you'd use them to warm up the car in extreme cold.

The fact that the car came from Turkey, doesn't mean it would have originated from there. Loads of cars were and still are shipped to the Middle East and Africa, especially battered old Mercs and Peugeots.

MercMad

but as usual I would seriously suspect that the car would not have as MINT as the owner would like us to ave believed. Did you actually inspect that car

.........yes I did inspect it ! It was LHD German import, only 66,000 miles on it !

How do I know it went for €250 ?.............because thats what I paid for it !!

It was solid.............zero rust anywhere, interior was indistinguishable from new !

I would've made quite a lot on it but I had a friend who had some money troubles so I told him what it needed and passed it on................."What comes around goes around ehhh "

........been looking for one ever since !!

PaulK_CCI

MercMad wrote:

.........yes I did inspect it ! It was LHD German import, only 66,000 miles on it !

How do I know it went for €250 ?.............because thats what I paid for it !!

It was solid.............zero rust anywhere, interior was indistinguishable from new !

I would've made quite a lot on it but I had a friend who had some money troubles so I told him what it needed and passed it on................."What comes around goes around ehhh "

........been looking for one ever since !!

Now that is what I call a serious bargain !!! You did well on both picking it for that sort of money, and giving it away to your friend!!! Just to give you an idea, this mint 200 petrol from 83 with a 5 speed box, tinted and electric windows, and just 89k km's is selling at a very good and reasonably priced Classic Car dealership in holland for 5,950 !! The car is from Italy and genuinely squeeky clean!

Mercedes 123 200 petrol 1983
Mercedes 123 200 petrol 1983
Mercedes 123 200 petrol 1983
Mercedes 123 200 petrol 1983

I doubt very much you will ever find another one for that sort of money

IrishRover

Thanks for all the info guys. It looks like there's a button in the same position in that 3rd pic, Paul.

Sounds like there's money to be made importing some classic (or just old) cars to Holland too!

junkyard

Thats a small price to pay for a quality car like that. When you see the the s***e Mercedes are churning out nowadays, buying a classic certainly looks like a good idea.

MercMad

I doubt very much you will ever find another one for that sort of money

...........tell me about it !! Still I did the right thing at the time !

Anyway if I were to spend that kind of money I would want either a Coupe or 7 seater in RHD and automatic !

I wouldn't pay near that for a manual LHD car.......though I imagine it would be worth it if I were based in a LHD Country. Certainly looking for a RHD car limits you to UK rusty junk, overpriced stuff or Irish wannabees !!

PaulK_CCI

MercMad wrote:

Certainly looking for a RHD car limits you to UK rusty junk, overpriced stuff or Irish wannabees !!

EXACTLY! and that's why I tend to concentrate on very good, low mileage original LHD cars. No point wasting your time trying to find that one elusive good car, when there are so many good cars out here on the continent.

This particular car was just the first out of the bag to show what sort of prices are being paid for these cars on the continent, but I would personally not find it suitable for Ireland, because it's only a 200, relatively low spec and from 83. It would be silly to pay VRT and tax on an 83 car, whereas I can offer 114's in petrol or diesel, also relatively low mileage and also in rustfree condition, for similar or less money, giving the new owner the benefit of VRT exemption, Tax exemption, etc...

Alan T

Hi,

The switch is the rear window heater if I'm not mistaken but you'd have to try it out as I'm basing my guess on the 200 RHD model.

Sepaking of which, I have an 81 that I need to give some TLC. Goes like a dream and hopefully won't ever need a new car. The body work needs some work and I want to get it done completely - stripped back to bare metal etc.

Can anyone receommend a really good specialist restorer. It was done once before but they either didn't give a S***E about their workmanship or couldn't see the greatness in these cars. Ideally the restorer would be based in Leinster area but am happy to travel if neccessary. Also, any indications of costs of getting them stripped back to bare metal, rust treated and then fully resprayed?

Thanks,

junkyard

To do a decent job, stripping the car and stripping the paintwork, welding in repair patches and rust proofing I reckon you could spend up to 4.5 to 5k doing it right. You really have to weigh up the costs. The other option is to go shopping for a good one and be willing to spend 7 to 10k. Check out www.classictrader.nl and see what the're making there and remember they're LHD and most of them aren't vintage yet so you have to pay VRT on top of that. They're most definitly one of the most underrated cars to be had considering they are almost vintage (the first of them from next year) and such a modern car to drive and well respected throughout the world. Its such a pity that Mercedes-Benz threw it all away when you see the s***e they're churning out nowadays. I think the last good Merc. was the 126 series and that's also destined for classic status. I would say VW/Audi/Mercedes group have without doubt made some serious error's of judgement as regards build quality with their modern cars and a s**t attitude to their customer's, I find it incredible that they have any customer's left. A few of the other marques would want to watch themselves too and learn from VW/Audi/Mercedes group's mistake's, namely BMW, they also have a bunch of d***heads working for them and trying hard to be some form of superior lifeform.