Surviving cars

[kru0042]

Sirs,

One often hears statistics about how after 25 years, such and such percentage of cars (usually Japanese) are still on the road. I bet W116s would be right up there. How would such data be compiled and verified?? Anyone..... of the W116 cars produced, how many are still roadworthy?
My uncle had a 260D which he brought  from Germany post war and it outlived him!!!! Fairly typical story I would imagine.

Greetings from Canada, home of the 2010 Winter Olympics!

[brettj]

Yes, it would be very interesting to know how many W116's are still on the road. Mercedes must have a count somewhere.

[Yesmar]

i know that 75% of all land rovers ever built are still on the road today

[nathan]

when u say they are still on the road, does this include those stuck on the side?!
all i can offer is knowing that of 227 aussie 6.9s imported to oz, there are about 180+ that i have personally recorded as still being present (although this includes some 20 grey imports).  i imagine smaller engine variants may not have such a protected status as the 6.9s
regards
nathan

[KenM]

This figure of 70 odd per cent of land rovers ever built still being in use/registered/running/under repair/under water has been kicked around for at least 25 years, there can't be any reliable way of verifying this now, but it would have to be a fair bit lower than this I woulds imagine. I don't think 116s would fare too much better percentage wise, again pretty well impossible to verify. I see about half a dozen 116s out and about every week and not many land rovers, but then I'm more tuned in to looking for them than land rovers.
Cheers,
Ken

[Martin 280s]

Sadly, I think I've seen more wrecked/poor condition W116s in Brazil than good ones.

Not only do Land-Rovers have this myth but so do Rolls-Royce, I believe it's supposed to be 90 % of them.

[Yesmar]

haha reminds me of that thread about the drug dealers having those jousting sessions with brand new 6.9 w116's to settle arguments. lol

[Yesmar]

besides my 280s and that 450se i hastily took apart
I've only ever seen one other w116 in person, in my whole life and that was at a euro car show

[brettj]

Besides my 450SE, I've seen two 300SD's, one 280SE and a W116 wagon in my area, Western Massachusetts. On a regular basis I see tons of 240D's and 300D's as well as all types of W126 models on the road as well. I guess Western Mass drivers love old Benz autos!

[GreaseMonkey]

There was known to be a Crayford converted 116 wagon in Massachusetts for a while belonging to a Porter Houston,  according to John Green's registry info, it travelled to the Boston Area where it was used for many years by a Mercedes Dealership in Cohasset Massachusetts.  but I believe this was the metallic red one that then surfaced in Georgia before going to California, and after a quick paint job tart-up sold recently on ebay for US$23,000.
It may have been sold to Germany where a couple of other US spec cars have been bought and restored.
My W116 280SE Crayford converted station wagon though, has today, coincidentally, been delivered to a container terminal at Port Botany, Sydney for shipment to it's new owner in Malaysia.
Hope it is going to a new owner who can finish waht I started.
Chris M.

[brettj]

I don't recall if it was a 280 or 450 but I do remember it was light metallic blue and was in excellent condition. I saw it last winter in Northampton Massachusetts.

[Janse]

I dont think there are many w116 left in Norway. I have heard it had a bad reputation in the 80´s and that people drove them to death instead of taking good care of them. Therefore you don´t see many of them in good condition these days. The ones I have come over are mostly in scrapyards and the are in a pitiful state...