Another new purchase

[KenM]

Well in the spirit of numerous non W116 purchases that people have made lately I thought I would join the club and I am now the proud owner of a 300TD.
Oh yes, not only my first 123 but a diesel. It's in pretty solid condition overall with only minimal surface rust in a couple of spots and none in the tailgate!
It's fabulously comfortable to drive but after V8s boy is it slow, she's no street machine that's for sure. You can really tell how well built these things are and should last for ever with some routime maintenance.
Here are a couple of pics, I don't have the data card and I don't know what the 992 code refers to, the original owner was the Korean embassy in Sydney. I haven't found any missile launch buttons or ejector seats so it remains a mystery. I've attached a pic of the options plate, what confuses me is the two digits at the end of the second line. Normally you have the digit for the country code, and there is a 9 there for Australia but there is also a 2, does this mean anything to anyone? Could it have been spec'd for here and Germany at the same time?
Cheers,

[nathan]

Absolutely awesome. Along with the 6.9 and the G. The 123 wagen is the ultimate merc imay realistically own. Cool

[Beastie]

The W123 TD has got to be among the top ten best Mercedes-Benz road cars ever made, surely. Or at least among the top fifteen. And one with little rust and some sort of interesting history is a very nice acquisition indeed. May I ask of the mileage? By the looks of it, it has no tow bar and has likely never been stressed or strained to anywhere near its limits. Oh man, with the roof racks and everything, it is very nice. Very nice. Looks like one to enjoy, to the extent that one can enjoy a land-barge.

The 123 is just about the best car they ever made, and you've got it in the definitive estate version, with one of their most renowned engines, and yours has seen a relatively cushy life... Ah jeez, you're killin' me here. I've got a real soft spot for these. It's lovely. I'd say you've done very well for yourself.

No idea what the 992 refers to. Very interesting though. Maybe it's bullet proof or something. Only one way to find out.

[Squiggle Dog]

That's a beautiful wagon. I've always liked the 300TD. It's amazing how much of a difference in performance a turbocharger makes on the 5 cylinder, but it was not available on the W123 prior to 1981. What year is this one?

[KenM]

The car is an August '82 build but registered as a January '83 car. A turbo would be very nice, along with a 5 litre donk, however I know I'm going to come to admire this car just as it is. It's tempting to say I got lucky with this purchase but really I've been looking for a wagon in better than average shape for 3 years now and I actually did my research before the purchase, unlike previous purchases, so when this came up I was ready to grab it.
Anyway, I have some clues for the 992 code, it has an electrically operated passenger side mirror, is this normal? It's not shown in the owners manual so could be something different. Also, the glass all around is really dark, not like the heat treated glass on my 116 but it's a blue or dark grey colour, even the windscreen. It's all Securit glass, has the original screen too so it must be factory.
Here's a pic of the passenger side mirror,



and the toggle switch in the centre console that controls it,



and is this the normal pattern for the tex in a W123?, it's different from the 116,



car has done 270,000 k's so should have plenty of life left in her yet.

[Squiggle Dog]

I think the Tex style changed after 1980. Before then they used the same style as the W116, or a different wider seat style.