Retro Review: 1982 Mercedes-Benz 300SD (Diesel)

Before diesel carried the unsavory reputation it has today, the U.S. was warming up to the idea of oil-burning sedans. But what John Davis called "the world's most expensive economy car" was more about luxury than thriftiness.

[gravytrain]

Just now saw this video. So cool. I'm 43, or will be soon, and I've been driving these old diesels since I was 19. You just can't beat them. Just yesterday I made a six-hour trip to buy another one. 1983 300SD with only 132K miles on it. My last one, which still runs, is a 1984. 752K miles. 703K before any engine work was ever done on it! I couldn't pass up the opportunity to buy this '83 which has been restored, with such low miles. This car will last me the rest of my life. Y'all can have your rice-burners and the car payments that go along with them. I'll stick to my paid-for oil-burner, lol! No auto manufacturer in the world will ever build a car that would provide the service, reliability, longevity, and simplicity of design that the old MB diesels did. And that includes MB themselves.

[billdenton]

I have an 88 420SEL (gas version with their smaller V8 at the time), same body style. LOVE the car. Bought it when it was 15 years old with 144, 000 miles...now has 310, 000 and will easily go 400, 000. I keep it showroom perfect. Only thing i had done was refurbish the front seats in the original design and leather. Original engine (no oil burning), and transmission (never a problem), original stereo and speakers (sounds great, speakers not blown after nearly 30 years??!!). Did I say I love the car? Never left me stranded, and is a serious wafter down the interstate. Great classic Bauhaus-influenced design. I also have a mechanic I hug....Classic German Motors in Pasadena, CA ...can diagnose/fix any problem. Best Mercedes mechanics ever. I realize at age 66 that this car will be my last one. In a class by itself (I also drive two early 2000's Jaguar XJ's... like them very much but complete POS cars). The Benz is the bomb!

[patrickmaloy]

In 1998 I bought my SD300 from elderly neighbors who were the original owners. Four years later I sold it to a young couple in 2002 with 235, 000 miles on it. They had it for five years, I saw it with kid seats in the back, and it later was sold to another couple who converted it to bio diesel. That young couple drove it for ten years, sold it and the SD300 now lives down my street with another young couple and looks terrific. Would I want to own it again? No. I spent a lot of money getting it put back in shape, spent weekends in junk yards pulling replacement parts, and the front end suspension was expensive to repair, but it's good to see that the SD300 lives on.

[generalzod]

back when mercedes & other german cars were well built & reliable instead of overpriced money pits when the warranty expires.

[jamesan]

My mom had one in the eighties. What A tank. Bulletproof engine!

[MrCarguy]

"west german"
holy shit this stuff is old

[eduardocontreras]

I drive this exact model almost everyday. I love it. It's pretty slow but once it gets going, nothing is stopping it. I am in the process of restoring the inside, the outside is impeccable.

[SK-dojq]

Hi, I'm an owner of a 96 Mercedes W140 S320 in South Korea. I used to own a 96 BMW E38 735i before my Mercedes. I sold the bimmer to my co-worker and she loves it. According to my experience, older German cars are reliable because they are so simple as hell. I bought my current car about 4 years ago. Of course, I got some expendable parts (alternator, starter, power steering pump, and fuel pump) fixed up just a month after I bought the car but I didn't mind because I thought that's what I was supposed to do to keep an old car for a long time. I sent those parts to an auto parts remanufacturing facility and saved lots of money. Ever since then, it still runs like a rock and hasn't given me any problem. My buddies who bought current German cars asked me how it is possible that my car has way less problems than their cars, lol.

[sashimimann]

My favorite Mercedes. The OM617 engine is a gem!

[carluvrsd]

These were the best cars available by far in the 80s. My family owned up to 3 of these at the same time, including my own throughout the 80s and early 90s. I love these and the sound reminds me of the good times of my youth. I started selling real estate when I was 18 and when I was 22 I bought a $37k 1983 300SD and had a car payment that was double the cost of my mortgage. They held their resale value well though, so it was not as foolish as it sounds.


I'd like to point out the acceleration tests in this video don't utilise the very low range 1st gear. You have to manually select it. It makes the turbo spool up faster and I usually shifted mine manually as I drove around in town and for on ramps. I could get 76 mph in the 1/4 mile and 0-60 in under 14 seconds. Cadillacs and lincolns with V8s were slower and got 40% worse mpgs. They were truly the best car of the 80s and in my opinion was the best built and best engineered sedan of the 80s. The engines proved to be almost indestructible with normal maintenance.


I truly love these cars but I can't say the same for the troublesome Audis and BMWs of the same era. Overall, they were no cheaper to own and maintain than my Mercedes even though they had lower monthly payments, running costs were similar and insurance was higher on gasoline turbos like my Audis.


Just driving a Mercedes-Benz S class made people assume you were successful. Fuel was so expensive in the early 80s that most people easily overlooked the soot and odors involved. Bear in mind that most gas powered luxury cars smelled like rotten eggs when driven hard in those days. When adjusted for inflation fuel cost more than double what it does today in the US. The great fuel economy and supreme comfort was why they sold so well in the US. I lived in Bellevue Washington and Newport Beach CA in the days I owned mine and they were very common. The 300SDL that came out in 1986 was the epitome of the 1980s S class diesels, Long wheel base, 6 cylinders and air ride suspension) but by the time they came out they were so expensive I never traded up. I switched to BMW and Audi products for the late 80s and early 90s then to Lexus because German car depreciation got worse and maintenance costs were so high on German cars. However, today I own 2 Mercedes 5 cylinder diesels, a wagon and a 300D 2.5 turbo sedan that I cherish.

[YouDontWannaFightMe]

These are quite possibly some of the best cars ever made in terms of reliability and build quality. They were way over engineered, but because of that, they will last forever with only basic maintenance

[deloreanman]

Back when Mercedes built cars to a tee, not a price point and you had to be well off or a trust fund baby to buy one. Now any schmuck who can afford a $399 a month lease on a C250 (a car with worse plastics than a 90s Hyundai) will find the 3-pointed star in their apartment building carport. Nobody has done this more than BMW...the Ultimate Leasing Machine. And somehow everybody still sees Mercedes and BMWs as aspirational and/or a sign of success. I'd buy one of these but I'd never buy a new one.

[richardmaciel]

I have this exact same car, same color, same engine, same interior. I love it.

[KayakTN]

"Test driving the Mercedes today.  Better wear my good brown suit."

[victordohleman]

My dad bought one in 1982 and later in 1985, after years of Caddis and GMs. It was a quantum change in terms of quality and modern design.

[omars.]

These 1980s Mercedes sedans had a presence that I just don't see in their current offerings. But maybe I'm just waxing nostalgic.

[johanslabbert]

As the ex owner of a W126 (1988 500SE in smoked silver), I can confirm that these are possibly some of the greatest cars ever produced. Certainly in the top 3 of best Mercedes cars ever, along with the W123 and W124 of course.

The W126 do require fairly expensive maintenance and an ongoing program to eradicate any rust as soon as it becomes apparent, but given those two, they are reliable up to stellar mileage.
Extremely satisfying to drive, exceedingly comfortable to ride in, bank vault levels of sturdiness, more than spacious enough for 4 adults and their luggage, and even after 40 years it’s still modern enough to drive daily without much hardship.

And lastly, the 500SE was wickedly fast, much much faster than its reserved appearance made it look. 😉

[steveespinola]

3:55 The test driver guy coming out of the car wearing a suit and tie with a briefcase and and a helmet on, LoL 😁 funny.

[HowardDaduk]

Iconic shape and style. You can see later 80's cars being influenced by this car. I can see some of the '86 Taurus in this, with the greyed out bottom panels and lower skirted real wheel wells.

[gabekremer]

I drove one of these 150k miles. Loved that car. And yes agree the brakes are damn awesome. They also drive very nicely at 120mph. The fuel tank is also bigger than anyone bladder. 6 hours nonstop driving is nothing. With I could find one in good shape to drive again.