Our Old Friend
Memories and mementos from 42 years with our faithful 1977 Mercedes-Benz 240D
Article – William Cleary
Images – Richard Simonds, William Cleary
One almost never purchases a new automobile with the intent of keeping it four or five decades, especially in this time of planned obsolescence and recycled ownership. This certainly applied to us when we purchased our 1977 Mercedes-Benz 240D for tourist delivery at the factory in Sindelfingen, West Germany, on April 20, 1977. But the car became a member of our family and I can’t imagine our life without it.
Nancy and I were students at the University of California at Davis when we were married in 1968. Having minimal financial resources (we were poor!), we could not afford a proper honeymoon, but we promised ourselves we would take a real honeymoon someday and do something special to celebrate our marriage. This opportunity came after four jobs, four moves, two mortgages, and our first daughter; it’s when we decided our dream trip to Europe was now or never.
But if we were going to spend a month traveling over there, what would we drive? Following on the heels of the Arab oil embargo and the resultant high price of gasoline, we decided something diesel would be best. The options came down to a VW Rabbit diesel or the 240D: Should all choices be that easy, life would be simpler. And though the choice was easy, its reception by Nancy’s father was not. He was concerned we were overextending ourselves; besides, nobody in the family had ever owned a Mercedes-Benz, and there was even some question of the status such an automobile conferred on us.
On the road in Europe
We had been invited by our good friends Lothar and Irma Schneider to vist them in Tübingen, Germany, conveniently close to Sindelfingen where we would take delivery of our very special gift. The factory was an immaculate monument to Mercedes-Benz, but I could not wait to drive away and begin our adventure .
Disappointedly, as we got on the Autobahn, the wheels were bouncing so much that we had to return the next day. The Continental tires, as the explanation went, were out of round, and replacement with Michelin tires solved the problem and allayed my anxiety. The original Michelin spare tire still resides in the trunk, never used.
Our visit with the Schneiders was a wonderful time of driving through the Black Forest, eating at small inns, visiting the Hohenzollern Castle, and being introduced to the German way of life. Lothar is the only person I have ever allowed to smoke in our 240D, but “when in Germany, do as in Germany.”
This was just the beginning of what became a wonderful month of travel in our new 240D through Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Holland. Nancy had majored in German at Davis and this was a wonderful opportunity for her to practice her language skills.
We primarily wanted to visit rural areas and meet the people. We stayed in their homes whenever there was a “Zimmer frei” (room available) sign posted. There was usually a standard charge for the night, but we began to notice when we parked our new Mercedes-Benz in front, that our fee was a little higher. It became part of our strategy to park around the corner.
Driving through little villages was especially delightful – even as negotiating our way through the narrowest of streets with exposure to oncoming traffic on one side and building walls on the other created some intense drama. The thought of taking a damaged car back home was unnerving, and indeed, the first little nick in the paint occurred in Munich at 500 miles when the passenger door was opened into a hidden guardrail. Oh, well.
Driving the Autobahn was equally interesting as we tried to keep a controlled speed during the break-in period while fast-moving Porsches were flashing their high beams behind us. And in the age before GPS with only foreign maps available, getting into cities was easy; escaping was not. Extricating ourselves from Vienna was a lesson in patience. But it was all an adventure. Were this trip to be repeated, we would spend less time in cathedrals and museums, and more time just meeting the people.
Home to California
The exhilaration of driving such a wonderful automobile through Europe made leaving her in Antwerp for the crossing to San Francisco a bit unsettling. But our little 240D did arrive in “The City by the Bay” in good shape, ready to begin a new journey; she hasn’t been out of California in the intervening 42 years.
There were family excursions throughout the state over the years, but predominantly, her mileage was accrued on the Monterey Peninsula as my daily driver between Carmel and Pacific Grove. What started out as the family car became known as “Dad’s car” and eventually referred to simply as “the Mercedes.”
Other vehicles came and went in the family, but the 240D dependably drove back and forth to the office on a daily basis. Although friends called her my “brown Mercedes,” I alone knew she was really Colorado Beige.
Garaged through the years, “the Mercedes” was detailed once a year, had her fluids changed adhering to precise German specifications, and received all Mercedes-Benz recommended servicing and repairs by her three successive mechanics.
For the record
Being somewhat an archivist, although not by profession, I have managed to retain and organize most receipts and documents related to four decades plus of ownership of our 240D. Some friends have described my documentation of this “just a car” in interesting ways, but it has always seemed appropriate to do so. As the years of faithful service added up, one binder of documents became four, but even as age-related problems arose, I never reached the point of throwing in the towel. Mercedes-Benz automobiles, after all, were intended to last a lifetime.
Our 240D is still all original, with the fitting of Mercedes-Benz replacement parts for worn-out mechanical components being the only changes. From a short distance, she looks the same as when we picked her up at the factory. Although there are some parking-lot dings, the original paint has the depth and shine of a new car, again typical of Mercedes-Benz. There are few concessions to age, and indeed, only I know the small chew spot on the front passenger seat that my dog Arlo created 35 years ago. The upholstery is MB-Tex Tobacco and otherwise perfect. With 250,000 miles on the odometer, the old car runs strong, doesn’t leak oil and smokes minimally, as all 240Ds should do.
Acquiring the 240D was a financial stretch for us. Although it was the least expensive Mercedes-Benz available and clearly an entry-level car, there was still an air of status associated with owning a Mercedes. As noted, this was a minor issue with relatives and with some Europeans we met. Nancy and I were hard-working wage earners; we knew that with a bit of initiative, we could afford a quality vehicle over an inferior one. Our teenage daughter, however, much preferred being picked up after school in the 240D rather than what she called the “VW hippy van.”
When I retired eight years ago, the daily driving ceased and the 240D took a well-deserved rest, with only occasional outings on Carmel Valley Road. Last year, her mechanic of the past 10 years, Charlie Marlow, suggested she make an appearance at Legends of the Autobahn® in Monterey, California. The reception of the car at Legends and her unusual provenance led to this article in The Star magazine. The future journey of our Mercedes-Benz remains unknown for now, but assuredly it will be good. Our family is grown and gone and happy with only the memory of “Dad’s car.” For as long as Nancy and I can foresee, our 1977 240D will remain nestled down in her own garage.
SPECIFICATIONS
1977 Mercedes-Benz 240D Sedan (W123)
TYPE: Four-door, five-passenger sedan
ENGINE: 2,404cc, overhead-cam inline-4 diesel • Bosch mechanical fuel injection
TRANSMISSION: 4-speed manual
HORSEPOWER: 62 at 4,000 (SAE)
TORQUE: 97 lb-ft at 2,400 rpm (SAE)
LENGTH: 190.9 in • CURB WEIGHT: 3,120 lb
MAXIMUM SPEED: 86 mph • FUEL EFFICIENCY: 25 mpg
FOR THE RECORD
ORIGINAL PURCHASE PRICE: $12,102.901
SERVICE AND REPAIRS: $38,947.44
DIESEL FUEL: (10,034.4 gallons) $13,907.99
CALIFORNIA REGISTRATION: $5,290.00
TOTAL COST OF OWNERSHIP: (excludes yearly insurance) $70,248.33
1. Includes retroactive Mercedes-Benz price increase, sunroof, marine insurance & shipping, wharf fee,
3% customs duty, CA sales tax (6%), CA license, 1 month of road insurance for Europe, documents fee
Memoriabilia
1. The original European Delivery sales invoice.
2. Jaro Stephan’s business card; he sold us our car.
3. European Delivery Program key fob.
4. European Delivery Program taxi transfer certificate, Stuttgart to Sindelfingen.
5. European Delivery Program specifications included a first-aid kit and 50 liters of fuel.
6. International driver’s licenses were mandatory in 1977.
7. The factory delivery ticket that we found in our car when we took possession.
8. We had a wonderful time traveling around the continent in our new Mercedes-Benz.
9. Our temporary German license plate.
10. Opening page of the first of many notebooks devoted to recording all our car’s fuel, fluids, mileage and repairs.
11. Map of Holland from our European tour.
12. Since Day 1, all scheduled maintenance has been recorded in the maintenance booklet.
13. Box for Bosch diesel injector; we had to stop in Heidelberg and have new injectors installed under warranty.
14. While in Germany, we visited our friends Lothar and Irma Schneider in Tübingen.
15. Shipping tag removed when we picked up our 240D in San Francisco.
16. The current fuel, fluids, mileage and repairs notebook open to notations on the most recent page.
17. Sample illustrated pages from the original 1977 owner’s manual include a cutaway technical drawing of the diesel engine and a handy reference guide for the vehicle’s dimensions.
18. Back in 1983, our daughter Cicely found the 240D’s trunk a roomy playground.
19. The factory-supplied first-aid kit remains pristine, the contents still sealed in plastic.
20. At the urging of our mechanic, Charlie Marlow, Nancy and I displayed our 1977 240D, along with all the records and memorabilia we have collected over the years, at Legends of the Autobahn in Monterey, California, in August 2018.
21. Our 250,000-kilometer grille badge.