1985 Mercedes-Benz 280TE w/5-spd Manual

15 CommentsPosted as: ClearPOST COMMENT December 13th, 2022 at 6:29pm ESTmbheritage (90) Seller 1Thanks for the comments and bidding. Very close but not quite there for such a rare car. I'm happy to have a discussion with any interested party regarding a sale. MB Market can connect us. December 13th, 2022 at 6:26pm ESTmtbemail (22) 0RNM at the moment I betDecember 13th, 2022 at 6:24pm EST$17,000 bid placed by @ValleysUpDecember 13th, 2022 at 6:24pm EST$16,750 bid placed by @Alt767GeltDecember 13th, 2022 at 6:21pm EST$16,500 bid placed by @ValleysUpDecember 13th, 2022 at 6:19pm EST$16,000 bid placed by @Alt767GeltDecember 13th, 2022 at 6:18pm EST$15,750 bid placed by @ValleysUpDecember 13th, 2022 at 6:14pm EST$15,500 bid placed by @GJonesCADecember 13th, 2022 at 6:07pm EST$15,000 bid placed by @Alt767GeltDecember 13th, 2022 at 6:06pm EST$14,500 bid placed by @GJonesCADecember 13th, 2022 at 5:53pm EST$14,000 bid placed by @ValleysUpDecember 13th, 2022 at 5:43pm ESTmbheritage (90) Seller 2We have a ways to go here. Keep in mind I spent over $7k improving this rare 123 Wagon. All my service invoices will come with the car. I received the plastic fitted dash cover and will include that in the sale. The car is immediately usable and drives beautifully. December 13th, 2022 at 5:26pm EST$13,000 bid placed by @KcoglianoDecember 13th, 2022 at 4:35pm EST$12,000 bid placed by @ValleysUpDecember 12th, 2022 at 1:50am ESTDriveClassic (2) 0Such a cool spec on this wagon to be a final year 123 in green with the 5 speed! December 10th, 2022 at 6:51pm EST$11,500 bid placed by @KcoglianoDecember 8th, 2022 at 10:14am ESTmbheritage (90) Seller 2The car smogged no problem yesterday so a California resident can buy the car with confidence. Compression readings cold are (1-6): 115/110/120/110/115/120. We also installed the correct driver's side under dash panel - found it in Croatia! December 8th, 2022 at 10:10am EST$10,250 bid placed by @tcstrakerDecember 8th, 2022 at 10:09am ESTmbheritage (90) Seller 1@tcstraker No problem. Tires are dated 45th and 46th week of 2020. One is not dated but identical to the other 3 with regard to type and wear. December 7th, 2022 at 6:22pm EST$10,000 bid placed by @KcoglianoDecember 7th, 2022 at 4:17pm EST$8,123 bid placed by @tcstrakerDecember 7th, 2022 at 4:17pm ESTtcstraker (20) 0@mbheritage thanks! Love the radio trick! And date code on tires? Sorry to be a pest. Thx December 7th, 2022 at 4:03pm ESTmbheritage (90) Seller 0Thanks for the note @tcstraker. In fact when the radio is turned off, it swivels 180 degrees and does look like a blank off plate. Clever function to foil would-be radio thieves. Climate control works correctly at the moment with heat and ac. No warning lamps on. Headlights seem to be aimed well. Additionally; clock/passenger outside mirror/fog lights/rear window power switches/various gauges/front courtesy lamp function as well. Hope this helps. December 7th, 2022 at 1:27pm ESTtcstraker (20) 0Hi @mbheritage. The description says “aftermarket head unit” but looks like radio delete. Is there something behind that panel? Does climate control work properly? Any warning lights currently on? date codes on tires? Lastly, naive question… I don’t know headlight level adjustment existed. Are the headlights properly leveled as is?. Thank you!December 6th, 2022 at 12:17pm ESThobbsm3 (71) 0@mbheritage - what a great offering! I am the proud owner of one of the handful of 5 speeds 280TEs. They are amazing cars and great drivers. I feel confident driving mine anywhere and keeping up with today's traffic. And rightfully so, it is on my do not sell list. December 5th, 2022 at 1:21pm ESTmbheritage (90) Seller 0I just purchased a solid fitted dash cover for this car. It will be included with car. Compression readings coming shortly.December 5th, 2022 at 1:19pm ESTmbheritage (90) Seller 0Some background on this rare 280TE. According to Nitske's MB Production Models book, 1,329 280TEs were constructed in 1985. And of course, all those cars were European models. MB never imported a gasoline 123 wagon to the US, much less the top-of-the line 280 model. We received the now iconic 300TD models. Great turbocharged TDs bring a premium today. A US 300TD produced 123 HP while the Euro 280TE produced 185 HP, a full 34% increase over the turbodiesels. Nor were there any manual gearbox US models ever offered here. If you parse the possible number of similar cars now sitting in the US, the number is exceedingly low. Particularly accounting for the 5-speed gearbox. I doubt there are more than a handful of 280TE wagons in the US of any configuration. In my 31 years of business, I've seen only 1 other 5-speed TE. It was offered to me on consignment about a year ago with an asking price of $45k. It was far ahead of this Thistle Green car cosmetically but had the same mileage and felt generally the same. Ultimately the owner changed his mind about selling, noting he'd never find another one...December 4th, 2022 at 11:39am ESTmtbemail (22) 0Let's get this party started!December 4th, 2022 at 11:38am EST$2,500 bid placed by @mtbemailDecember 3rd, 2022 at 12:38pm ESTmtbemail (22) 0Really love this. Thistle green wagon would be an awesome Christmas present for myself haha. I would hate to bring this to a state with winter however..December 3rd, 2022 at 10:09am ESTHistoric_mtrcrs (12) 0What a beaut. Everyone likes the diesels stateside, but this is the S123 for me. All day everyday. GLWA!!