The Hipster's All-New Love Affair With The Mercedes-Benz 300TD Wagon — Is It A STUD or DUD?

To be 100 percent clear, here are some things you need to know about me.

1) I do not live in Williamsburg;

2) I do not live in Austin;

3) I don't wear vegan Saucony shoes; and,

4) If it's a choice between a bike and a vehicle with four wheels, you better believe I am hopping in the auto.

Not everyone sees the world this way. They prefer their Duck Dynasty beards, craft beers and paying $72 for eggs.

Turns out they've also been fans of things like Saabs from the 1980s and old-school Mercedes-Benz 300TD wagons. While I can certainly appreciate the affection for quirk, the Mercedes actually is a damn fine automobile.

I know, as my grandfather had a bright orange 300D sedan. You can rack up the miles on these things for days and, I must admit, at some point in life I'd love to drive a 300D just to see why my grandfather connected with that particular pumpkin orange three-pointed star — he said it was "English Red." There's stories of these generation Mercedes products lasting for up to a million miles.

Having said all of this though, I've got to ask: In 2015, is the Mercedes-Benz 300 a STUD or DUD? Are these hipsters onto something or is it merely hype?

...I mean it literally. This thing will. Not. Die.

“You cannot kill them,” Phil Skinner, Kelley Blue Book’s collector car market editor, said recently. “They just keep on running. It’s Mercedes technology—and on a station wagon! It’s the perfect combination.”

Jonathan Klinger, a spokesman for car insurer Hagerty, said almost the exact same thing.

“If you say ‘overbuilt, overengineered, bulletproof,’ this is the era and the series that comes to mind,” he said. “This is literally the car you cannot kill...

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TomM - 11/16/2015 7:22:35 AM

+2 Boost

It is neither a stud or a dud. It is simply a vehicle for which there is a need - that is not being filled by current production - IE- a mid-size station wagon - at an affordable price. None of the manufacturers of the big selling Mid-size cars - Camry-Fusion-Malibu-200-Altima-Accord (et al) - sell a station wagon in the Usa - although most sell them in Europe where Station Wagons are still viable. While Mercedes does sell a current Wagon - it is not in a price range that would sell to these consumers.

Add in the fact that the car is still a viable option due to its reliability - and you get a reasonable choice. For Years - I always had either an AMerican Full Size Station Wagon (I had lots of kids - my own - and Foster kids) or Mid-size (Taurus/Sable was great). They were for people who wanted the ability to transport lots of people or gear INSIDE the car (So no trucks) - AND have a vehicle that handled and looked like a car. I cannot count the number of camping trips we went on with them.

My current Chrysler Mini-Van is simply not the same - although it is the closest we get to one now. I do not want an SUV - but they replaced the Station Wagon in most lineups. I would like to see the return to station wagons - at least in the compact class - the European Focus Wagon and Cruze Wagon were really nice.

MDarringer - 11/16/2015 8:46:31 AM

+1 Boost

I've driven a 300D. It was actually the first Mercedes I experienced. It belonged to one of my "grandfathers" and he loves it. He still has it to this day. The engine pulled well, but automatic transmission seemed to shift hard--definitely not smooth--and he assured me that was how it was supposed to be. The car felt solid and safe and would settle in and cruise for miles.

As for hipsters, I have no use for their self-important, pretentious kind.

mre30 - 11/16/2015 10:22:18 AM

+4 Boost

This is one special car and it was the start of my love of all things, Mercedes. I was a teenager in suburban NJ in 1985 who had just gotten his license.

My uncle from Rockland County NY (he was the "rich uncle" - he owned a stamping plant, and I remember asking my dad how I could get into the stamping plant business so I too could one day drive a Mercedes)went on vacation for a month each year and asked us to "drive" his car so it would start when he got home. His was a 1982 300TD - gold with tan MB Tex interior. My inattentive parents did not notice how much I was driving his car and I put about 1,000 miles on it - in the process getting my first speeding ticket (42MPH in a school zone)- during the month.

Lots of turbo lag, though peppy once the boost came up, turn signal stalk action to die for, great brakes, solid as a rock. Every time I see a hipster driving one (most have been converted to vege-diesel by this point), I get a pit in my stomach at my long lost youth!

One of the best cars ever, I would say - in the same class as the E30 BMW 3-series range, 1983 to 1992. They will never build cars like those from that era again!

nguyenvuminh - 11/16/2015 1:16:54 PM

+1 Boost

Hart to Hart - a 450 SL (then replaced by a 380SL later) for Jonathan Hart, a 300TD wagon for Mrs H, and a Corniche that gets shown once in a while.