Mercedes Motoring T-Shirts
Mercedes Motoring is specialty restorer of vintage Benzes I first discovered on Flickr. They focus on only a handful of examples at a time, meticulously bringing them into a state of nearly-new condition. Many they find to restore are already low in miles and well taken care of.
I bought the right hand side shirt from Mercedes Motoring yesterday. Why? For one, it’s my color. But, I have always lusted over older MB models, from the ones common when I was growing up (W124 & W126), to even older models from the 70s that epitomize clunky, chrome, clattery diesel style.
Classic brown Mercedes 220 in Ybor City
I’ve resisted purchasing one on the cheap though, because I am afraid of the reliability and affordability of repairs. After all, parts for a 30+ year old car can’t be common. The diesel engines are however known for their longevity, many serving as taxis all over the world, racking up 500,000 miles easily. Models like the 560SEL autobahn stormer are more grandiose, but far more susceptible to electronic gremlins.
My love for old ‘cedes is the way my dad feels about his 1969 Porsche 912. Brings back endless nostalgia and pleasure, even if it isn’t practical or safe for daily driving.
2011 Volvo V50 & 1969 Porsche 912
Mercedes Motoring produces the nicest restorations I have seen, and I would be so lucky to drive one at some point. Keep up the good work, gearheads!
4 comments
I bought a 1973 280C from JG Francis and Mercedes Motoring for 36K. It was not what I expected. After receiving the car, I spent an additional amount on mechanical repairs (coupe was getting hot and would die in start/stop traffic) and15K an COUNTING on rust repair – JG told me it was rust free. While he gave me $12K for rust repair, in my opinion he should pay for ALL rust repair. At the time of writing, it has been in the shop for 6 months for repairs (I have had the car for 6.5 months).
Before I received the car, I spoke with JG. He said the car was complete. However, agreed upon work was not done. The items included repair of headliner, replacement of wood dash and horn. After receiving the car and realizing the items we not not completed, I called JG. He said, oh, yeah, I will send you the wood and horn so you can have them installed. Only after I mentioned I was required to pay for the installation I had already paid him for was he willing to consider reimbursement.
All said, bad decision.
Thanks for the comment Scott! As you can see I wrote this blog post 3.5 years ago and never purchased anything from MM, just interested by their product. I’m sorry to hear your experience wasn’t good.
I bought a car from JG Francis and Mercedes Motoring as well … $35k for a 1980 300D….my experience was bad as well and highly regrettable… No rust but the car was grossly over represented and JG is entirely shady and avoids questions relating to the history of his cars because I suspect the history is suspect as is his acquisition and resale … Exercise caution and DO NOT buy a car from JG or ANYONE sight unseen.
Wow, guys, I’m so sorry to hear about your bad experiences with MM. I’m really disappointed that they’re so shady and unreliable. I (still) haven’t purchased an old Benz, but (still) plan to at some point. There’s a few places nearer to me in Florida that sell mint vintage Benzes – Mercedes Showroom in Pompano Beach being one.