A real stand-up guy
Selling cars can be a stressful business. It may provide an easy laugh to poke fun at dealers, or criticise, but after a good three months of false dawns, oft-disappearing viewers and ultimately disappointing lengthy email interchanges, the W123 has gone. Kris Arvind, a budding stand-up comedian, has picked up the baton – let’s hope ownership doesn’t rob him of his sense of humour. In fairness, the buying and selling process wasn’t exactly easy for either of us.
I’ll be honest – upon reflection, £7000 was a bit ambitious. I’d have been overjoyed with £6k. But when Kris found a dab of rust at the base of the door that I hadn’t noticed, even that seemed a little unrealistic. Still, Kris seemed pleased with the car – but it’s not actually for him.
YYB 350S is a 60th birthday present for his father, Devji. He spent a long time in South Africa, and idolised the W123s built at Mercedes-benz’s East London factory. And to think my dad was happy with yet another book on jazz interviews for his last anniversary… We shook on £5300.
The only problem for Kris was getting home from the test day. The BMW 3 Series E36 he turned up in had overheated at Peterborough Services while waiting for me to turn up. We’d hoped the problem would have resolved itself by the time we’d returned, and we thought it had – but Kris got halfway back home to London when the 3 Series gave up the ghost.
Better news for the Mercedes – all was sorted for a couple of weeks later, and after the paperwork was done, it was time to say goodbye to the W123.
Upon reflection, though my time with YYB350S wasn’t always easy, and that my aim to improve my mechanical ability didn’t happen, I’m still glad I itched the W123 scratch again. Though not the most exciting of cars, they’re full of character and great to bimble around in. For taller drivers there’s bags of space, too.
The good news is that Kris made it back down the A1 in the Mercedes in fine form, something his BMW didn’t. It’s now waiting for a spot of fettling before summer’s enjoyment – I wish Kris and his father well.
A few weeks on, do I miss the W123? Not really – but then I am being kept busy by the lift-off oversteer tendencies of my new toy, an Alfa Romeo 147 GTA.