Unbelievable: a Mercedes W123 completely flooded in a garage after the DANA storm in Valencia, Spain, started on the first key.
The extreme storm DANA that hit Valencia and its surroundings caused many human and material casualties, with more than 220 people losing their lives. Many cars were caught by the storm in underground garages which were completely flooded. This was the case of a Mercedes 300D W123 equipped with the famous 3-liter, 80 hp in-line five-cylinder diesel engine (OM617).
The car belongs to Ivan Felisi Rubio and was parked in the underground parking garage in the small town of Algemesi, 45 minutes south of Valencia. He explained to the Spanish newspaper El Mundo that the car park was completely flooded, with the water reaching 1.5 meters high in the streets. He was therefore unable to reach his Mercedes until after the emergency services had removed the water from the underground parking lot, which did not happen for several days.
In the meantime, the car was completely covered with water. Because the water was dirty and muddy, the interior was covered with mud up to the ceiling. The water also reached the engine.
After the garage was drained of water, the owner fitted a new battery, removed the water from the intake filter of the engine (it’s a naturally aspirated engine – editor’s note), and checked the oil level.
Surprisingly, although it has 500,000 km on board, the car started on the first key, and the owner wheeled it out of the garage, as seen in the video posted on YouTube. The car not only started on the first key but as you can see, the headlights and wipers worked perfectly. Apparently, the braking system was also in perfect condition.
The Mercedes W123 was produced from November 1975 to January 1986 in limousine, coupe, and station wagon versions, with 2.7 million units in total, being one of the most sold Mercedes in history. The 300D’s diesel engine was produced from May 1978 to August 1979 in an 80 PS version, and from September 1979, power was increased to 88 PS. In October 1980, the turbodiesel version with 125 PS was introduced.
The Mercedes W123, along with the W124, is one of the most reliable Mercedes models in history. Today, some units are still running as taxis in extreme heat in Africa, with hundreds of thousands of kilometers on board.
The car’s owner, Ivan Felisi Rubio, who owns several other Mercedes classics, says that these models are of much better build quality than modern-day Mercedes models and can start up again even after going through massive flooding.
After the floods, the owner took the car to a car wash to get it cleaned and washed. He said he wanted to dismantle part of the passenger compartment to remove water from the hard-to-reach areas. He is convinced that after a thorough cleaning, the car will run for another 500,000 kilometers without any problems.
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