I photographed the Mercedes-Benz 300TD you see below in Australia a couple of weeks ago. It was parked in a small town in Victoria, right in the middle of a residential neighborhood, and it looked like it hadn’t moved in quite some time.

The 300TD is quite rough around the edges. Australia’s humid climate hasn’t been kind to the body, and a closer look reveals the front end has been rebuilt. The right headlight is from an early, low-spec model like a 240D, and cracks in the paint tell us the fender used to be dark green. Perhaps this wagon had a violent encounter with a ‘roo one night.

It’s worn and tired, but 300TD values are going up so this one has plenty of potential. For the time being, however, it’s being used to store surfboards.