Buying guide questions W123 230E

[Roygarth]

Hi Brains Trust

A few questions as thinking its time to have one of these...

-Are the 5 speed manuals OK, or is car better suited to the Auto box.
-Are the sunroofs problematical re. water ingress and subsequent rust issues?
-Should one avoid the plain 230 as less power than the 230E?
-Anything particular to look out for?

Thanks
Piers

 

[neilrr]

Giyf.

 

[Roygarth]

??

 

[neilrr]

Google. Is. Your. Friend.

There are about a million pages on this, including many on this forum.

https://www.google.com/webhp?comple...te=0&hl=en&q=Buying+guide+questions+W123+230E

 

[grober]

Body/chassis Rust---- Chrome exterior trim -----and interior trim/seats are the hardest to replace. I would suggest a larger engined / injected car would be more at home in today's traffic conditions. The best advice I can offer- do the research then buy the car NOT the other way round.
and maybe wait for this book to come out? http://www.w123world.com/

 

[grober]

Body/chassis Rust---- Chrome exterior trim -----and interior trim/seats are the hardest to replace. I would suggest a larger engined / injected car would be more at home in today's traffic conditions. The best advice I can offer- do the research then buy the car NOT the other way round.
and maybe wait for this book to come out? :: W123 World - Mark Cosovich ::

PS Mercedes W123 Buyer?s guide

 

[Scott_F]

Hi Brains Trust

A few questions as thinking its time to have one of these...

-Are the 5 speed manuals OK, or is car better suited to the Auto box. Yes and Yes
-Are the sunroofs problematical re. water ingress and subsequent rust issues? Yes
-Should one avoid the plain 230 as less power than the 230E? Yes
-Anything particular to look out for? Just about everything as the youngest are nearly 30 and the oldest nearly 40 years old.

See above.

 

[Roygarth]

Thanks Graeme and Scott for some very useful information.

No thanks to 'Angry Neil', who would appear to be advocating that we abandon forums altogether and stick to Google!

 

[neilrr]

Thanks Graeme and Scott for some very useful information.

No thanks to 'Angry Neil', who would appear to be advocating that we abandon forums altogether and stick to Google!

I'm advocating that you don't be so damn lazy & do a search before coming on here expecting people to rehash info for you that's been readily available online for years, as 10 seconds searching will reveal.

If after searching you can't find what you need, by all means ask away.

 

[Roygarth]

I'm advocating that you don't be so damn lazy & do a search before coming on here expecting people to rehash info for you that's been readily available online for years, as 10 seconds searching will reveal.

If after searching you can't find what you need, by all means ask away.

That's one of the funniest (albeit slightly sad) posts I've ever seen! I'm literally pissing myself. Who the hell do you think you are? Are you some sort of a self-appointed arbiter of what can and can't be asked on this forum? Do you sit at your pc waiting for the chance to jump in and hand out your rulings?

May I humbly suggest you go away and get a life.

 

[cb1965]

Gentlemen, come on now. This is like being on Scoobynet LOL! It's not how things are done on MBClub in my experience so far anyway.

There is merit in both searching Google and asking on a forum so how about you agree you are both right and we all play nicely.... after all we are all MB enthusiasts at the end of the day!

What do you say?

 

[Chromeeda]

I'd classify the possible problems in order of importance:

1. Rust - floor of car, rear axle and so on
2. When was it last started - if you suppose that it's been long ago - pour some motor oil in the cylinders firts, wait, pout again, wait and after that try to start the engine. Measure the compression of each cylinder (on a warm engine with the proper tool).
3. Manual box is the better choice, but you should check the clutch condition and change the oil in the box!
4. Differential oil change - check if drivetrain is balanced.
5. Braking system on old cars is to be checked BEFORE driving it home after the purchase!

Looks like that's all I remember for now.

 

[Roygarth]

Gentlemen, come on now. This is like being on Scoobynet LOL! It's not how things are done on MBClub in my experience so far anyway.

There is merit in both searching Google and asking on a forum so how about you agree you are both right and we all play nicely.... after all we are all MB enthusiasts at the end of the day!

What do you say?

I agree!

 

[Roygarth]

I'd classify the possible problems in order of importance:

1. Rust - floor of car, rear axle and so on
2. When was it last started - if you suppose that it's been long ago - pour some motor oil in the cylinders firts, wait, pout again, wait and after that try to start the engine. Measure the compression of each cylinder (on a warm engine with the proper tool).
3. Manual box is the better choice, but you should check the clutch condition and change the oil in the box!
4. Differential oil change - check if drivetrain is balanced.
5. Braking system on old cars is to be checked BEFORE driving it home after the purchase!

Looks like that's all I remember for now.

Many thanks.