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W123 Saloon really wanted

The manual ones are awful. The gearbox and ratios leave a lot to be desired and also a long throw on the gearchange.

If the steering box isn't spot on, they can be frigtening at speed due to play and the huge steering wheel makes matters worse.

Apart from that, fairly easy to mantain, and very comfortable.

230e or 280e (injection) are about the only ones considering if you want some grunt out of the engine.

The one in the pistonheads advert is the 115 enigne with the stromberg carb. To be avoided....it is underpowered, a pain to keep in tune, and its manual.
 
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http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280391570573&ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:GB:1123


I'm off to have a look at this one tomorrow. It's the first one I will see.

It's a 200 Auto, with a short MOT and Tax - it looks like it needs some attention. The owner told me it has: -

had its aerial and star broken, some scratches and slow operation of the central locking. The owner thinks it gets hot in traffic. But it's cheap too.
 
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I spoke to Mark Cosovich yesterday... as always our chat lasted more than an hour.. he is the guru of W123's... He doesnt really sell them but as suspected he knows of good ones for sale... he has tracked a couple of good coupes for me but the price is way up there...

He is worth talking to though... 5 minutes with him and you will be converted into the religion of W123.
 
My girlfriend's already told me neither she, our girls will ever be passengers if I get one.

Now if ever a bloke needed a good excuse to go buy a car.........:D. Think of the peace and quiet.
 
Now if ever a bloke needed a good excuse to go buy a car.........:D. Think of the peace and quiet.

Ha. After telling me how much she hates W123's "old bangers" said in a strong Polish accent. She just saw the one Frank O' Phile linked to and told me she thinks it looks "ok".

Damn. The plan's backfiring.
 
My 230e is my only car. It's comfortable, quiet, spacious, easy to drive and rides brilliantly. It rolls a lot in the corners but grips reasonably. Most of the common complaints are fairly easily sorted (change the shocks, steering damper & tighten up the steering box). The key is to get one with good bodywork - that's the biggest cost.

The 230e is quieter & much more economical than the 280e, and you only really notice the power difference when you have passengers and luggage.
 
Here's a mini update on my W123 search. So far, I've not seen any.

Followed an ebay for a metallic blue 200 where seller wants about £1,000, but didn't reach reserve. I've spoken with him, made 4 appointments to see it and the chap's cancelled each time. No big deal - except for reorganising childcare, work schedule around him. :( I thought it might be a cheap intro to owning a classic.

That's not my only bad experience from ebay; there's been 2 more w123's a nice-looking 1970s, 280se, and a Fintail where the listing has no contact number, and reasonable (I think) emails haven't been replied to :(, or where any reply was unhelpful.

Next up was some info kindly passed on by a forum member. I rang seller 3 times, 3 days. No answer, no return calls. No harm done. A bit typical of the experience up to now.:(

Next up, china blue 230e for £2,000; I spoke to the trader; it sounds good. Its a 240 mile round trip and we agreed to meet early, but he asked me to call 1st thing (7am) to say I was on the way. And then he just hasn't answered the phone. :mad:Glad I didn't leave the house, but wasted my time just the same.

Ho hum, the search continues.
 

I've been a "watcher" on that. Just while I try to get my head round what people really pay for W123s. The things that put me off are chrome arches and if they were hiding rust. And, also because it's in Edinburgh and I'd to see what I am buying.

I was going to add that I'd prefer a 230 e, but I now I'm less go for a 280 e if it's nice.

Since yesterday, I've stopped being a victim and I've found 2 possible. I'm off to look tonight.

A silver 280 e, in Muswell Hill, the seller's a mechanic and wants £1200. It's not been advertised yet and he believes it's sound, but with some surface rust beginning. It has air con and velour, but no sunroof.

And a metallic blue 230 e, with blue cloth, a couple of miles away, £4,950, not cheap, but well looked after with very low mileage. manual sunroof, e/w. http://**********.com/?pg=search&cat=40, but needing a few cosmetics.
 
And a metallic blue 230 e, with blue cloth, a couple of miles away, £4,950, not cheap, but well looked after with very low mileage. manual sunroof, e/w. http://**********.com/?pg=search&cat=40, but needing a few cosmetics.[/QUOTE]

That's odd. I put in a link to an ad and it's been **** out.
 
Go for condition over spec...

Any rust will mean some large bills to come...
Ive been out looking at so called immaculate W123 coupes all day and the 5th one i looked at was the only one that came close to no rust.

Those chrome arches are always a NO NO. If they are not hiding rust they will have caused rust as they trap water!

Pay more for a clean car, it will pay you back long term.
 
Go for condition over spec...

Any rust will mean some large bills to come...
Ive been out looking at so called immaculate W123 coupes all day and the 5th one i looked at was the only one that came close to no rust.

Those chrome arches are always a NO NO. If they are not hiding rust they will have caused rust as they trap water!

Pay more for a clean car, it will pay you back long term.

I saw the one in Muswell Hill first. It took me 2 and half hours to get there from Berkshire, because there was a broken down car on M4. The arches were rusty and there were a lot of bubbles appearing on the body work. Rear bumper was wobbly too. Nice colour, nice spec but too much rust.

The second one was with a retired gentleman. Metallic blue, with blue cloth, no a/c, manual s/r, cruise control, big book of bills, all old MOTs. 63k miles. It was imported to UK from Jersey in 1995. It's not a cheapy.

It's not totally rust free. There were 2 tiny patches, which look straightforward and a couple of surface scratches on the boot lid. I had a really good poke about and saw nothing else wrong. I couldnt see any evidence of any paintwork having ever been painted. Other than that, only things I could fault were a scuffed hub cap, dashboard light not working, drivers seat squeaks, no middle armrest, one of the boot bulbs not working and radio is not original.

The seller was a proper gentleman and also had the most gorgeous pale blue W108; his pride and joy. He also had a smashing W124 Coupe.

Anyway, we spoke this morning and a deal's been agreed. On Friday, I will be the happy owner of UMM 825Y. :)
 
Excellent! Regarding the faults:

1. My W123 didn't have a front armrest - I got one from Mark Cosovich. Very easy to fit - PM me for details if you decide to buy one.
2. If all the dash lights are gone, it's probably a faulty rheostat - you can just bridge across as you'll want it on full brightness anyway. Individual bulbs are fairly easy to change - just take off the lower panel and push out the cluster from behind. You can buy the bulbs from Halfords.
3. The boot only has one bulb.
4. The seat squeak on my car was caused by the vinyl rubbing on the plastic cover where the seat back adjuster is mounted. Cured with a smear of vaseline.

Does the cruise work? They've nearly all failed by now.
 

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