I my self has never owned the chassis 123-230E, but it should be the best car ever built. I have a chassis 124-230ce from 1990. Its well built, and is fairly easy to maintain. The sparepart are cheap, and there is a lot of people with lots of experience on the model. If you ask around, espicialy european taxi drivers they would say the 123 and 124 chassis is the best MB's But...... they are getting old. So if you are looking around you have to deside what you want from the car. If you are not the handyman, don't buy an old car! A 15-20 year old car needs some attention to be running in perfect condition. See it as a hobby, if you don't have the time/skill, buy a new one!