My drivers' door was hit and needed replacement. The consequently buffed out the entire paint job, and it was incredible and looked brand new. Don't know why you had to put new paint. A buffing machine, with compound would have made the whole thing new.

Also, keep a pencil or screw driver around to push the shut off valve at front of engine.

and there is an engine shock that usually needs replacement which is why your idle might be rough.

Don't expect any power from the auto tranny . . . . personally I would have been suicidal with an automatic tranny on mine, but the 5-spd kept me from checking my wrists on regular basis, although I did shut it off on onramps.

As far as the A/C . . . after several attempts to repair, Shackelford's in Fredrickburg, VA finally got it working correctly by replacing the Nipondenso with an MBZ rebuit compressor, but unfortunately he convinced me to convert to R134. This time around, I converted to Freeze-12 on my 300D. Much better. No other rebuild holds up to the high pressure, so find a source for an OEM rebuild.

Good luck on your purchase, and you will greatly enjoy the fuel mileage . . . . I used to average 37 mpg on my 5-spd.

Torie