I think a 123 can be a great car if its in good shape to begin with, and kept that way. What happens to cars, and Mercedes arent any more immune than others, is people buy these thinking they are indestructible, and start letting things go until there are so many little things to fix, and pretty soon the car needs so much its just not practical to bring it back. Like that 126 I owned. It wasnt the miles so much as it needed so much.

Far, far cheaper to buy one that someone has made and kept pristine, rather than trying to build one out of a clunker.