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Old 11-17-2014, 05:13 PM
dkr dkr is offline
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Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 654
Quote:
Originally Posted by mbzman View Post
Looked at the car more closely. Rust on left rear wheel arch seems cosmetic as it is bubbling. Some minor rust by the jack points but it more cosmetic. The rest of the car seems solid. The rockers are solid as is the trunk (removed the spare and it is solid) as are all the floorboards. Battery tray rusted. A little bit of bubbling on left front fender above the lower rubber trim. There is some moisture inside near the sunroof. I suspect the seal is allowing the water to enter but could be the the windshield seals. Hard to say for sure.

The car fired right up but hard to say if it had been run before I got there. Temp gauge was all the way down. No smoke at startup, starts and shuts off very quickly. The oil cap looks like it is not the right one as it is plastic (I thought W123s would have metal oil cap) and the valve cover is covered from the seepage on the cover gasket. Air filter dirty but didn't look oily. Car shifts very firmly, not sure if it needs adjustment or not. There was a bit of a clunk when downshifting. Diff, tranny or flex mounts?

Tachometer doesn't work.. Becker radio there but inoperable. Climate control iffy. Confirmed I could get cabin heat but the auto button wouldn't hold so only high or low fan. Two windows inoperable. Sunroof works.

I figure most of the 30 year old W123s are going to need some repairs and work. I don't mind fixing things as long as it isn't a rust bucket. I would need to get the rust repaired ASAP. What does everyone think? To buy or not to buy?
Well, being in Canada you ought to know more about structural rust issues than we do in the southern states.

Aside from that, I would be most concerned about the engine. If it turns on and shuts down quickly and has good acceleration, those are good signs. You might want to try the oil cap test to see how much blow by there is. You can also examine the air cleaner to see how much oil is in it. Some is normal, but it shouldn't be totally caked in oil.

The transmission is also a consideration. You can check wear by how quickly it goes into drive and reverse and also by putting the car in drive on a slight incline and watching it inch forward by itself. Hard shifting is usually a vacuum problem and most W123s have hard shifting to some extent. You can also check for a burnt smell on the dipstick and the proper fluid level. As long as it isn't making any grinding sounds, there isn't much else to check without pulling things apart.

For a $1000 car, this is about as far as I would take it. You know it isn't going to be perfect, but there really isn't too much budge room on the price. Either you like it and want it or you don't.

Dkr.
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