This vehicle is a very good example of a machine that had been simply driven for its entire life. No maintenance was ever done to it and no repairs were ever done, other than those repairs that would stop it from moving.

It would have been interesting to see what "Lemon Busters" would have said about this vehicle if they had reviewed it prior to purchase. Many of the repairs that you performed would not have been obvious upon the initial inspection prior to purchase.

Repairs such as the rear window glass, vacuum pump, rear subframe bushings, alternator, water pump, steering gearbox, radiator, and a/c condenser would not have been noted by "Lemon Busters" as they were (presumably) in operating condition when you purchased the vehicle. If there was a maintenance history on this vehicle, you could have determined that none of these items were every replaced.

I do not think that any of the repairs that you have performed are out of character with a vehicle that has nearly 250K on the clock.

Many W123 and W126 M/B that are currently rolling with this mileage also need all of these items (unless they were done previously). Whether the owners of these vehicles will aggressively address the issues, as you have done here, is questionable.

In my own situation with the SDL, which I have owned for 10 months, I have not had the level of repairs that you have experienced. I am probably at 40% of your efforts, based upon costs. However, this vehicle has at least 100K fewer miles on the clock and there was some maintenance performed in those miles. It is noted, however, that this SDL had a purchase price nearly three times the cost of the higher mileage vehicle.

In the end, the total invested cost (about $10K) is nearly the same.

But, I will say, that my back is more thankful for the newer vehicle.