Just a little poll here...

Note: When I say parts, I mean things like light assemblies, electronics, radio antenna motors, seats, trim, not small things like fuses, light bulbs, and other things of the like.

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Board Member of MBCA|Houston

81 MB 300SD, 82 MB 300D Turbo (sold), 04 Lincoln Town Car Ultimate

Sooner or later every car falls apart, ours does it later!
-German Narrator in a MB Promotion Film about the then brand new W123.

There is more to the decision than simply "used" or "new".

Depending upon the amount of labor involved in removing and reinstalling the part will typically govern whether I consider used.

I don't normally use 18 year old parts that just happen to be working the day you buy them. How much longer can they be expected to perform? The price would have to reflect this. If I can't pay 25% of new, I probably won't buy the used part.

Of course, when speaking about trim parts and body parts, the whole equation turns to used, naturally.

Having a parts car or two also factors into the equation as well. The parts cars are often bought for what one or two of the parts are worth, and the parts can be removed and inspected at your leisure. Still it is often true that if a part is prone to failure at a certain mileage or age it will be bad on a parts car that exceeds those limits as well.

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1961 190Db retired
1968 220D/8 325,000
1983 300D 164,150

High wear parts are always replaced with new, only place I consider used is on parts that basically never wear out.

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Jeff M.
Mercedes W123 DIY pages are now located here.
1983 / 1984 300D Sold
2000 CLK430 Cabriolet ~58k Sold
2005 Avalanche 4x4 ~66k