Matt,
there are several places to buy parts around here. several do good work if you want to pay. Dan's on Eubank works on them and has parts. there used to be a junkyard on Broadway that had a bunch of cars. Jim's MB on 2nd st?? works on them. the best place to order stuff is here on the link above and there is another place in Washington that is good too. just depends on what you want. some things can be purchased at Autozone or Oreily's. i just bought brake pads at OReilly's.
robert

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1985 300SD
1998 Jetta TDI
Previous: lots of diesel VW's, MB's, KW's, Pete, Freightliner


Walking isn't a lost art: one must, by some means, get to the garage.

The sun in our state isn't nearly as rough on cars as the drunk drivers...

All very good points. New Mexico is very good for body frames, very bad for paint and dash boards. The odometer reads 228k. Only today did I read that they are not reliable and I did not think to check it before and after the test drive.

I'll probably aim low in price. Worst case scenario I'll have a parts car for the next one

The hardest parts to source are interior parts. Trust me I'm going through that right now trying freshen things up a bit. Mechanical components new and used are easily found online, from the dealer, etc. Sometimes you'll pay - but they're out there.

Many interior parts in the salvage yard are beyond their serviceable life. I'm in Socal where there are a bunch of these cars and have only found two w123's with a "palamino" (or is it "date") interior in two years. Of those I've only been able to use a few parts. It's a long and slow process sometimes.

I'd pass on the 240 D you posted only because of the interior. Seats, useless passenger side door, non op AC, etc. And that's just the stuff you can see. The PO didn't care enough to fix a door handle so his passenger can get out...think about what else he didn't care to fix.

That missing exterior door trim piece would be an easy find. And I bet a good polish would bring a lot of life back to that paint. Assuming its rust free.

Offer $500 and walk if it doesn't happen. There are better ones out there. Come to Socal and drive back...

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1982 240 D, 308,000 - 321,127 miles (sold)
1982 300 TD,166,500 - 226,000 miles
1998 E 320, 120,000 - 144,000 miles
2005 C 230 K, 26,000 - 77,000 miles (sold)

+1

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Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.

yeah, that one looks a little rough. there are some good cars around here if your patient.
i found mine on ebay in santa fe and have had to do little work to it.
have you seen that 76 240 on craig's list? it looked good in the pictures.
forget about the ones in Taos. too much $$ up there. and don't buy one that is a veggy setup. just trouble.
my 2 centavos.
roberto

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1985 300SD
1998 Jetta TDI
Previous: lots of diesel VW's, MB's, KW's, Pete, Freightliner


Walking isn't a lost art: one must, by some means, get to the garage.

I think I'll heed to everyones judgement (for once) and pass on this one. I see a 75 240 on CL - looks in much better condition but... it's an automatic. I'll just have to hold out for a stick shift.

Good move, Matt. I always try to keep these two things in mind when buying a car: negotiate as close to the point-of-indifference as you can AND there will always be another car around the corner.

Case in point, I was determined to acquire a 240D 4-speed. Growing impatient in finding a decent one (at a decent price) AND having lost out on a good deal close-by, I decided to find an "any condition" 240 with a 4-speed and do a transplant since there seemed to be a better supply of decent automatic 240's. Well, I did find a wrecked one several states away, hauled it down here and waited. Eventually, I found my nice 240D with a leaking automatic and motivated seller right in my backyard (one owner recent ABQ transplant, by-the-way). So, where is this project now? Sitting patiently at my shop along with four other projects!

The right car will come along if you are patient. I often find the journey more enjoyable than the destination.

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too many w123's
84 280 SL 5 speed

We are trying to keep demand for these cars low...so we can afford parts cars... So please stop spreading this information around helter skelter.. only trusted friends and family members need to know this stuff...

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1980 240d ,

chain elongation, cam marks reference:
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/10414-help-i-need-check-stretch.html

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/305365-9-degrees-chain-stretch.html

evap fin cleaning:

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/156207-photo-step-step-post-showing-w123-evaporator-removal-1983-240d-1982-300td.html?highlight=evaporator

A/C thread

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/297462-c-recommendations-mb-vehicles.html

I agree. I had Scar for over a year, and just when I was fixing to transplant the engine/tranny into my old '77 parts car China came along on Craigslist with a seized engine. I sold manual tranny and all components for it to a forum member in Cali and put Scar's engine into dear China.
We love it when a plan comes together....

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Jimmy L.
'05 Acura TL 6MT
2001 ML430 My Spare

Gone:
'95 E300 188K "Batmobile" Texas Unfriendly Black
'85 300TD 235K "The Wagon" Texas Friendly White
'80 240D 154K "China" Scar engine installed
'81 300TD 240K "Smash"
'80 240D 230K "The Squash"
'81 240D 293K"Scar" Rear ended harder than Elton John

Oops. Of course I was being facetious about the whole thing. Exaggerating to the point of absurdity. My 240 is totally lacking in creature comforts. you have to actually ROLL the windows up by hand. Imagine....The manual transmission is like rowing a small skiff around town, always clutching and shifting...a totally primitive pain in the tookus. The manual AC controls, if you can believe it, DONT read your mind about your optimum body temperature. Noise? You want noise? My 240's got noise to spare. Only 4 scrawny cylinders and NO TURBO if you can believe THAT!! The damned thing SCREAMS at over 1500 rpm. Good bloody luck getting on a onramp at over 25 mph without being run over by semi trucks screaming past you, air horns blasting obscenities. It takes an ENTIRE GREEN LIGHT to get thru even a residential intersection. At all costs, AVOID these primitive contraptions and if the masochist in you MUST buy one, don't pay over 2 or 3 hundred bucks for the finest specimen you can find.

better?

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You're a daisy if you do.
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84 Euro 240D 4spd. 220.5k sold
04 Honda Element AWD
1985 F150 XLT 4x4, 351W with 270k miles, hay hauler
1997 Suzuki Sidekick 4x4
1993 Toyota 4wd Pickup 226K and counting

My current/ongoing project is a 1970 FJ40 Landcruiser. AC controls? Windows? You can make it through an intersection before it turns red? Dang, those Mercedes sound like luxury vehicles!