This is how I feel about carbs; one of the reasons I got rid of my RX7. I might own another one, but not anytime soon.

This is the other reason I am hesitant to help my cousin with his NA Miata. While I have heard they are simple cars, I do not know them confidently enough to be able to diagnose and fix them and would most likely result in breaking it.

Yes, I believe the older types enjoy working on the older cars; my mechanic was working on my mom's W201 when it came out and was working on W123's when they were rolling off the line.

The other guy I talked to was a younger guy, like late 20's. He enjoyed the ruggedness and the simplicity. Maybe its because younger guys are sometimes more fascinated in older things.

This would make sense in some ways. I went to my mechanic's shop the other day and spotted a black W126 on black AMG Pentas that had a wiring harness issue. I was told by my mechanic that the job might cost more along the lines of $3-4k with the cost of the part included (he is very reasonably priced). I feel that a slightly less legitimate mechanic would feel alright charging much more for this type of labor and profiting off of it.

The thing about the W123's is that some of the replacement parts are cheap and widely available and can be interchanged with ones from other models. Some parts are not common and can cost a fortune.

EDIT: It would make sense though that newer cars would be more profitable repairs.

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1980 240D "Haley" - 266k mi | OM617.952 | 4-speed | Euro Propshaft | 2.88 Rear | Motor Out of Car
1994 E320 "Lauren" - 115k | As stock as they come
2010 Mazda Axela "Grace" - 32k | H&R Lowering Springs | K&N Air Filter

1981 RX7 - Sold and not really missed

Looking for a paint color suggestion for my 240D with Palimono MB-Tex interior!

Okay, well Young St. Garage will do it for a price. Or they did last fall.

Also try McConnville Garage http://www.getitfixed.com/en/

He has a good rep, somehow I doubt a well-established shop in Vanier will show you to the door.

To be fair, the person whose story I related was in a hurry to get the car plated as they had a trip planned. They did not have time to explore the entire area.

Problem is, of course, you want a shop that will do it AND isn't going to play games with you on the inspection parameters just because they see an older car....

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Mac
2002 e320 4matic estate│1985 300d│1980 300td
Previous: 1979 & 1982 & 1983 300sd │ 1982 240d

“Let's take a drive into the middle of nowhere with a packet of Marlboro lights and talk about our lives.” ― Joseph Heller, Catch-22

OBD is hardly a cure-all, in many cases it only shows the area you need to poke about in, not the actual problem. Big difference between looking at a no-start or trying to troubleshoot a driveability problem.

The shops who have the high-end diagnostic systems that can drill down through the codes, pay a bundle for them and then have to pay for periodic updates.

I have been told a really good one is $300k. Not sure if that is true.

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Mac
2002 e320 4matic estate│1985 300d│1980 300td
Previous: 1979 & 1982 & 1983 300sd │ 1982 240d

“Let's take a drive into the middle of nowhere with a packet of Marlboro lights and talk about our lives.” ― Joseph Heller, Catch-22

Now I'm afraid I might get sneered aways from the dealership's free cappucino when I go to get a part for my old 80's M-B's. Haven't been there yet since ebay is easy and cheaper.

Same deal for U.S. vehicles. I stopped at the local dealer for a part for an 1980 Dodge truck (actually for my 64 Valiant, same PN) and was told they stopped listing parts older than 1992 or such. Geeze, trucks are as common as dirt and marketed to last forever.

Re carbs, I know how they are supposed to work, but when they don't it is hard to know what is going on inside. I am converting all my old 60's cars to EFI. It works much better and is easier to diagnose. Funkiest fueling system is the Bosch Jetronic mechanical fuel injection, used on 80-90's Euro cars. Must cost a fortune to maintain, but looks fun to play with.

Oh, I agree with you, but I think a lot of the younger techs have an OBD mindset.

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"Senior Luna, your sense of humor is still loco... but we love it, anyway." -rickymay ____ "Your sense of humor is still loco... " -MBeige ____ "Señor Luna, your sense of humor is quite järjetön" -Delibes

1982 300SD -- 211k, Texas car, tranny issues ____ 1979 240D 4-speed 234k -- turbo and tuned IP, third world taxi hot rod

2 Samuel 12:13: "David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die."

Absolutely. From what I hear, many people who enter the trade these days are lacking any sort of basic mechanical grounding. With where you are now, at your age, you have the potential to go far if you choose this as a trade.

My buddy with the shop used to take some of the co-op students from the 2-year basic mechanics course at the local college for their work experience terms. He gave up as he lacks the patience to teach someone in their second year of full-time study in the trade, which direction to turn the wrench to tighten or loosen bolts. Also to stand and watch while a guy takes 10 minutes to look up on Mitchell online where to position the hoist arms to lift a Dodge Neon.

Those are both the unvarnished truth, from his shop floor.

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Mac
2002 e320 4matic estate│1985 300d│1980 300td
Previous: 1979 & 1982 & 1983 300sd │ 1982 240d

“Let's take a drive into the middle of nowhere with a packet of Marlboro lights and talk about our lives.” ― Joseph Heller, Catch-22

Welll......what was the question?
and
Dave --- If you have all the tools, the next time I'm down your way, I would be happy to help you knock out a few repair items. Do you have a list?

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daw_two
Germantown, TN

Links:
Sold last car --- 05/2012 1984 300D Light Ivory, Red interior
Cluster Needles Paint
New Old Stock (NOS) parts

Past:
3/2008 1986 300SDL "Coda"
04/2010 1965 190D(c) "Ben"
& many more

Was this the first call you had placed to them?

What sort of repair were you requesting?

I've got two 84 300CDs in the shop for a/c repair and took a look at a 77 450SL today. I gave the owner of the 77 the bad news that he is looking at
~$2800 for a rebuilt fuel distributor.

The easy money is the routine service stuff in my opinion.

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Jim

$2800 may sound high for a fuel system part, but the fuel system on a modern diesel can cost 3x that much, and is far more complex. I guess it is all about the attitude of "its worth it to spend a ton repairing a newer car" because its "new". But not worth it on the old ones. The key is that if you spend a lot on the old one you may want to insure it as such too. Another issue is that the older cars like W123 and W126, are not nearly as weather resistant as newer models. Of course part of it is that they are old and things need replacement, but the other half is the design of the vehicle. My W201 has never leaked a drop into the interior or trunk....my 300SD leaks water Everywhere....the trunk is just about unusable at this point because it drips so much. The newer ones are designed differently and don't seem to have these issues.

The other day I was looking at a 300TD, 300CD, and 300SD that all had between 30k and 70k on them. It was amazing to see up close what these cars looked like new... They also had a 78 450SL that was pristine.

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-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

The repair needed is replacement of idler arm bushings,lower control arm bushing and ball joint on both sides ,all the rest I can access without a spring compressor.I was unable to finish my conversation with the guy ,he just cut the conversation short , I have no problem with him refusing service ,its just the way he went about it .Heres the answer to my problem Daw Two ,I just need to save up and finish this job correctly and quit whinning about shops unwilling to do the work .In the 12 yrs of flipping close to 20 201s and 123s with trips to yards ,etc,etc, I should already own that pesky little spring compressor .It might be I have an oppurtunity here in disguise ,I really had no idea that shops ,even euro ones ,are dealing these cars out of their service lineup , I could buy and resale at my leisure with combining a service location and cry all the way to the bank .Possible name for the biz ,"AS EASY AS 123" .

AND YES ,Thanks for the offer of assistance ,it will be finished next week weather premitting ,thats really why the search for a shop was needed ,I work outside on my cars and cant get my self to work in the cold / rain .

That's stuff any old suspension shop can do. There's no need to take it to a Mercedes specialist in this case.

Nonetheless, that's especially annoying that he'd not take your car in. I could understand it if you're looking for help with the vacuum system, auto climate control or some other device that needs diagnosis to fix but has no computer to spit out trouble codes but to turn down doing suspension work? Silly.

Anyway, from what I have found for every couple shops that won't touch an old car, there are at least one or two that are even more enthusiastic about it. There's a shop here that I just discovered a few blocks from my house whose front parking lot is always filled with W124's, old Porches, E36's, etc. I plan to pop in to say hello some day soon, maybe build a familiarity in case I ever need help with a project. I can almost push my cars there if I needed to!

There's also a place I learned about in town that specializes in our old MBZ's. They only advertise by word of mouth. Been around for ever though, apparently.

These are the types of places we'll need to keep our eyes out for as our cars get older. The places along the main roads with big flashy signs are not going to be interested in anything out of the ordinary.

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1979 300D 040 Black on Black - 1985 300D Maaco job (sadly sprayed over 199 Black Pearl Metallic) on Palamino

http://i.imgur.com/LslW733.jpg

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Visit the W123 page on iFixit for over 70 helpful DIY guides!

Yes, these cars have lost that new car smell many moons ago ,Im wondering if its a prestige loss of feeling that the owner may see as a let down for his higher end customers ,example ,Arrived at one highend euro shop and the owner was chatting with an attractive young woman from California ,he started in about the wine country and how much he missed all the California life style,which she agreed with ,10 minutes latter I get a conversation with the guy ,he states ,"well those cars are good for the people out of Kansas" ,meaning what I have no idea , but the whole time I felt like he didnt even want to bother, I thanked him for his time and as I walked out he began his conversation up again.Am I missing something or is it that these cars carry a hippie fide ride CLOUD much like the vw busses and beetles of the 60s .

You lost me at "high end...."

Presumably he means that people in Kansas don't think crap is king .

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Mac
2002 e320 4matic estate│1985 300d│1980 300td
Previous: 1979 & 1982 & 1983 300sd │ 1982 240d

“Let's take a drive into the middle of nowhere with a packet of Marlboro lights and talk about our lives.” ― Joseph Heller, Catch-22

Other than sheetmetal rusting and the haunted climate controls these things are basically tractors.

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$60 OM617 Blank Exhaust Flanges
$110 OM606 Blank Exhaust Flanges
No merc at the moment