Hello All,
I recently saw a 123 body Euro Mercedes in front of an independant Mercedes shop in Virginia Beach, Va. The sign in the window said "For sale, 1986, 96,000 miles, $3800". Car is a 230E, automatic, manual AC.
Body looks OK, original paint. Euro cloth upholstery looks sun damaged in back, has slipcovers in front, rest of interior looks OK. Assuming the car checks out and drives OK, does anyone in this group have any comments or opinions? Good deal, So So,
Run away screaming?

Thanks in advance,
Mark DiSilvestro

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DrDKW

Mark:

I have a 1983 230e (w123) and I love it. These cars are really tough and can do 200,000 without any major trouble. The fuel pump relays are the only known problem areas.

Most parts are interchangeable with other MB's Chassis parts, brakes etc. from 240D's Mechanically the engine block is the same as the 1984 190e 2.3 but the heads are different. Your MB dealer can order any other parts direct from Germany.

Published specs are 136hp, top speed 180kph (mine easily gets there with 202,000km on the clock) Mine is a 4spd manual, same gearbox as the diesel so i'm sure even transmission parts would not be a problem.

Hope this helps,

Nick

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Almost mint 1983 230E eurospec.
Honda civic for those not so mint moments.

Thanks for your reply, Nick.
If this was a manual trans, I'd snap it up (Especially the 5 speed!). Although this wouldn't be as slow as an automatic 240D.
I wonder why someone would grey-market an automatic 230E? Does $3800 US sound reasonable for this car as I described it or would you need more information before you could even guess? I also recently looked at a $3000 grey-market 1982 280SE, also automatic. It showed 89,000 miles on the clock (but I know these were availible in Europe with 5 speeds - oh why did they have to keep the good stuff over there?!)

Happy Motoring, Mark

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DrDKW

Mark:

Something is worth what someone is willing to pay for it. $3800 is no bargain, but if the car is in good condition it is not excessive either.

As for the automatic I would have mixed feelings about it as I never like automatics on 4cyl engines. On the other hand my 19 year old 230E has way more torque than my brand new Honda with a similar stated output, so much so that 1st gear is for all intents and purposes only to break the inertia. The fact that I can drive very smoothly from 2nd, and the way she pulls from low speed in 4th suggests that an automatic might not be too bad.
(It is also a very smooth engine, at idle it is impossible to tell whether or not it is running.)

I consider the 230E to be a touring car, not a sports car, when I line up the silver star down the highway and Glide my way up to cruising speed (135kph) I feel like a million bucks. An automatic could still accomplish this.

The best thing that you could do is take it for a test drive, and get her checked out. The fact that she is a euro model just makes her more special. People always stop and smile when they see my car (especially the dieselheads). I have never had problem with parts and have no gripes.

280SE sounds nice too though.

Good luck,

Nick

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Almost mint 1983 230E eurospec.
Honda civic for those not so mint moments.

My first Mercedes, many years ago, was a 1961 180b 'ponton' 4 speed. (In fact, I learned to 'stick-shift' on that car) VW Beetles could out-run it from stoplights but it would cruise at 70 all day. Until last year, I've owned several later models, all automatics, because by 1970, stickshifts were mostly unavailible on Mercedes in the US, except for diesels.
I used to have a '72 220-4 cyl - adquate power except on steep hills or with the AC on. I Replaced it with an almost identical 250-6 cyl - smoother, much more power and only about 1-2 MPG less than the 220.

Last October, I inherited a 1960 220S Finback from the original owner. Maybe the novelty hasn't worn off yet, but now, I enjoy driving the manual-shift Finback more than my 250.

The '82 280SE has been sold but the 230E is still availible. If I buy it, I'd have to get rid of one of my other vehicles so I'll ask for a test drive and think about it some more. I know it's not a steal at $3800 but the mileage seems low and the body looks original and rust free. Still, I'm not yet ready to snap it up. Thanks, Nick, for your input.

Happy Motoring, Mark

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DrDKW

So was this a W123 230E or W124?

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With best regards

Al

Last-year W123 230E? Not bad, but taking into account the damage to the unobtanium upholstery I would offer close to $3,000 for it.

Parts are readily available, many of them compatible with the 190E. That fuel-injected 2.3 engine is a pretty sweet four-banger.

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[GONE] - 1995 Mercedes E300 Diesel - 130k miles - Smoke Silver (702) over Mushroom leather (265) - Bladder blasting, coast-to-coast work machine.

I have seen two of these in the US. One was imported through a dealer in the Houston zone. Or at least that's what I was told. It looked like a stock 240d except I think it had chrome on the taillights like a 300d.

The other was a gray market car that was purchased in Europe by a US service member. Power front window, cranks in the rear, euro cloth interior, plastic hubcaps, basically the whole euro thing.

I am under the impression that the majority of these in the US were picked up by US service members and shipped home. I recall the height of the gray market days and about the only thing you could get an importer to mess with was a 300SD. Or a 560SEC before Mercedes started importing them.

The 300SD was popular then because by going gray market you could save about $10,000 over the dealer's price.

I had a W123 Mercedes Benz 200. It was a W123 car with an M102 converted to run on propane which I picked up somewhere outside Austin.

I bought it because it had a 5 speed manual that I thought I could use on my W114 280CE however I found out that they were different so I sold it onto another forum member.

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With best regards

Al

3,000 seems like enough unless its pristine.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

I have a 1985 230E automatic, I think its genuinely quick and a lot more fun to drive than the passel of diesel US-spec 123s I've owned or the few my dad still has. I really quite like mine, however mine with nice condition black cloth interior and 56,000 actual miles on a turning odometer will probably find it's way into the FS section for about $4,000 in the next couple of months as I'm ready to free up a slot in the garage. $3,800 seem in the realm of reason for a starting price.

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68 280SL - 70 280SL - 70 300SEL 3.5 - 72 350SL - 72 280SEL 4.5 - 72 220 - 72 220D - 73 450SL - 84 230GE - 87 200TD - 90 190E 2.0 - 03 G500

Nissan GTR - Nissan Skyline GTS25T - Toyota GTFour - Rover Mini - Toyota Land Cruiser HJ60 - Cadillac Eldorado - BMW E30 - BMW 135i