I'm considering buying a low mile 1987 300d that has AC problems. Given the prevalence of AC problems with the W124, has anybody ripped everything out and replaced the stock evaporator/compressor/condenser with a (hot rod) Vintage Air system? This seems to be cheaper than continuing to repair the stock system. Any thoughts?

Thanks.

I'd think you'd need to replace everything including the auto climate control... the only expensive parts on the stock system are the evap and condenser, and I imagine you could get an aftermarket condenser made up not too expensively.

-J

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1991 350SDL. 230,000 miles (new motor @ 150,000). Blown head gasket

Tesla Model 3. 205,000 miles. Been to 48 states!
Past: A fleet of VW TDIs.... including a V10,a Dieselgate Passat, and 2 ECOdiesels.
2014 Cadillac ELR
2013 Fiat 500E.

Aren't most W124 a/c issues down to failed solder joints on the control board (an easy fix) or the standard type faults with a compressor or condenser? Much less work than a total stripout / refit.
I know an Mercedes dealer (a UK dealer) who fitted the a/c kits to W124s when they were new cars and it was a whole dashboard out job at 8 hours to remove it and 8 hours to refit it.

the climate control system in the W124 is pretty good and only suffers from bad joints once in a couple of decades. Cant argue with that.

the weak point in the entire unit is the evaporator - replacing it is tedious but the results are worth it. Once done correctly your car will function like it should for a long time. If you have concerns of the condenser not upto mark you can fit some universal type multiflow unit in the front.

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2012 BMW X5 (Beef + Granite suspension model)

1995 E300D - The original humming machine (consumed by Flood 2017)
2000 E320 - The evolution (consumed by flood 2017)

Thanks to all for your advice. Looks like the real problems are usually not as bad as some horror stories on the web. Some of the repairs may be time consuming, but not as bad as ripping out the whole system and replacing it with an after-market system.