Sure. In the past 5 years it went bad.

Lots of things could go wrong in 5 years: the boot was torn, you hit a rock and bent it, the inspector screwed up, it wasn't installed correctly in the first place, somebody swiped your good one in the middle of the night and swapped in a bad one.

Without a pic of the failed unit, a description of the failure mode, or something more about the bad part anything on here will be speculation. Help us help you. Was it a bad ball joint? Rust? An alignment issue? How many miles? What type of inspection?

Don't get me wrong, the forum is a really knowledgeable group and can help keep your car running very well. I've got an '83 300CD myself.

There are a few current threads about suspension, steering and tie rods on the W123 in general and the CD specifically.

Welcome.