I'm looking to purchase a 1980-1985 W123. Alot of these cars I see for sale have A/C systems that are either inoperative or just not cooling. My question for this post is: If I were to buy one of these older MBs, is it difficult to find parts for the A/C systems? I live in Houston and A/C is a must down here. Any insight on this (A/C systems), or anything else I should be concerned about purchasing one of these cars (what to look for, watch out for, etc) would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

There's a lot of AC related post here thats VERY informative.

Just use the search feature.

Good luck with your purchase.

I just replaced my a/c compressor which just gave up the ghost a week ago and also did the expansion valve and dryer at the same time. I got the part wholesale for around $400 usd and found some one to install including the cost of freon (r 12) for around $400. This also included some sensor that was broken during install. If you research for the right price on parts and good mech you should find the same deal if you don't do it yourself.

I own a 85 300td wagon 245k (great car) any car is going to need something so that goes with the territory. hopefully if you get into one right then fixing it won't seem so bad. good luck.

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83 TD wagon "Madge" PO's given name. 410k (150k engine)

To me the problem isn't that the AC is inoperative as much as it's been inoperative for the last 10 years. When it first quit it might have needed an evaporator or expansion valve. By now it needs all those things and a good cleaning of everything else. Not the end of the world but not many DIYers have to tools to do a proper job of it.

Sixto
... stay tuned

You should assume it will cost you around $500 to $1000, depending what needs to be done. Don't convert to 134a, or anything else, keep the system R-12.