Should I sell my Milano and buy a Mercedes w123?

I have had the milano for a year and a half about and i have gotten kinda tired of it. It is fun, but there arent many more improvements I can do to it that arent going to cost a ton of money, and it is going to need alot of maiintaince soon. A year ago I drove a w123 mercedes 240d and I liked it. I dont really care all that much about having a car that is fast or handles really well. All I really ever do is drive to school on the freeway, and drive to work, and thats about it. I doubt w123 mercedes parts are as expensive as milano parts, but are there any things to be careful of if I bought one? The one thing I have heard that I would be concerned about is the vaccum pump failing. Does anyone know how much they cost and how hard they are to change?

The thought of an old, used M-B gives me shivers... although my experience is only with a '83 300SD TD that belongs to my ex-g/f's parents. It needed (and probalby still needs) a whole list of long-over-due maintenance items that are staggeringly expensive to have done... and poorly documented if you want to DIY. Something that should be simple - like changing the motor mounts (which apparently fail often), is a PITA.

A quick Google search turned up vacuum pumps anywhere from about $200 to $500. Did see a 190MB file about rebuilding them (didn't look at it). No idea what changing them involves... and hope I never find out.

I don't know if you are better off with one or the other. I've had an 84 300D turbo (the model I would recommend, not a W124 or non turbo W123) for seven years and driven it regularly if not for high mileage. I bought it for $1750, half of what was asked for it. It came with all the records, and had 221K. Now it has 261K, and I drive it more now than ever. I've had the following done; new rear brake lines, new rear brake pads, new tires once, new waterpump, new exhaust, R&R rear half axle, R&R climate control panel, and now a valve job and some front end work. All told, not bad for seven years owning of a 25 year old car. Valve jobs should be done every 10K miles.

They are very reliable and very comfortable to drive. They do not handle like a sports car but the ride is very confident and the turbo models, while not fast, are certainly adequate for modern motoring. They are among the last of the Benzes built to a standard, not to a price. I still have the original window sticker-$34,800.00 in 1984.

Parts are not cheap but not outrageous either, nothing like a new Benz would cost, and the parts are plentiful due to worldwide distribution and the fact that so many are still running. You don't need a specialist to work on them, but knowledgeable labor isn't cheap anywhere generally. I do not do my own work on this car. If you have a lot invested in your Milano, you may want to keep it as the driving dynamic would be so different between the two cars. I like Milano's myself. Have any pics of it? Here's my W123, just last Saturday.

Hmm, a valve job involves just adjusting the valves? Or is it more than that. I mainly just want to not have the milano anymore and i thought the mercedes were cool after driving one.

E30

Travis_K wrote: Hmm, a valve job involves just adjusting the valves?

Yes, thats it. Depending on the year, there may be EGR stuff that makes the cover harder to remove than others, but its pretty straightforward. Online tutorials for all kinds of things are at dieselgiant.com , with pics.

And, yes, the Benz's are cool, at least IMO.

They made enough of the 123 that parts are plentiful and every time I've gone to the junkyard there are a couple of diesels hanging out. I know on my 78 280slc eurospec the valves need adjusting every 50k miles, so 10k sounds pretty often but the diesel and gas engines are different.

The good news aside from the junkyards is that high gas prices led many people to work on the oil burners and they like to post online and show pictures of the work. There is a following for the diesels. One thing I will tell you is fuel system parts are pretty expensive on these cars, I know the injection pump on the diesels are very expensive.

If it hasn't been done be prepared to do the front end suspension bushings. If people say that mercedes don't handle they've either never driven one, or drove one with a worn out suspension. My car has something like a 30ft turning radius, maybe a little more, but look at new cars radii.

Hmm, I will have to think about it more I guess. The other cars on my list would be a gm900 or a subaru legacy wagon. Id rather have a diesel, but maybe its not worth it.

You might also consider an e28 BMW.