1979 Mercedes-Benz W123 280e 2.8 petrol from North America

Summary:

A VERY reliable car with a timeless look and an excellent reputation

Faults:

Seats are starting to sag and wear.

Costly repairs, probably because it is an older car and parts are harder to find.

Minor electrical problems.

Car seems to be getting slower over the years.

General Comments:

Very comfortable seats, although starting to sag.

Probably the most durable car I have ever seen.

Reliable engine, but engine is very heavy causing the car to lug on the highway.

Car stills runs strong after 176,928 miles, and still will after 300,000.

Beautiful, original paint finish - never touched up or repainted, but there are some very small bubbles by the bottoms of the doors.

Timeless look, always a head-turner.

I'm very proud to own this car, and always have been. I hope it lasts forever.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 14th October, 2006

24th Dec 2016, 05:05

when was the last time you had your vacuum pump/hoses looked at and your valves adjusted? The 240 will never be quick, but a well maintained and serviced one will perform adequately. Cheers!

1979 Mercedes-Benz W123 240D 2.4L diesel from North America

Summary:

Built like a Swiss watch!

Faults:

Was told the fuel injectors were plugged at 60,000k and had them replaced. Doubt the story as the mechanic did not show me the old injectors and the car was running fine.

General Comments:

This car runs like a little Swiss watch. Maintenance costs are minimal-I change the oil regularly. The manual shift is a gem. Of course a slow accelerator on the freeway entrance, but once up to speed can cruise forever at 120kmh.

The car is so solid. It may not have any of today's electronic gadgets, but it is so simply and elegantly built that it is a classic that looks up to date. Original paint, garaged, still beats most new cars in depth. The manual 240D is so reliable that it is probably worth rehabbing one if the body is in good shape. My car is still showroom quality-garaged most of the time and driven only on weekends. It was my first Mercedes and was a learning experience about what quality was in those years.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 23rd September, 2006

1979 Mercedes-Benz W123 240 d 2.4 cc from Portugal

Summary:

If you are tired of expensive car problems, buy one of these, it is cheap and good

Faults:

Small things... like bulbs, brake pads, broken manual window lever, Clutch failure (all very inexpensive repairs).

Seats had to be rebuilt because this was used as a taxi...

Starter had to be rebuilt-75 euros at a Bosch authorized dealer.

General Comments:

Extremely reliable and inexpensive to repair. This 240 diesel engine seems to be indestructible.

Very good suspension and very good braking system (front and rear ATE system).

There is no smoke in annual inspections, and the engine can run on diesel fuel with vegetable oil added at a ratio of 20%.

This is not a fast car, but it is reliable, incredibly reliable...

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 27th May, 2006

19th Sep 2008, 08:14

You can run more veg oil than 20%! I ran one on veg oil for years. Just added 5% petrol as anti coagulant.

2nd Jun 2013, 10:36

How long did you run it at the petrol/WVO ratio?

I'm thinking of buying an old Merc diesel that runs on vegetable oil. Does yours start fine when it's cold? Any problems, tips, solutions?

1979 Mercedes-Benz W123 240D Definitely non-turbo diesel four. from North America

Summary:

A very reliable, if slow, automobile

Faults:

A/C compressor changed for like $500.

Driver's window fell off of the tracks at one point, but this was fixed easily in our garage at home.

Rear seat needed to be re-stuffed, upholstery was perfect, however.

The car was in desperate need of a new stereo, so we added two Infinity speakers to the rear shelf and put in a Ken wood CD changer-compatible cassette deck. The original Mercedes speakers up front still worked perfectly and sounded great, so we left them alone.

Door lock vacuum system was sluggish in cold weather, but always worked.

The odometer broke, so I'm guessing that it had about 180,000 miles on it when we sold it.

The car sometimes would not shut off in the coldest temperatures unless you choked it down. You could remove the key entirely and it would still run like nothing happened.

General Comments:

This was a great car that served our family well. One of my relatives ordered it brand new and kept it sheltered and had it partially restored before we bought it. (New paint, some upholstery on door panels, not much was needed really).

The car was incredibly slow, but very dependable and comfortable. It cruised quite nicely on all roads at all speeds.

Ours was the victim of mis-fueling when it was not very old. Some clown put gasoline in it instead of diesel, so it almost destroyed the engine. The engine was repaired, but was never quite as healthy as it had been when new and it used a fair amount of oil between changes.

The car was excellent and we could depend on it to take us anywhere. It became my sister's car when we decided to retire her Volkswagen Golf at 230,000 miles. She loved this car and kept it until it too started getting too old and we all became weary of the slow acceleration.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 1st March, 2005

26th Jul 2006, 11:38

How did you fix the problem where the car would not shut off even when you turn the key off? You can email me @ gploton12@yahoo.com. Thanks...

27th Sep 2006, 19:17

Thanks for reading my review! We never did fix that problem, we just lived with it until we sold the car. It was no big deal really. The only time it became a concern was one cold night when my mom was filling it up and chose to leave it running instead of choking it down.

29th May 2008, 21:08

You should track down that missfuel nutcase and give him some trunchen rash.

5th Jan 2013, 15:49

How did you fix the driver's side window? Ours fell off the track, and it's starting to rain and we need to get that thing back up.

Email me at georgereubs@gmail.com.

Thanks!

1st Jan 2015, 05:50

Look under the hood. You will see a push down lever that is marked as "Stop", near the linkage. Push it down for a few seconds.