[jde68]

So as I'm getting my 82 300D Turbo back into daily use after years of little use, I am putting together a priority list of things that need to be done. There are some things that I think I can go with a reputable local mechanic instead of a higher priced MB specialist.

For example....I think a local guy can change the flex discs...I'll buy the part he puts them in. On the other hand, I think troubleshooting vacuum leaks, injector rebuilds, purges, and filter changes might be best left to a MB specialist.

So what are thoughts about things like bushings, struts, valve clearance?

Thanks again for the good advice so far...I hope with some experience I can contribute in the future

 

[POS]

No idea where you live, but why don't you search the forums for an MB-only mechanic near you. He'll save you the dealer's prices and he'll have the knowledge to fix it quickly. Most dealers no longer employ people who 'get' the w123s, w126s, etc.

Search the forums, find an MB-only mechanic.

 

[cooljjay]

Agreed find a local member......if you take it to a dealer.....except to spend many many many thousands of dollars for the repairs......labor charger per hour is over 100$ now...

 

[jde68]

Thanks, I have already done that and I have found one or two that I will use...but they still charge more than a good general mechanic...maybe on flex discs the difference would only be $50 to $75...but things like suspension work the difference could add up to a lot more...thanks

 

[cooljjay]

We have no idea where you are, but keep looking there are some good ones out there....also check over at peachparts.com

The general feeling on these cars, is you really must be a hobbyist of these cars to own one or you must be very very mechanical minded......if not you will own a money pit...

When buying parts for your car only use lemforder, never buy uro or meyele or OEM unless they are going in a not so important area....

 

[jde68]

Gotcha...thanks...

 

[jde68]

Oh yeah...sorry...I live in Delaware County PA just outside of Philadelphia

 

[JoshW123]

Any regular pop shop may do if they agree to work on your car. I had my muffler cut off and reattached a generic straight pipe, all for 50 bucks, and that was at Midas. Any suspension shop I'm sure would take your car in. These are not designed by rocket scientists, hence it won't take one to fiddle with the car. Any shop that says they won't take it are either lazy or scared. Both can be convinced to take the job.

Not sure how big your county is though...may have to drive around a little bit. One of my mechanics is a 70+ Turkish man who has sort of a hole-in-the-wall shop, but he knows his shit. You never know where you'll find what you need.

 

[Rmac58]

Depending on your skill level, you can do some of the work yourself.

 

[dkr]

I would avoid the dealership if at all possible. You can get literally 3-4x the bang for your buck if you find a good indie. I would also look for someone who has worked on these cars when they were new and really understands vacuum systems and diesel. There's a number of these jobs where you can save money -- a good indie will know how to save you money and to avoid any overly 'MacGyver' type jobs that will break down the line as well as a good system for sourcing parts -- knowing what to buy OEM, used and rebuilt as well as the specific brands that work best.

I had a bad experience at a dealer once in doing an oil change. They had a camera system where they peer through your hub cap at the brake pads, snap a photo and the system does some type of analysis on your brakes and gives a pretty impressive computer print-out with all of the various systems, saying the brakes were in good condition. A few days later, the car had trouble stopping and it turns out the brakes were running metal on metal and the dash light indicator was unplugged on the caliper. An indie would have found that without all the uppidy dealer BS.

There's a lot of experience involved in dealing with many of these jobs. An otherwise experienced mechanic but not a W123 specialist will often resort to rebuilding compound systems -- i.e. replacing the entire A/C system or entire brake system due to lack of experience in troubleshooting the individual components which costs you $$$ on things that don't need to be replaced.

For example, on one of my first W123s, I took to a local indie who charged me $90 to tell me the power antenna needed to be replaced and quoted me $400-500 for parts and labor. I took it to my current mechanic and he had the antenna out and pulled apart and was showing off his antenna rebuild kit. 10 minutes later, he's got it back in the car, verified it was working and charged me something like $30 for it.

Dkr.

 

[dkr]

Any regular pop shop may do if they agree to work on your car. I had my muffler cut off and reattached a generic straight pipe, all for 50 bucks, and that was at Midas. Any suspension shop I'm sure would take your car in. These are not designed by rocket scientists, hence it won't take one to fiddle with the car. Any shop that says they won't take it are either lazy or scared. Both can be convinced to take the job.

Not sure how big your county is though...may have to drive around a little bit. One of my mechanics is a 70+ Turkish man who has sort of a hole-in-the-wall shop, but he knows his shit. You never know where you'll find what you need.

I would avoid dealing with any of these shops even for simple jobs. You can get into small things that turn big like them using the wrong type of oil filters or over or under-torquing the studs on the oil filter and then breaking off the vacuum lines and not accepting responsibility or knowing how to fix it. I've had myriad issues with non-MB people doing even simple things like breaking off the plastic connectors for trim when pulling the rear windshield or not knowing how to re-attach the chrome trim around the windshield when reinstalling it. The list goes on and on and on. Some of these people can cause a lot more trouble than they are able to fix.

Dkr.