OK, folks, I am looking at a W123 78 Diesel Coupe, 122k, engine, trans and running gear are solid, body is straight with minor flaws (shabby paint, dinged LF fender, broken right window). Big thing is a trashed interior: seats slashed, dash a mess, controls questionable. Rust is minimal AFAIK (under driver's and passenger seats...bubbling but not open). The pluses are that I enjoy junkyard shopping and interior work and, if I use it as a DD my bride will recover use of her Jeep. I will appreciate your thoughts. Jon
Interior - Unique to coupes and you won't find a nice interior at a junkyard
LF Fender - fairly easy to replace and same as sedan and wagon so you might even get one the right color
Broken right window - glass or regulator? Regardless, probably not a big deal to fix
Climate Control - if this has the type of climate control with a vertical row of buttons it is a pain to fix and expensive to fix
122k miles - got documentation on that? If so, that's low and nice
dash pad - difficult to find a good replacement, time consuming to install. Probably you can get a decent dash cap (plastic)
HOW TALL ARE YOU? The coupe has a lower roof line and if you are a tall person the car may not fit you well, particularly if it has a sunroof (I'm 6' 4" so I'm extra tall).
Rubber for the car (doors, etc) expensive.
Do you have covered parking? This car will not respond well to being in the wet a lot.
Price? Fixing could be more expensive than buying a nice one, although if you like DIY then you can do much of it yourself, although replacement seat covers, etc are not cheap even if you DIY.
Sounds like a great beater/daily driver for someone who enjoys working on cars and can put up with not having working climate control (which I'm assuming doesn't work). If the price is right.
Scott
