Teambas

I am trying to purchase this car (as a 2nd vehicle. Love Diesel)
But the current owner says the A/C doesn't work. No cold air. Any ideas what it might be?

QVHK

There may be many causes. The previous owner should be able to tell you if he has owned the car for many years and has done something or not done anything to the air con system. Ask for maintenance history. If not available or seller is vague about it, check the engine compartment and look for any signs of recent repairs. Expect expensive fix as it is a 25 years' old car. Lots of DIY resources on W124 aircon repairs though.

Teambas

Thanks for the reply! I appreciate it.

A few things that I currently know:
Original owner. Stopped blowing cold air a few (2 approximately) years ago.
Nothing in the engine compartment that brings you to an obvious problem.
No accidents in 25 years. Clean CarFax.

Having said all of that, I do NOT own the car yet. I might purchase it sometime this week. Once I get the car, I will look for obvious problems/dilemmas.
Then I might try just charging the system, & see if it is as easy as that. If not, since it is now almost November, no need for A/C until April?
Yes, there are a lot of DIY parts available.

QVHK

No doubt buying a 25 years' old car puts the buyer in the buyer's beware position. It can be the beginning of a long but rewarding journey of restoration, so treat any repair as part of investment for many years of enjoyment as a running classic.

Holson

AC on the W124 can be anything from cheap (e.g switches) to expensive (e.g. seized compressor, leaking condenser, leaking lines) to very expensive (e.g. leaking evaporator). I had a pristine E420 that one day stopped blowing cold air and I got the "very expensive" one. Good thing is since the dash had to come out, it was a good time to replace A/C valves and old vacuum lines under the dash.

If I were you, I'd pay for a mechanic to do a PPI + A/C leak test with UV dye to pinpoint. A few hundred bucks and you'll know for sure what you'll be up against.

Love the 124 and would love another one some day as a 2nd car but it better be a low mileage minter!

Post pictures if you get it!

l02turner

Good luck with the purchase and I hope I'm not too late (but I fear I am) - the AC in W124s of that vintage have the possibility of leaking in the Evaporator which is the part deep behind the dash. A radiator shop should be able to tell if there's an0. inaccessible leak which usually means the Evap. I have a 91 300D - absolutely love the car - and I had a Evap fail. It is normally a $2000-$3000 repair depending on the shop selected and labor rates I decided to replace mine myself - I removed my console, dash and HVAC components, then I was able to access the Evap. Even with all that work done it was still a bear to wrestle the Evap out and get the new one in. (I ended up doing it twice because the evap I rec'd had a leak - but I was much faster the 2nd time around;-) ). After I got the Evap back in I took it to a shop to fill with Freon..
So the job cost less than $400 so it was worth my time. But I'm not advocating anyone try this - I have 40 years working on MBs and the actual work was pretty easy. But a certain amount of experience helps smooth things.

BTW, when test driving listen for noise from the rear wheels - rear wheel bearings can cost as much as $700 to repair.
But I wanted you to know what might happen. By now, you may have already bought the car and I truly hope you are happy with it. That diesel engine will give you 30+ mpg day in and day out only asking for the occasional oil change, filters changes and other minor stuff. I have detailed write up a fellow 300D enthusiast wrote when he did it. If you want a copy let me know -
Good luck!.
LarryT

teahead

Have the seller pay for the leak test.