My 400E purchase was an educated shot in the dark, and it has not been perfect, but I love the car. Mine is a 93 with 165k. I purchased it 4k miles ago, in average mechanical condition, albeit with full records. The PO did the harness and the ETA, 2 very common failure points on the V8 cars. My car has ASR, and the throttle actuator was replaced because of an ASR fault. The shop bill says $1200 installed. Unless it's a throttle actuator, most ASR issues on these cars, as I understand it, are more PITA than part$. Also, just because the ASR light comes on and it goes into limp mode, does not mean ASR is the problem - just that many situations that cause limp mode will disable the ASR. There are wheel sensors, grounds, all sorts of small failure points in the chain. Right after I bought the car, the ASR light came back on, which I fixed by replacing the left taillight bulb housing with a used part. The grounds can can fail and need to be re-soldered, or circuit board/bulb housing replaced. I could be wrong, but ASR isn't something to be as scared of as some say. Sure it will be cheaper to maintain without, but it's not a deal killer if the car is in good shape. I think most of them had it anyway, and it's quite a nice feature when pulling into traffic at full throttle while turning! Hmm let's see.....I had a 97 C230, an 83 300D, and an 06 c350 - my 400E is the most solid of the 4, and the most fun to drive. To me, it's not an MB unless it has a diesel or a V8 - just my bias. Also, there's nothing like the muted exhaust burble and the explosive 75-120 acceleration in the V8 124s!! M119 motor is definitely the strong point in the cars; read the forum and you will find the internals almost never fail, provided the oil has been changed regularly - at least every 7500 miles. Some are wary of chains, but my shop is highly experienced and reputable (and expen$ive), and they say they have never replaced a chain in an M119. You won't have the head gasket issue either, like you would on an M104. My PS pump does leak, and I was quoted $750 to replace all the seals in it - but that it would probably keep running like that, with periodic fluid top-off - indefinitely. Bottom line - unless it's a V12, if the overall car is in good shape, buy whichever model is most enjoyable (V8 ) to you