I would have to agree with Gary, as long as it was maintained and is in good shape, you should definetaly buy it over the sd. The 300E is an altogether different machine than the 300sd, as it represented a departure from the large sedans that mercedes had been building for some time. As far as problem, let me outline the things I have had to do to my 92 300E with 113k. 2 of the window regulators needed to be replaced, as they slipped the track and the cable that makes the window move got all wound up in the motors. This was about $125 per window including parts. The shocks needed to be replaced on mine as the rears were leaking, I used the time to replace with bilstein sports all around and install lowering springs, the total came to around $550 for the shocks, struts, springs, and spring installation. The normal rears cost about $65 each. Other than that there was only the scheduled maintenance at the service intervals, and the car runs like a dream. Its not very fast (by modern standards), but will definetaly be faster than the diesels. Hope this helps!