You won't find headgasket issues with the M119 V8. Wiring Harness is another story - same spotty failures as the E320's unfortunately. I would imagine the increased heat of this engine could actually result in more frequent failures!?
Could any of our techs back that up w/experience?
All will have the two-tone paint (grey bottom), and contrarily to your observations, there are many, many Pearl Black and regular Black cars. Probably the most common color from what I've see both around town and on the forums.
I haven't seen an example of a black-painted bottom, but I've seen other colors done with excellent results, I personally prefer the two-tone look both as rock-chips and wear on the lower portion of the car is [i]much{/i] less noticeable than it would be if it was painted black.
Search the archives, there's plenty of good info on the E420 too!
Regards,
- Ryan