Hello everyone!

I have been lurking around and reading quite a bit over the past few weeks, but I still have a few questions. First a little background.

My wife and I are looking into buying a used MB as a family car to replace her '97 Civic DX. We would like to keep $20K as a maximum price, and 120K as the maximum mileage. we would like as much interior room as possible, but our available garage space is another constraint that rules out W126 cars, or anything over 200". Finally, we'd like to buy as new a car as possible, but we also understand that, when properly maintained, MB's will run forever.

Within these constraints, we have been looking in AutoTrader and the papers for 92-93 400E and 500E, 94-present E420 and 96-present E320 models. There seems to be good selection here in N. California. Our only experience, so far, is test driving a 2000 E320. We thoroughly enjoyed the experience, but it is beyond our price range.

My questions:
1) How much larger are the W210 cars than the W124 cars? Interior and exterior.

2) What are some common issues that I should be aware of in looking these particular cars? I have read quite a bit about timing chain quides (mostly when I was reading up on 420SEL's...). What are some critical areas of concern on these models? What should I look for on the VMI?

3) Do I need permission to have a dealership pull the VMI on a car at a used car lot?

4) How much of the maintenance DIY on the newer cars?

5) What are some recommendations for reputable shops to do PPI's in Sacramento and the Bay Area?

5A) How are the reputations for the Sacramento area MB dealerships in the eyes of the foum? Used car lots?

6) Are there forum members in FL and TX who like to inspect cars for forum members from other parts of the country? I notice that on eBay there are lots of these cars from Houston and Dallas, TX and FL....

7) What are the relative differences in insurance costs for full coverage amongst these models?

Thank you all very much for your time and for the information!

Charlie