Reny,

A couple of notes to hopefully aid in your search: I bought a 400e vintage ’92 from a place in Rochester last January with 59K on the clock, after looking everywhere I could for over a month. The car spent its entire life in Toronto, prior to coming to a Rochester dealer. It has no rust (the car that is; I can't speak for the dealer). After about 5K miles of driving, the only significant problem the car has is a so-called double engagement in the transmission when cold. I am told this is a pattern failure. If you can find an older one with lower miles you get the best value…

Otherwise it is fabulous and is my daily driver.

Also, the battery's in the trunk...

If you haven’t done so, use auto trader, yahoo classifieds, excite classifieds and so forth.


Best of luck & enjoy the search

Regards,

__________________
...Tracy

'00 ML320 "Casper"
'92 400E "Stella"

Lebenz,

I'm from Rochester :-) There was this one in the area a silver with black interior a guy was selling for $19,600 but in the end he didn't the hassle of selling the car and used it as a trade-in. He got $16,500 for it. When I went to the dealer to check it out, one of the salespeople jumped on it.

Yeah there are lots of cars in Autotrader and all but my only problem is lack of time and money to check them out.

I so wish I lived in Cali or somewhere where there is everything.

Well let the search continue!

If anyone has a good lead...please email me direct or post a reply.

Reny
94 E320 70K

Reny,
Theres one for sale here in Chicago.Log in to
www.cars.com using zip code 60659.Click on E
series.Its says mint condition.The dealerships
name is Lake Auto Group.Good Luck.

Does anyone have any comments on driving the V-8 in poor weather? Does the rear end get away with regular all-season radials? Do they all have a limited-slip differential? Was ASR (traction control) available or standard?

__________________
NOW: 2017 C43 AMG, 2006 Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon, 1966 230SL, 1980 450SL (for sale!)
PAST: 2006 C230, 1997 E300D, 1994 E420, 1994 Neon Spt Cpe, 1984 300ZX, 1983 Celica GT, 1976 Electra Limited, 1984 Honda Nighthawk 650, 1979 Suzuki PE175, 1978 Suzuki DS100
www.mbca.org - www.sl113.org - www.ohio4x4.com

Well when I test drove a 93 400E and 95 E420 I didn't get the ASR to come on at all. I think the only time you will get it is if you floor it from a starting stop or driving real fast.

I have a E320 and the only time ASR comes on is during the winter when I press the accelerator as if its summer and when its raining and I want to "race" someone at the light.

I'm sure if it was an option or standard. Actually hold on I'll check.

According to MBUSA's Starmark Preowned pages....ASR was an option for the E420. For the 300E/E320 it was an option from '91 so figure about the same for the 400E/E420.

Ren

PS Hey Clauser1....how are Chicago cars? Rust problems or anything like that to a car from Chicago? This one E500 I test drove was all rusty underneath.

Theres a lot of rusty cars here in Chicago,esp.older Asian and
American cars due to salt in the winter.Surprisingly,high end
cars are not .Probably,they wash it often during the winter,
like I do.Twice a week minimum.

In my '95 E420, the battery was in the trunk. In the 2000 E430, it is under the back seat.

Driver impressions between two cars:

1) Much better ride: tighter, smoother, more balanced feel

2) My E420 did not have traction control and was always spinning its rear wheels on wet pavement. Had to be very careful. Doesn't happen on the 430.

3) Steering feels more accurate (rack & pinion, vs recirculating ball)

4) E430 has more trunk and interior room.

5) E430 lots more electronic and comfort features

6) E430 is smoother and faster, gets better gas mileage

Hope this helps, let me know if you want more info.

__________________
2000 E430 Sport (European Delivery)
Brilliant Silver/Ash Leather
Brabus Leather/Wood Sport Steering Wheel
PowerChip
Euro Front Bumper Strips, Debadged
E55 "Carbon Fiber" Door Pillar Trim
E55 Tail lights
E55 AMG/Bilstein Shocks
Eibach Springs, #1 Pads
H & R Sway Bars
Speed Yellow Calipers
18" x 8" SSR Integral Wheels
245/40ZR 18 Bridgestone Potenza RE960AS Tires

1986 Porsche 944 Turbo
88K miles

We bought a 1995 E420 in May 2000. The car is incredibly powerful and solid. I think I personally prefer to drive it over our 1998 E320, but it is a close call. Because of the recirculating ball steering, the E420 is more stable on the interstate in my opinion. As already mentioned, when it is wet, the power of this car makes it very easy to spin the wheels. Our car does not have ASR on it. Last winter we put four Michelin Arctic Alpins on the car. My wife drove it daily for work and it got around very well in snow and ice with those tires. You just need to accelerate slowly to avoid wheel spin. The Arctic Alpins also handle well in normal driving conditions. Prior to that she drove a 1983 300D with four Bridgestone Blizzaks and the W123 car probably got around better because of the diesel engine and less power.

Everyone,

Thanks for the replies! Now my patience on getting one has been getting shorter. I was going to bid my time and wait and look but since reading all your posts I want one like yesterday!! :-)

Sooner than later I shall find the black/black e420 I've been searching for and a big thank you and pics of the car will be posted.

Then of course the car will be fitted with Sportline suspension and the front seats because I loved those seats from the E500. Oh yeah will get bigger rims too...probably get the 16" replica 8-hole rims to conserve the normal look and hopefully the AMG front air dam.

-Reny

PS I have this book on mantaining my '94 E320....is there such a book for the E420? I know most of it should be the same....just this book I have doesn't cover the V-8 engines.

Having owned a 91' 300E, 93' 400E, 92' 500E, and current 95' C36 I can say the 400E is a VERY good balance of the positive qualities of the above cars.

400E's have a 2.24 rear axle so power off the line is less impressive than kickdown. However, with 90% of peak torque available as low as 1500 rpm, you will have "grunt" immediately. That tall gearing makes for impressive kickdowns (you can pull a 4th to 1st at 20-25mph) The upside to that gearing is that you should get about 18-20 in town and 24-26 on the highway. The manual shifter option really comes in handy with this car.

You will need to upgrade the tires or wheels/tires. 3700 lbs of sedan with 275hp/295lb-ft on tires the size of a honda accords is not the best setup in my opinion. Go with the 16x7.5 "8-hole" replica wheels (forget offset off the top of my head) with 225/50/16 tires. There is no factory "sportline" suspension for 400E's, but there are some good aftermarket alternatives (thin spring pads and/or Eibach springs to lower with bilstein HD shocks) are popular. Careful when lowering the car and running the 225 tires. The tires will help the car more than the suspension, so choose your priorities.

The interior is upgraded in several ways but still lacks the 500E's more laterally supportive seats. As far as I know there is not a cost effective way of doing the transplant. (will be hard finding used 500E seats, esp when color matching) The only real "flaw" I can peg on the 400E is that it suffers from the W124 V8 temp issue. That being that 400E/E420's and 500E/E500's run a bit "hot" under certain circumstances. Never to the point of critical, just hot enough to lose some performance and make owners watch the gauge.

Hope this helps,
Lee

Lee,

Thanks for the info. Like I needed another couple of reason to get that E420. ;-)

Just patiently looking for a black/black 94-05 E420.

-Reny

Reny,
As Lee had mention,engine temp.on 400E-E420
and 500E-E500 run a little bit warmer than the
rest of 124's.That problem is gone thru the
installation of Jim F's"cool harness" or
Italian Benz's"piggy back's.My car had never
seen 100 C.since I install Jim F's CH.
Another reason,400E and E420 are much cheaper to mentain than 500E-E500.There, you got couple
of reason now.

I will touch on maintenance between the W124's for a second. I like the M119 V8 engine much better for overall reliability than the M104. You have two distributor caps/rotors that need regular replacement but its DIY'able ( http://www.peachparts.com/Wikka/M119DistCapRotor ) and with a PartsShop order shouldn't be too bad on the wallet. You have the dual air filter element vs the one but again, cost difference is negligible vs the M104. Do watch the engine wiring harness but that plagued all engines of that era... You will want to watch the timing chain and for what it does, is worth preventative checks/replacement. Overall a great package....

To clarify the 400E vs 500E, from my experience, basic maintenance is very similar (cost and procedure) but anything unconventional that breaks tends to be more expensive in the 500E. Brake rotors/pads, filters, etc are about the same....need new shocks/springs or anything 500E specific and it can get expensive.

Hope this helps,
Lee

Ahhhhh......someone find me a dark gray E420 with a black interior!

Guys you have been more than helpful in your insight (don't let me stop you) man I wish I had time and money to look for cars outside of western NY!!!

Reny

The M119 engine is so big that the battery has to be moved to trunk.
I have a friend who owns 300E which has been converted to 300EV8. I can remember some info.
The differences between 400E and 320E is mainly a performance-related parts.
You'll need a pair of front springs and shock absorbers for sure.
But I'm not sure about the brakes because the right-hand drive 400E, as I've seen, comes with 15 inches wheel and 195/65 or 205/65 tires. If I could buy 400E, I would considered replace the old front discs with those from 500SL. But also, you'll need 16inches or larger wheel.

The final ratio of 400E is ~2.67 so you'll need to change this too.
-tacho meter and speedometer are also different.