No, talking nice condition, not decent condition. Of course V8s and 94/95s bring a little more than the others.

this car seems to be in very good condition. i mean, it has some millimeter or smaller pock marks from rocks, a couple chips in the headlights due to same thing (the car just passed inspection, btw), and as I a said a 1" radial scratch on the door. other than that very good. Interior, nothing a little elbow grease or tiny glue wont fix. 1 tiny crack in wood trim by the shifter, other wise perfect. did i mention the built in working radar detector, antique car phone, working CD changer with no blown speakers.? the carpet almost looks new. the rear seats and trunk do look new.

same independent Mercedes mechanic for 10 years + said: it has a lot of miles, so its always a bit of a risk with a car with these many miles (referring to the trans and other bits that might need to be fixed over time), but it has been very well maintained, all highway miles, and if i drive only 5-6k a year, it might be a good car for me. Anyway, that was his summary.

the seller was not going to go below 4k because he likes this car, he claims, better than his new Merc, and is only keeping the new one because he would loose too much money selling it or trading it in (its a two years or so old, Red AMG coupe of some sort). and he has to park the 400e on the street right now because there is no room in the drive for it. so on the one hand, his head wants to get rid of the car, on the other hand his heart wants to keep it. And I think I believe him.

I volunteered to take his new car off his hands for 4k instead.

as I said, this is my reasoning. I need a car to get to and from work between 3-5 days a week. work is 3 miles round trip. some days i go farther for meetings, taking my kid to school, etc (like 8 miles max). occasional trips to airport or beach, about 30-40 miles each way. We have a second car as well my wife uses. So I am really not interested in spending loads on a car and finance when it sits around so much doing nothing.

We currently have a ford focus 03 (please, dont flame me...its all we could swing at the time and no mercs were around at the moment) which has 37k and nothing but problems (rebuilt the trans, replaced the alternator, instrument cluster and one engine mount since x-mas) and want to get rid of it before the warranty runs out. a new honda civic is $310/month for 5 years + 2k down. the merc, assuming 1200 costs for repair/year average AND the purchase price over five years is still less than half the total cost of the CIVIC. And i get to drive a car I really like, i think, instead of a honda, which is sort of cool, but not the same thing. i think of the maintenance cost + purchase price as a $200 car payment for five years, and the end of which i sell the merc and hopefully get 2-3 k on it or keep it if I have liked it and am not broke fixing it.

look...i would probably do it... but the caveat is... i do just about all of my own work.

that's how you will be able to keep the costs under 1k a year.

Come to think of it...it's really the people on this board that give me the confidence to do some of these jobs.

well how much do you think, at an independent mechanic, it would cost to maintain this car? I have a relative with a 1992 300e and he spends between 700-1000 but puts lots of miles on it. he loves it. I am prepared to spend between $1200 and say $1800 per year average. after that, it stops making sense for me.

too difficult a question....

the largest repair i have had on my car is a/c compressor, drier, expansion valve..

i paid about 375 in parts.. then paid an indie 100 to do a leak vacuum and re-charge.

all other work i have done myself....

i just think you have to think of all the biggies.. like a/c ... the dreaded evaporator (i am ok, so far) behind the dash vacuum pods..

brakes, fluid changes, tires, filters, and one or two minor repairs will keep you at the 1200 mark.... but you would have those with any car..

hey i love the 124's....but i could never own them if i had to have someone else maintain them.... and i should add...we have very little go wrong and usually start replacing rubber and suspension items pro actively.

I know. i think maybe its worth a try. I guess if after a year the maintenance is too bad I could get rid of it. instead of paying 2 grand for car payments on my focus that I would otherwise (did I mention I still owe 4k on that hunk o'junk?).

I could at least change the oil myself i suppose! I hear it takes many quarts.:rolleyes:

while i am on it. if i drive only 6k a year max, how often would you recommend changing the oil on this car since I will probably be changing according to time rather than mileage. every 4 months? again, i guess this is a new thread. or maybe i should search of an existing one.

Start with the small stuff and work up :)

and yes you'll be buying Oil by the carton not by the bottle.

if you truly only do 6 k a year... i would change it once in the fall and once in the spring... about the time when you would wax it.

if you get an oil extractor, you can practically change the oil and filter in your work clothes...

I think the 400E was one of the best built W124s out there. The M119 is bulletproof, almost to the point of an MB diesel. If it has been well maintained, as you say it has, it will most likely be trouble free. Do you know if the engine wire harness has been replaced? On my 400E, it was done by the PO at 150k, just as preventative maintainence. If it was done on yours, I would think that the PO was definitely on top of things.

Also, I have seen many M119s go beyond the 225k mark, and they do it very easy!

yes new wiring harness, almost all new hoses, and completely new radiator and cooling systems and lots of work on the AC as well.

i think the mech was mainly worried that the trans is towards end of life. though i tested it and its really smooth and does not lag at all going into drive or reverse like i have seen some warn about on the boards. and the trans fluid seems to have been replaced regularly from the records. the mech said not to touch the trans to try to fix the small leak from a seal or something because he would worry about the trans not working once it the job was done. and the leak is too small to worry about right now and he said was pretty typical.

The ps pump was replaced, but not the box, and the ps leak seems to be from around the box. its small, so as someone said earlier, maybe this means a box or just a seal. again, mech said, small, relatively normal for age, but something i needed to know about. again steers perfectly it seems to me right now.

the mech seems on the cautious side of things.

the po said he replaced many things as preventative, ie before they really needed to be. i did not believe him till i met the mech.

Touching mechanic moment: When I mentioned that I used to have a 77 300D, the mechanic's eyes popped open :eek: and he asked if I still had it. I said no. He then grew notably said and said it was a pity, i should have kept it forever. :(

:D :D :D

Funny! I have had three different mechanics try to buy my 300CD from me. It's not for sale, at any price. :dizzy2:

As to your oil change question, if you're driving only 6 to 8 thousand miles per year, I would run full synthetic and change it twice a year, fall and spring. If you buy an extractor, oil changes on these cars are as easy as they come.

Don't worry about the trans. They will generally give PLENTY of notice as they begin to fail. Even when they do fail, a rebuilt trans probably won't cost quite as much as you fear it will, and once you do that you should be good for a while. The only parts for a 400E that are shockingly expensive are brake calipers (but you can buy re-built calipers), A/C compressors (the Nippondenso unit is very expensive new), and the fan clutch.

But driving this car is SO worth it!

I have seen many an M119 with well over 200K and I've never seen burning oil or any signs of "wear" if they are well-maintained. You'll have accessories fail over time as with any other car, but that is one of the best motors MB has ever built, which is saying a lot.

Got It!!
 

Picked up the 400e today. The owner almost cried as I drove it away.

I will post photos as soon as I get a chance.

I want to thank everyone who answered my questions and gave advice and encouragement. Looking forward to learning a lot from the community over the coming years.

PS: in going over the stack of repairs today one last time, here is what I confirmed, amongst other things: entirely new AC system (compressor, evaporator, blower, vents, buttons, etc), new timing belt/etc, new p/s pump, replace rotor, new cooling/radiator, new wiring harness.

i think you did very well.

show the pics, so we can all be jealous!