best gasoline mercedes under 5000

[94mgm]

which gasoline mercedes is the best in tearms of operating costs and reliability? im trying to find a "new" car for my wife. 190 is to small i think we need 2 kids + car seat on the back seat.

Thanks

[E150GT]

420sel naturally, if you find a good one.

[TimFreeh]

94-96 C220

[brewtoo]

1994 or 1995 124

[lee polowczuk]

agreed 94 or 95 124 if the head gasket is done.

93 if not

[kramlavud]

yep, a 94 or 95 E320, smooth, adequate power, good on gas for it's era (high as 28mpg highway, my average is 23 per week commuting), quiet, great seats, sturdy/safe; but has 3 issues: head gasket, wiring harness, and aircon evaporator. Bought my 94 at 80,000 miles, now has 145,000. Have not replaced any of these...yet. Still, be prepared to spend over $1,000 annually to keep running; it's at least 12 years old.
regards,
Mark

[deanyel]

Originally Posted by lee polowczuk

agreed 94 or 95 124 if the head gasket is done.

93 if not

93 has the same head gasket issue as the 94/95. You have to go back to 1992 to get a 103 motor (sedan).

[E150GT]

The evaporator is enough to scare me away from those cars.

[Larry Delor]

Don't forget to look at the 124 TE's (wagons)

[deanyel]

Originally Posted by kramlavud

yep, a 94 or 95 E320, smooth, adequate power, good on gas for it's era (high as 28mpg highway, my average is 23 per week commuting), quiet, great seats, sturdy/safe; but has 3 issues: head gasket, wiring harness, and aircon evaporator. Bought my 94 at 80,000 miles, now has 145,000. Have not replaced any of these...yet. Still, be prepared to spend over $1,000 annually to keep running; it's at least 12 years old.
regards,
Mark

It has 3 issues, plus the other issues - short-lived throttle actuators, fragile hot film MAF sensors, clogged EGR pipes, etc. An E420 is just a better all around car.

[lee polowczuk]

thought the 93 had the 103..

I guess you can tell i like the 103.... although i hear great things about the 104

with our 3, our repair bills are about 2 cents a mile over an extended period.... we do all repairs. We haven't had the evaporator issue. Lost a compressor on one that was the biggest repair

tires and fluid changes are separate..as is gas and insurance

[gmercoleza]

Tough to beat a W124.

[mpolli]

Spend 7K and get a 98 C230

Mike

[Jim B.]

'94 or '95 E320 in good shape, but will probably require some sharp bargaining or really good luck to get one under $5000

[Hatterasguy]

Toyota Camry.

A mid 90's E class is hard to beat...