Good luck to you, and I'm willing to bet we'll see you here again one day. After the bug has bitten, and you've gotten up on the learning curve, it just happens. I was in the same boat 10 years ago when I got rid of my 86 190E with 165K miles, but then I just had to have that '95 E320 for a song, and now I'm on the '99 E430.

And now to mix the Japanese and German.

My W124 260e is a Japanese export - i.e. was sold in Japan, it reached it's economical life cycle there and was then exported to Australia. It has a very low mileage for an '89 model - 85,000 miles.

We get a lot of Japanese late '80's W124's in Australia - many have very low miles - some less than 40,000 miles. Most of these cars have very good service histories - the regime in Japan is very strict in this regard.

This doesn't mean that these cars don't need some serious work done to them. They are still some 20 years+ old.

My car was owned by a wealthy type and was chauffeur driven. It seems obvious also that this car has never done more than 60mph in it's entire life. This is common in Asian cars. (Singapore has a 50mph speed limit.) The car is immaculately presented - looks and drives like new still

Many of these cars are idled all day with their Aircons on. (The traffic is horrendous in Japan - and Asia generally).

I am just about to change the water pump - the radiator has already been done. I notice that a lot of the plastic parts under the bonnet (hood) are hard and dried out ( - indicating high temps probably due to long idling periods). One of the heater vacuum controls also requires replacement.

The point is this. Not only do good maintenance records count when buying a 20 year old car. The way that car was driven during that time also counts. I have heard countless tales from guys who have bought some grandma's W123 that was only used on weekends with low miles only to require extensive maintenance work after it started to be used as a daily driver. All cars are made to be driven. All parts need to be used or they will fail with no use. It's the same as a human body. (Don't exercise and watch part of it breakdown when you need it most)

Another point about maintenance. M.B.'s cooling system has plastic, aluminum and steel components all in the same circuit. The coolant recommended is of a very high quality. Don't use the good stuff at your peril (over time). Batteries have a very finite lifetime. M.B.'s also have a fairly hefty battery. When they get towards the end of there life the rest of the charging system needs to work harder to compensate.

In a former life I was an installer of electromechanical switch systems. They were very expensive. They also had a mean life of forty years - with correct maintenance. I acquaint older M.B.'s the same way - made to last a long time with correct maintenance. Why would M.B. still supply spare parts for years old cars if they did not hold to this policy.

And one more point. I.M.H.O. 20 year old M.B's are for enthusiasts like 99% of the posters here. If you are after a reliable old run about - you need to look Toyota. I'm often asked if an old Benz is suitable for someones daughter. I always say no - unless there is a very handy mechanic available.

I bought my car with 0 records. :D I figured I'd eventually replace everything anyways...so who needs records? :D ;)

Plus, I could tell what stuff had been worked on or replaced just by looking at it.

Well most of the problems i listed that i had on my W124 i had on my other benzos as well. My 83 SD needed a few of the same replacements, granted this was a different engine and chassis but the parts were the same. Water pump, alternator, passanger side window motor, antenna, cruise control, etc. Although i didnt buy the car with service records and it was cheap ($800) My 81 on the other hand was bought with service records from day 1 and still had a problems which is why the owner wanted to sell it. But his excuse was the A/C being out.

He had the A/C system rebuilt 3 times and he lived in a fairly warm area of california. So no a/c with a a dark grey car and black leather seats was not ideal for him. Eventually i gave that car to the junk yard when the transmission gave out. But he had most of what i listed already done, including a full suspension rebuild which is what sold me and made me buy the car. But it still had other faults come up with the car like the cruise control, window motor/regulator, and alternator which were replaced/fixed as per the service records and by the looks of the parts (didnt look old and greasy) they were indeed replaced.

My dads 78 300D was fairly reliable for the first 2 years, but then the transmission went out, shocks went out, and all the suspension bushing were worn. But for a car with over 400K miles we expected this. He just went for the cheap and cheerful route and just replaced the shocks and transmission. Left the floaty worn out suspension alone and decided it was just a get to work (which in his case is 10miles roundtrip) and for going around town. Trips or far destinations he will take his newer truck instead.

Now with that i decided for my replacement car not to go japanese because i didnt want a common run of the mill civic or toyota. Because i still loved MB, which is why i decided to go for a newer MB that would give me less grief then my 20+ year old cars did.

But if i remember correctly, your SD did have a suspension problem i remember you posted a thread on. And you had it fixed at the dealer correct? Or was this someone else with an SD?

A couple years ago I opted to have my rear springs/shocks replaced by the dear because it was sitting a little low.....it wasn't a "problem" so much as me wanting it to sit higher. :D

Must have been someone else....my car's suspension/steering have been 100% trouble free since I got the car 6 years/71k ago.

Must have been someone else, i vaguely remember the problem but the car wouldnt stay in a straight line on the freeway is what i seem to remember.

Never underestimate what a W126 can do. :D My dad snapped his front sway bar when he was in chicago a few years ago when pulling out of a steep driveway....he drove 300+ miles home at 85mph with a broken sway bar....didn't cause any problems except it pulled to the left a bit. :D We then replaced it (huge project...its in the DIY area...)....and all has been fine since.

I went through something similar with my w124. take a look at this thread I started :)
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/tech-help/73435-merecedes-too-troublesome.html

Well i guess i better get my foot out of my mouth:

http://www.mbworld.org/forums/c32-amg-c55-amg-w203/283524-sudden-problems-c32.html

I think im going to switch car brands, this is just ridiculous.

Or you could just go diesel-only.......and get like a '99 E300 or something....and have it performance chipped. :D

Sloppy handling, rather aged styling, and to slow with chip :P

Im thinking more of the lines of E46 M3 or Porsche 996, they are both very affordable...all thanks to this economy.

Plus im sure the situation wouldnt be any different in a diesel.

Personally, I'd considered upgrading to a 210 back in '96, but didn't really care for the Honda look from the rear or the newer 4matic system. When a friend/employee bought his '99, and had several problems including spring perches, I had already decided not to buy any more Mercedes due to the dealer hassles and lack of a turbodiesel, but considered the '98, ... glad at that point I hadn't bought one.

I like having a couple of older diesels around, seems like they're more dependable than any of the new stuff. I've never had any problems with my older 124s, but new cars have occasionally treated me like crap.

Yeah that spring perch issue here in Michiganrustland....I'd be pretty paranoid about it. How have the gassers been going lately? Mine has been behaving....building up trust so it can let me down again in the future. :D

Actually, that was in Mississippi, never saw Michigan winter, failed in '03 (4 years old).

I don't think that the spring perch failure is a rust issue, I suspect either process (weld or material) control or metal fatigue from a less-than-robust design.

Wish someone would do a post-mortem to see what the failure was.