Maintence costs: E320 vs E420
 

Good morning,


Can someone comment on problems and costs of ownership on the 92-95 E-class? I'm looking hard to find a cream-puff as my 86' has been very reliable.
A 92 E400 is a M117
95 E420 is a M119

Is there an big difference between the two for maintence? I realize the M104's are near-perfect except for headgaskets and coils.

I don't drive a huge number of miles and the allure of a 95' is that they generally are optioned more heavily + they are the newest of the W124.
The only show stopper for me would be if it is an ASR car.

Michael

In general, Mercedes makes an excellent V8 motor - - I think you'd be safe with most of them unless the car is needing big repair work when you purchase it.

I can understand your desire to find a premium car right now for a silly, low price. I can't imagine you'll have that much trouble. Good luck.

Wrong on the V8 motor. All 1992-1993 400E's / 1994-1995 E420's have the exact same engine: 4.2 liter M119.

yea I figured that out...

Do all the ASR and NON-ASR M119.875's have electronic throttle actuators?? I remember about 4 years having a long discussion with Stu Ritter and he said I wanted a non-ASR car. I see there is now a "DYI ASR Disabling" guide on this site. So maybe it's more a non-issue now? I think it was the expense of the throttle actuation valve and the diff was different????

Anyone know the details

M

The V8s have bigger brakes (more money), different suspension (more money), larger wheels (more money), and more engine parts (spark plugs, etc. - more money). Both are reliable, the V8s are much faster while getting only a point or two less in mpg, both have the same "other" problems - failing tranny, evap, wiring harness, etc.

I never had a problem with the ASR, what I did have a problem with is the ETA, is that the insulation had fallen off of the wires. (MB will deny knowledge of this).
The wiring harness fell apart a few years before the ETA gave out.
If the wiring has been replaced, then I would say to keep up with the caps and rotors. If you get a 94 or 95, they have cabin air filters, and should be looked at, so you don;t ruin the expensive regulator underneath (nor the blower motor).
There is a resistor that is behind the driver;s headlamp - it has a wire that is too small for its application, and can annoy you, because it will burn out.

For the most part, it is built like a brick outhouse. MPG is in the 22-24 range.

I agree with all that, but the one thing the V8 has in its favor is the head gaskets don't fail. The inline 6's have bad original head gaskets.