400e situation help me decide
 

well i've been driving my mirage for a while, as my coupes just been sitting there broken and i'm tired of looking at it..

anyways 2 400e's turned up..

lets go with 400e #1
so its white/parchment, 1993 but the door says 10/92.. so its a late 92-93 i guess.. around 150,000 miles.
issues: tranny has a 3-4 second delay going into reverse
timing chain/rails have not been done
ac has been refreshed, but i think its just been refilled, but it works fine
wiring harness has been done by P.O before him.. but ETA looks original
car has been hit in rear quarter and fender (which is no big deal to me)
little tear in the rear seat just needs stitching (no big deal)
missing the 2 intake pipe things (he said he took it off cause it was all duct-taped)
No headliner
left driver's side windows needs a regulator
all the electronics work
shocks seem kind of newish but i'm not sure
smog pump has a tick sometimes which sets off the engine light
other than that the car seems fine, the owner is a mb enthusiast somewhat, he just bought a brand new r129 sl500..
has plastic oiltubes, couple of em are popped.
missing antenna
needs a battery
power steering leaks
driver's side needs a new door check
and this was his first car.. but NO records whatsoever
starting price was 1400, got him down to 1175

400e#2
1992, red/mushroom creamish 198k
tranny has been changed 2 years ago, (he bought the car with car stuck in 1st gear)
everything ac-wise has been changed, not sure about vacuum pods but i'm sure it was the condenser,etc
its sitting at his mechanic's right now getting oil changed, and he recently had a tuneup
ac refill/serp belt/new spark plug wires
everything works on his car as well, but the leather has a little dry cracks
NO records of wiring harness/ETA/T-chain/T-chain rails
i have not test drove this car yet
he has piles of records of everything he did since he bought the car (2004)
and all this was done over the phone,
starting price was 2600, got it down to 2000

my worries.. obviously the gas.. since i have a long commute, but i love the w124s and can't stop getting enough.. so i'll drive it 3 days a week or something and just drive my mirage..

my other worries.. the 92 seems to get way less gas mileage than the 93, and i know the manual tensioner is a pita..

so what would you guys pick?

i've looked at a couple of 400e's.... the engine jammed into the bay has bothered me

i am a diyer..... so i stick with 124's that have the six....specifically 94's and 95's

not much help here...but can you work on that engine given the space limitations

you won't be able to afford it, if you plan on having someone else service it

that bothers me as well.. i have a 1993 ce right now, but the tensioner is broken and i can't really work on it.. might give it to a friend who works on benzes for super cheap, or it has to go to the junker :(

i had a 95 w202 c280 before with the same engine, it was a pain to work on just like the coupe..

then i got a 87 300e, with the m103 man was that easy compared to these so so easy..

the 400e does intimidate me, and its true i can't afford the gas on it, but its the same as my coupe so bleh.. :P
but yeah there is NO space

honestly i've been looking for a 94/95 coupe for forever but i can't find one within budget :/

belt tensioner? piece of cake....150 in parts

its not that thats hard.. 1 of my pulleybolts seem to be froezen, and i'm trying to do it in an apartment :/

Can't you cut the belt and attack it that way?

If you have no place/ tools to work on your car, you really should not buy an old mercedes.

Go buy a honda.

A $1000-$2,000 V8 Mercedes will be a maintenance nightmare. It was a $60k car new and you can get it for 1k. Something is missing here.

The cheapest Mercedes is the most expensive.

ended up buying an es300, and james nope cause the belts already off so the pulleys spin :P
going to save up for a 400e in better condition with updated harness,tranny,etc later on.

gabzor, an independent tech advised me years ago to steer clear of any 8-cylinder 124 car because they are expensive to maintain and difficult for a DIY'er to work on due to the limited space under the hood.

guess i'll wait till an clean e320 coupe comes out than :P

OMG, what a bunch of pu$$ie$

Do it! I miss my 400E dearly. The SL is a great car, but I'll have to pick up a 500E at some point. The 400E is a special car nonetheless.

Get the 92. More HP, different ECM. Does it have ASR? If not, that's a bonus. The fact that the trans has already been replaced will solve about $1500-$2500 of your future problems.

Timing chains aren't an issue on an m119 (well, maybe not til 400k, unless it has a poor oil change history).

Has the AC evap been done? Also, they eat through caps and rotors every 30k. See if they've been done. Has the car been sitting, or currently being driven? That's a plus if it is. They really soak up moisture if not run regularly.

The friend I sold mine to is an MB tech, and he has gotten my old beast into fine running condition. He's getting near 30mpg on the highway, albeit with 15" wheels and tires from a 300E and keeping it around 65. The 93+ does not have the "wot enrichment" ECU, so as long as you keep your foot out of it, your mileage shouldn't be worse on a 92. But it's such fun if you do!

^^^^^
DOH!

the 92 had everything done, was sitting in a shop, he owed the mechanic (his friend) money no lien or anything though.. he just got out of divorce and wife won, and he ended up getting stuck with a corolla she didn't make payments on