Two years ago, I purchased my 1995 E320 Wagon to replace my 1999 Chevrolet Silverado pickup as my general purpose workhorse vehicle. A decision I have not regretted, since other than towing cars, 90% of what I used the pickup for can be done with the wagon. Plus it’s ever so much a nicer place to be, easier to park, and, to my eye, extremely cool. With now 237k on the clock, it remains rock solid with a flawless Gore Tex interior. My only non-stock modification has been adding 16” E420 wheels with 215 section tires, and I repainted the lower body panels white to replace the silver, so it’s solid white. I’ve also fixed a bunch of stuff—replaced the radiator and cooling hoses, fixed the rear hatch shocks (a ridiculously complicated task), fixed the parking brake and central locking, fixed the leaking transmission input shaft seal, etc. The car came with fairly new Bilstein struts and good brakes, so I haven’t had to do much there. It’s a reliable car that I find myself grabbing the keys to more often than the other more “involving” i.e., temperamental cars in my stable. It’s just a sweetheart. I’d upload photos if I could figure out how to resize them in my ipad.

At this point, I’m trying to decide what to do moving forward. The AC evaporator is leaking (like they all do), so it has inop AC. That’s a job I can handle myself with a lot of time, advice from this forum, and my advanced degree from YouTube University. More worrying is the rust in the bottoms of the rear windows. It’s barely even noticeable from outside, but pull away the inner panels, and you can see that the window seals have leaked and there’s rust in the channels. I can weld in new metal and fix the rust, but getting those large back windows out without breaking is a daunting task. I imagine they are pretty hard to replace. My record with glass replacement is, uh, shattered.

There are always a couple of these cars available locally in the $4-6k range (most with over 200k miles, never with working AC), and the window channel problem is sort of hit or miss, so I could find a rust-free car as a replacement, perhaps in a cooler color than white (red, blue or green would be my choices). But I’d almost certainly be trading one set of problems for another. Or I could just leave everything be and drive it as is, but, it’s kind of too noble a car to neglect.

Decisions, decisions . . .

dr Truth
1989 BMW 325i 2.9 stroker
1995 Mercedes E320 Wagon
2014 Porsche Cayman

I hear ya. You know the evils lurking in your car, but not in one you look at / buy. Many of us tend to be a bit self-critical. Knowing the issues with my cars, I usually assume, incorrectly, other cars are better.

My vote is keep the car and drive it until the wheels fall off. (Assuming no safety concerns with the rust.)

I own a 1991 250TD, 5 speed, euro import.

It's noisy, slow, has myriad quirks (bulb out light stays on, but I can't find the dead bulb, rear washer does work, rear wiper is slow, AC is Allegedly, it works, and is full of refrigirant, but the light on the dash is blinking and it doesn't engage when I want it to. Came only equipped with two front speakers. Sometimes the switches don't operate the windows, and I have to fiddle with the center console to make them work. Fuel gauge is vague, fuel delivery when the tank is low is sporadic, fog lights don't turn on when I pull the switch, etc) but I love the stupid thing.

Luckily I have a more modern car to drive for long distances; a ruthlessly capable and efficient BMW 535i. And I daily a Honda Africa Twin.

But the charm of my old battle wagon, is inescapable. So much that when a friend of mine crashed her car, I gave her the keys for my BMW and have been driving the wagon for the last few months.

Removing the rear windows is actually easy, the surrounding trim just pushes into the rubber seal expanding it thereby holding the glass in , just get a stiff plastic wedge and pry out the trim , the glass will come out, they make a new patch panel to weld in from germany im doing mine soon dont wait, mine is rusted bad at the bottom im near the ocean

Couple of comments...
Older cars are "cool" if they're nice and presentable, the W124 wagon is a great car especially the '95. Lastly continue to fix it IF, IF, IF and only IF you enjoy or don't mind doing the repairs.

Keep in mind that at 237K the transmission is getting close to giving some headaches such as leaks or losing reverse.

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"Rudeness is a weak man's imitation of strength" - Eric Hoffer

Sorry to interrupt the thread but, back seat driver: need to check all the fuses, get rid of the aluminum ones and replace with brass or copper, cures 90% of electrical issues shy of worn switches and biodegradable harnesses

As mentioned, removing the rear side windows is not that difficult. I have a thread on my own experience doing so with pics as well as the rust repair. If you can do the work, it's not too bad.

Same with the AC, thought it was the evaporator, turned out to be the compressor seals instead. Barrier hoses if original are also culprits, o-rings etc. New compressor, hoses, condenser and drier and the system has been running perfectly since with no leaks and the original evaporator. If it's a keeper, do it, these are such wonderful cars, it's hard to give up on them.
Good luck

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Stable Mates:
1987 300TD 310K mi (Hans)
2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee OM642 165k mi (Benzrokee)