I have a '92 500E, and one thing I'd suggest you look at/have a mechanic look at is the adaptive rear suspension. Shortly after I bought mine, I found that there was a noise (just like a bad shock mount) coming from the rear. Turned out to be a bad shock/hydropneumatic strut. No matter what you call it, it was $500 for the part alone. The only other thing that went prematurely was the monobelt tensioner ($200 repair), and that was it. Also, you may want to determine if your front brakes were "upgraded" from aluminum calipers to iron ones. If you're running the iron calipers, the car calls for a different brake pad than standard (P/N 002 420 37 20 is correct, I found out the hard way!). And the seats, by the way, are Recaros all the way around, so they're tough to beat.

Good luck!!

Regards, Michael
'92 500E
'88 300TE

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