decisions decisions
 

OK..I know I ask alot of questions. Sorry but I am a very cautious buyer-sometimes too cautious.

I am interested in a 4 door MB. I want it to be sporty but a 4 door. I really like the e420's but have also considered C280's. Probably a sport model.

Do you guys have anythoughts for the money, for the features, for the sportiness of the 4door sedan, on which one I should look at? There are budget concerns but could purchase up to 97 e420 or so. I guess cap is 23,000 or so.

Thanks for all the help!
r

For budgetary concerns, I'd buy a 1994-1995 W124 chassis E420. You can get a good one from about $15,000 pivate party to about $19,000 from a Mercedes dealer with a Starmark Warranty.

In the W210 chassis, 1997 was the only year of the E420. It was not offered in 1996. In 1998, MB offered the E430, and it was a different engine (M113), whereas the 1994-1995 E420 and the 1997 E420 used the same M119 engine.

MB also sold the 1997 E420 as a sportline model, too.

Thanks..so are you saying for budgetary reasons ONLY? I would be most interested in the 97 e420 sport...they are sharp cars.

No, I actually prefer the W124 chassis over the W210 chassis.

I think you'll have trouble finding a '97 E420 within your budget.

'97 E420's start at about $25,000 with high mileage in Southern California.

If you buy a '95 E420 for around $19,000 with a Starmark Warranty, you're going to pay about $20,900 out the door including sales tax, license and registration.

You could easily afford a C280 sport model or a '96-'97 W210 chassis E320 with around 100,000 miles within your budget.

I have sweet 94 for sale
 

Silver over black leather. Loaded with phone and CD changer. 76,500 miles and all service records since new. I am in FL asking $15k.

Depends on what you mean by sporty - acceleration or cornering!
The early 300E w124s were better balanced and more 'tossable' than the later 300E/E320s or the V8 124 cars ( http://www.peachparts.com/300e.htm and http://www.peachparts.com/400e.htm ) . They were also reputed to be nearly as quick as the 400s at the site http://web.missouri.edu/~apcb20/times.html#Mercedes :

Year__Model____________0-60__1/4m
1987 Mercedes-Benz 300E 7.5 16.0
1990 Mercedes-Benz 300E 8.7 16.8
1992 Mercedes-Benz 300E 8.6 16.6

1992 Mercedes-Benz 400E 7.6 15.8
1993 Mercedes-Benz 400E 7.2 15.4

1994 Mercedes-Benz C280 7.8 16.1
1994 Mercedes-Benz C280 8.4 16.5 (auto)
1995 Mercedes-Benz C280 7.9 16.0
1996 Mercedes-Benz C280 7.3 15.8 (sport)

1995 Mercedes-Benz C36 6.0 14.5
1997 Mercedes-Benz C36 5.9 14.4
1998 Mercedes-Benz C43 5.8 14.4

The early 300Es didn't get as good of gas mileage as the later w124 6 cylinders, or even as the 400E/E420s! About 20 mpg overall, and a personal best of 25 hiway at 70mph. That said, I much prefer the handling of my 87 300e with sportline suspension parts over our 98 C230 with Koni sports and 16" sport wheels. Maybe a C43 or C36 is your target, but I don't know about prices on those! Good luck on the hunt.

My $.02:

Go and test drive a C36, W124E420 and the W210E420.

Choose one and then get the nicest you can afford.

Steve