I also have a 1985 380SE (must have been a lot of these cars made ). I have 265K on mine now. Overall- my car is still in very good condition. My car has the MB-Tex, which holds up well, mine is still like new, but the dash is cracked (now has cover) which is a common problem, especially on southern cars. As mentioned- check the springs on the seats, as they are prone to collaspe, unless the primary owner was light weight- like mine was, or at least that helps.

Like Hat said, make sure that the chains, guides and rails are not due for changing. Mine - I have no idea when they were last changed, so I am driving on borrowed time in mine. I have been told (by some) that if no rattling from the chain area, then no big cause for concern, but what do I know? I know that the rails can break, lodging in the chain and no noise there until it is too late. No more than I paid for the car, I am not worried about it. I will drive it until it stops. I had a price of $550. quoted for the chain/tensioner replacement, but the addition of rails/guides nearly doubles that. I would not mind even that, but my car has some sort of a low RPM knocking (between 1600-1900 rpms upon acceleration) that concerns me. It has not gotten any worse, but I do not want to sink $$$$ into this car because of this. I am thinking my cam may be worn on one side. The last 50K of my car was from the 2nd owner, which I think did not maintain the car very well. One plus is that I still do not have any oil/tranny leaks - also suprising. Transmission still is good too. Shifts like it should.

Sounds like you already know all of the trouble spots about these cars (rust on the northern models, electrical issues, water leaks, etc). Mine has suprised me- I have no electrical issues and luckily, a southern car, so no rust concerns. Even the original radio works like new and the original speakers sound new too (knock on wood). Another common trouble spot seems to be the idle. Some people claim rough idle. Mine did this back in the winter when it was cold. HVAC controls can also be a problem on some models.

Its funny, but I have saw high mileage models without problems and some low mileage models with problems. Basically all in how they were cared for.

Another plus, like Gary said, these cars are pretty easy to work on. I have changed the oils on a lot of cars, but this one has to be the easiest to do. No call in not changing the oil regularly, which is why I am livid that the PO of my car did not change it often.

Another interesting know about the "specs" is that driverside airbag was optional on these cars in 1984-85, but standard on the 500SEL for 1985.

Good luck and enjoy.