Merkey:
As others have suggested, a PPI is the key here. If the car passes inspection, then by all means buy it.
BUT READ THE CAVEAT BELOW....
The PPI will not reveal anything about the stalling issue. If you search here, on BenzWorld and on the Mercedes Benz Club of America website, you will see that the stalling issue plagues many w124 with the M103 engine.
It really isn't a "stall" issue. Stu Ritter's W124 Bible refers to it as an "engine cut-out" issue. It happens (at least it did in my car) only when coasting to a stop and it happens (in my car) when you have been driving slowly and then coast to a stop. It never happens if you slam your brakes, or if you stop (but not coast) to a stop. Some people reported that it only happened to them while going downhill or while turning right into a driveway.
It feels as if someone has taken the ignition key and turned off the car. And the car always restarts right away (making the key analogy even more significant).
Stu Ritter's "bible" has a number of suggested fixes. Some of them work, some don't--it all depends on what's wrong with your own car.
My very good indie explained that in an efort to save fuel, Benzes from the 1980s have some some sort of circuit in their computers that is supposed to regulate fuel flow when the car is slowing down. I don;t think it is supposed to completely cut it off. As some of these cars get older the wiring goes bad and it may short-circuit sending a spurious signal to the circuit in question. If you poke around the engine bay of any older car you would notice that many of the electrical wires tend to in fact get hard or brittle with age (age + heat = no good).
In my case the mechanic was able to solve most of the cut-out issue. At one point the car was so bad that it would cut out almost all the tme that it was coasting to a stop. That is one of the reasons why we bought my daughter the new C320 wagon.
After the mechanic got through with it (he hunted down wires, replacing bad ones) the cut-out problem almost disappeared.
The 300TE is my daily driver. I can drive it for weeks and it won't cut out once. Cold weather, hot weather, rain, snow (oh wait a minute, we don't get snow in So. cal.) no problem. then one day, out of the blue, it may cut out once or twice while coasting. Then, no more cutting out for days or weeks.
If I drive it "right" I can prevent most of the cutting out (like, for example, keping rpm up as I am coasting by slightly tapping on the gas pedal).
My indie has asked me to bring it back and he will hunt more. Or, we can repalce the wiring harness (I know, this is not a known issue on M103, but his explnation and fixes have made sense so far). My indie, Enrique from Mr. M.B. has been very reasonable and he is very knowledgeable, so I will bring it to him--eventually, right now I have too much fun driving it.
And that is my final point. These cars are fun and safe to drive. My daughter nearly totalled the car less than two months after she got it. (See my "Sad Benz" thread). the car incurred over $7,000.00 in repairs and I persuaded the insurance company to pay to repair it and NOT salvage it.
The cut-out issue, however, can be a problem to a young, an inexperienced driver who may get spoooked when the car stalls. I've been driving since I was 16, so I know how to react to most traffic situations, but a young driver may have problems dealing with a stalling or cutting out car.
That is the only reason why I'd think twice (or thrice) about getting this wagon for your son. (Assuming you have not bought it yet--sorry about getitng to this post so late). The cutting out issue can be hard to diagnose. It can be a simple fix (like a bad fuel pump or a defective hall effect sensor) or it can turn into the great hunt for the bad wire.
Most other problems can be fixed cheaply (relatively) or easily. These cars are asy to work on, for instance fixing brakes is a snap. Changing the oil, and other routine maintenance is also a snap.
So, if you have not already bought the car, think twice about the stalling issue. If you still want the car, bring the price down. If the owner has not driven it much because of the stalling issue, I am sure he will be more than happy to give you a good price--after all the car is just taking up room in his garage or driveway.
BTW, I'd not worry about the extra room for additional passengers. My first car was a beat up 1963 Olds Delta Super Rocket 88 (or something like that). You can;t believe how many people I could "easily" fit in that car. So, it does not matter what kind of car it is, teens will do stupid things. It comes with being a teen. Hopefully it won't be too stupid though.
