Why would you want to buy a car like that? There has to be several, reasonably priced well under $10K, 94' E420s that run near perfect with clean titles without all the issues and mystery. This one sounds like a nitemare, doesn't it?
A friend needed to re-build his 92' 500Es M119 recently ....it was probably half the present value of the car to do it....and he did on wholesale part prices with an off-duty MB wrench.