The 98 320's are seemingly good so far. I have seen a pattern failure of the 97 420's related to transmission failure.

The 96 and 97 320's have the old style engine which was a workhorse, but they were mated to the new tranny. The mate was not a good one and I have seen transmission problems with them as well.

I would stick to the 98 and later 210 unless you go with a 96 E300d. It has the early style tranny.

I will add that we own a 96 E300d and it is a wonderful car. It has over 240k miles! Original engine and tranny. (Never been apart, but I have NEVER missed a service!)

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Benzmac:
Donnie Drummonds
ASE CERTIFIED MASTER AUTO TECHNICIAN
MERCEDES SPECIALIST 11 YRS