Kind of a newbie question but whats the chassis code for the 96 to 02 E class?

Also what are common problems they have? Are they reliable? How would the compare to BMW E39(97-03 5 series) cars?

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1985 300D : the clean one 180k miles - Now passed onto my parents.
2000 E39 M5
2002 e46 330xit
1991 mustang notch (project)
1970 chevelle (project)