I'd just guess that for maintence the W140 is going to be more expensive than C-class by a lot. THe E420- man where are you finding a mint condition 55k car. That could be very nice, but expect expenses. If you are not driving a 124.034, let me tell you parts prices are MUCH higher than similar W124.030 parts.
$500 for factory motor mount set, Idler arm bushings are 4X the cost of a 300E, etc.
Both the W124 adn W140 are known to have evaporator failures and the W140 it's huge amount of labor to replace- 20-25 hrs? Both of these seem to suffer low reasale value due to the majority being neglected cars.


Michael - I just purchased a E420 Tuesday.