Originally Posted by babymog

There is little question whether M-B had some quality issues in the mid-late 90s in their design. Whether the V-8 in '94 was also a lesser design than the earlier one I also won't debate.

However.

The '94/'95 E 320 is unchanged in quality from '93, or '91, or '86. The car was nearing the end of production, to be replaced by the 210, and Mercedes didn't spend any money on tooling and engineering to try and cheapen the car at the end of the run. The M104 in the '93-'95 cars was well designed and built, up to '80s M-B standards and left nothing on the table either.

It's my opinion that we should probably try to keep this thread on-subject and answer the OP instead of discussing M-B quality and leadership issues. BTDT as an Engineer and supplier to Mercedes Benz, it's why I'd rather have a 124 than a 210, a 126 than a 140, ... but I'd take any year 124 as long as it wasn't seriously neglected or abused as they're THE SAME QUALITY, except for wire harnesses. Again I have no direct experience in the V-8s and the M104 will give the early V-8s a good run.