Originally Posted by Will_w202

I'm retiring my 93 400E to life under a car cover behind the shed until I can part it out, or sell it whole. Lots of refreshed body and interior parts for the 86-89 models if you'd like to upgrade - body cladding, bumpers, near-perfect leather interior, 94/95 headlights, etc.

My decision came down to this: including purchase price, with repairs over 2.5 years, I've got about $8k in this car. It needs a trans, it needs shocks, it needs control arms, and even after that, one of the doors is rusting and the car needs a paint job. At that point, I'd be in it for about $15k, and we can all look at history and realize Benz sedans are just not good investments over time. Even a 6.9 Hammer from the 70s is only worth about $12k in good condition. A good 40yo SL Pagoda, all original? About 3-4 times that, and even more if it's mint.

I'm keeping the AMG wheels off my 400, with nice Michelins, and putting them on a 2-owner 92 500SL, with all major issues addressed, full records, original paint, hardtop, rebuilt trans....100k miles......etc. I'm getting a near-showroom SL, fully depreciated, for about what I'd pay to get the 400E back to where it should be.

Based on the 400e and the SL, and this being my 5th Benz (123, 124, 202, 203, now 129) I can tell you that the number of owners, the mechanic used, the strict adherence to service guidelines and PROMPT addressing of repairs over the car's life makes the difference between a $1k/year bill and a lifetime of constant headaches.

My advice is to sell your car and find a better example for $3k.