Thanks guys.
Re the transmission; is it the same for the six cylinder which I understand could be problematic in its first years ('97-98)? Surely not. Do the E430 and E55 share the same trans?
I thought the spring perches were only a '96-'97 issue and only on the E320s? (I wrote the perch warning which became multiple stickies after Betsy coughed up a perch a while back, proud of getting published

)
I have spent too many hours searching these topics without clear answers so I call on the gurus. Thank you in advance. I am going nuts looking for a car we can afford - my wife was ready to (give up and)
buy a minivan, that's how bad it's getting. This is a dire situation for me. Help.