Welcome to the best Mercedes forum on the WWW. This place has an abundance of knowledge and of helpful people. Unfortunately, you posted your question to the forum least likely to be especially helpful to you. Most of us have M-B's but we come to this forum to squander our time arguing about things over which we have no control.

Try the "Featured Cars" forum. Before you post your question, there's a little drop-down menu under the "Search" label. Asking for advice about buying a W124 300E will reward you with probably six years of insights, opinions, and arguments.

Bascily, everybody will agree that you should inspect the maintenance records and get a pre-purchase inspection by a mechanic that you know is thorough and that you can trust. If you're mechanically inclined, you'll find a wealth of guidance.

Botnst