Need advice
 

I have been looking for a nice new to me Mercedes and I'm leaning toward a 94'-95' E320. These cars appear to be in my price range and I have heard that they are extremely reliable. Since I have never owned a Mercedes I would appreciate some member feedback. I own a 2000 Cherokee Sport for utility and a daily driver. I have a modified 87' Porsche 911 for fun and am looking for quiet, comfort, sit in city traffic for 400 miles a week reliability in a Mercedes. Thanks CJ

These are really nice cars, but there are some achilles heels.

To begin with, this car has the two cam, inline six M104 engine. It runs great, but does have a history of head gasket problems. The odds are in your favor that it will not give trouble, but if it does, you are looking at $1,500 or more to have this work done. If you can do it yourself, you should do a valve job at the same time and it would probably cost $500 to $800.

Secondly, there is a problem with the earlier a/c evaporators. I don't know if this applies to the later cars.

That said, the 124 series MB is one of the greatest MB cars ever made IMHO. The cars are great to drive and generally hold up extremely well.

Good luck,

Larry's comments are right on in my experience. These 124 series cars have received numerous accolades as being the best used car buy etc. I think there is a commitment level to have these cars run well for a long time, similiar to a Porsche.

I would also recommend looking for a car that has true documented service history. A E320 94/95 that has been well taken care of will last a long time with proper car.

They are very enjoyable and satisfying cars to own and to drive.


Haasman

Thanks for the response. I have searched the archives and looked at the various problems with this model. Looks like wiring harness and head gasket are the major issues.

yep. I had problems w/ my headgasket. I forgot how much I paid, I think it was about 600-800 bucks or so. I really don't remember. So far no wiring harness problems ::knock on wood::

Overall the W124 is IMO the best car Mercedes has ever built. It's a timeless design too, as the lines of the body haven't changed from '86 to '95!! (except minor touch ups in '90 '94). Even today I roll around in it, and it looks current :) I had a cop think I paid $45k for my car :P