I am in southern California...San Bernardino area. The car I was looking at is $5k for a 93 400e with 125k miles and comes with a 12-month 12,000 mile warranty. I need a car for 5k or under, I want luxuries like full power and v8. So I was looking at the MB or a Lexus LS400 of the same year. I just recently got out of owning a subaru which had 158k and I had no problems at all. I am looking for a vehicle that can get me around for the next 60k or so without any problems.

 

SoCal, just to re-emphasize what Ohlord said, have the inspected THOROUGHLY, warranty notwithstanding. A 400E can be very expensive to own. I had a '93 myself. Distributor caps and rotors are around $100 each, and you have a distributor per bank of cylinders. The electronic ignition module lists for about $3K[people junk the car when these fail]. If the car has traction control, a/k/a ASR, the throttle actuator is $1.4K for the part alone, the computer is $2K. The rear rotors are vented, so they require special calipers, which are not available re-built. The radio has a separate controller in the trunk that costs about a grand if it dies. The coolant reservoir has a brass sleeve that fails, causing a geyser under the hood, mine failed in stop and go traffic; this can overheat the car fast, as 400E cars tend to run much warmer than the their W210 successor [the M119 engine is crammed in there really tight..].

The list goes on and on... there is an old saying, "the most expensive can you can buy is a cheap Mercedes." Don't get me wrong, the 400E is a ballsy car, and a lot of fun... But if you are on a budget, it is NOT the car for you.

Good luck on your decision.

JR

 

Some of the best advice yet,I could not have found better words to explain it.JR'S sage words ought to be put in a sticky at the top of every forum.Great cars,easy to maintain if you know what you are doing,but unless you do your own diy or have deep pockets something to really consider.