Hi Scotty,
Im a New Yorker living in barcelona, Spain. Im looking at a 2004 mercedes E320 auto with air suspension and 55000 original miles. Its has all the service history. Its a true grandpa car owned by a 90 year old and now a 70 year old. He wants about 8000 USD for it.
I tried it and it runs beautifully but the current owner told me that it sat for about 5 years without being driven. What do you think? I know your are not a merc fan but weren't they better built back then?
Byobassoon
No. If you want this car, check your lottery ticket. You'll need the winnings to keep it running.
As you can see from my picture I have the same car. I know these car extremely well. Unless you can get it alot cheaper and can do all work yourself i would stay away. Soon the conductor plate most likely will go. That will cost between 1400 to 1800 depending where you go. Your air ride can go bad at anytime at that age. Unless you can do it yourself it will cost thousands to fix. The list is very long with potential problems. The catalytic converters tend to go bad, fuel pumps and filters aren't that great and go bad pretty quick. Valve cover gaskets and suspension parts aren't to bad but do fail quite often. I wouldn't spend more then 5000 maybe 5750 if it was flawless and fully loaded. Find a Scotty like mechanic goes over the car. When I say the list is long with potential issues I'm not joking at all.
5250 not 5750
Those are just endless money pits; stay away from it.
So why the down vote byobassoon? I answered your question in a humorous but true way. These cars are severe money pits.
@doc some people don't like humor. Even if what your saying is true. We told him what we think and feel about it from our experience and knowledge. He already knows Scotty hates these cars and should stay away. It's up to him now if he wants to roll the dice and pray it last.
Whatever.