Hi everyone, i have decided to join this forum as i am planning to buy Mercedes in next couple of weeks.

I need some advice, i am aiming for E class w124 1993-1996. I know E320 is dream car but they are pricey and hard to find specially with low k's.
I have found one E220 with 80 000km silver one owner so i am very tempted. Would u recommend e220 r they underpowered, anyone know anything about those cars (one i am interested in is Special edition i am not sure what does that mean).
Is only difference between E220, E280, E320 power output.
What about comfort?
One thing i hate about E220 is they only come as 4sp auto and i know when i had 300Ce i would do 100km/h on 3000rpm it is crying for 5th gear

So guys what do u reckon, plz keep in mind that e220 is also more fuel efficient than e320. In todays fuel prices it is a good thing,but if it is underpowered stuff it.

oh to be more specific: E220 1994 special eddition one owner 80 000km 4sp for $14 000aud auto or e320 1995 5sp auto 170 000km for $18 000aud

Thanks all.

 

Mercedes offered a 5 speed manual with the M103 and M104 but it was fairly rare (at least here in the States.) The 5 speed auto was never offered here. I would go with the increased displacement of the 3.2 over the 2.8. If your feeling the pinch from Petrol prices just go with the Diesel variant. The fittings will be exactly the same between models. The one option you might see is fake wood (Zebrano) vs Burled Walnut. Mercedes commonly releases the last year of a model as a Special Edition. I don't know what that would mean for the 320 though. I've never heard of it in America.

Comfort should be fantastic. The stock setup is really beautiful for that.

 

zebrano is fake wood? that's news to me...
in the us if you carfax pretty much any 1995 e320 it comes up as a special edition, which i'm sure is not the case, since mine is a 95, and there was nothing 'special edition' ish about it.
delija, i would go with the e220 if i was you, it has half the mileage, and as long as that 'one owner' took good care of it, it shouldn't give you too many problems... it has i THINK about 50-60 less hp than the e320 (I4 vs I6), not sure at all though. the e220 will be a lot cheaper not only on petrol, but also on maintenance. my friend back home had a white e220 stick shift, that thing used to go like a b!tch...

 

I have an E220 and have owned just about every W124 except the 500 and it is okay driving anywhere that has speed limits.The maintenance is way less than the 280/320 but also you have 155 hp verses 190/220, you really only notice when passing or climbing a big hill...after many years with my super heavy w124 e220 I finally did something about the lack of power Turbo..I have not dyno or finish dialing in but it is easily 300 hp...Some of the guys at the Rose Bowl saw my set up I can send you a few photos...if I remember correctly AMG used only the 4 speed auto in the E36 93-97 as they could put more power through than the 5..I could be wrong don't sue me,It is also easier to find a E220 with LSD....I get about 23 MPg mixed use, I stand corrected I used to get about 23 MPG but I have not lifted my foot from the floor since installing the turbo so I have no idea now...I did a few mods before the turbo to make the engine more efficient, i doubt it added any HP just made what I had more useful.....Good luck all are great cars...

 

Well, i have a E320, mine is a couope so it is atad lighter than a 4 door but it's dual overhead cam 3.2 220hp engine puts out quite a bit of power which i love for overtaking durring lane changes on the freeway

The higher level you go not only do you get a bigger engine but usually a more plush and featured interior

Also ( not sure if this is true for the 4 doors) my engine , even though it is more powerful is actually more efficient than a standard 300 E engine which i believe was introduced toward the end of the W124's run (94/95)

It all depends on what you want/need, but for an all around reliable car with just enough power a 300E should be find, the more powerful 320 engine is a slight bit less reliable and usually needs service more often

 

Mine is a Special Edition but like you, I'm not sure what makes it special. It has burled walnut vs. Zebrano and it has the 6 hole wheels which seem to be somewhat rare- I don't see many on e-bay like them. It's all the same color as opposed to being 2-tone. In my city of 700,000 people there is one more that I know of. SE was probably just a certain combination of options.

Nice car. Lots of power. 22 MPG in town and 25.5 on the highway at 70 MPH. I wouldn't think that you could get that much better mileage with an E220. Maybe 2 MPG? In town it does as well as my 2000 Accord 4 cyl. used to. The automatic transmission is very responsive and I never feel like I'm losing power because it's in the wrong gear.

 

no, i think yours actually IS a Special Edition...

 

I had no idea MB used fake wood...

 

and then I actually check.

Sorry!

It is actually real.

 

The 6-hole wheels and the stainless steel doorsills seem to be the key options that distinguish the 1995 Special Edition (SE), but it was basically the same car with many options. If it doesn't have the wheels and the doorsills, it is not the SE.

 

yeah, I was gonna say. That's real wood. The burl is just a more rare, extra-special wood.

I think you might've thought it was fake since it's so unique looking... most woods don't have super-straight grains like that.