well i've been driving my mirage for a while, as my coupes just been sitting there broken and i'm tired of looking at it..

anyways 2 400e's turned up..

lets go with 400e #1
so its white/parchment, 1993 but the door says 10/92.. so its a late 92-93 i guess.. around 150,000 miles.
issues: tranny has a 3-4 second delay going into reverse
timing chain/rails have not been done
ac has been refreshed, but i think its just been refilled, but it works fine
wiring harness has been done by P.O before him.. but ETA looks original
car has been hit in rear quarter and fender (which is no big deal to me)
little tear in the rear seat just needs stitching (no big deal)
missing the 2 intake pipe things (he said he took it off cause it was all duct-taped)
No headliner
left driver's side windows needs a regulator
all the electronics work
shocks seem kind of newish but i'm not sure
smog pump has a tick sometimes which sets off the engine light
other than that the car seems fine, the owner is a mb enthusiast somewhat, he just bought a brand new r129 sl500..
has plastic oiltubes, couple of em are popped.
missing antenna
needs a battery
power steering leaks
driver's side needs a new door check
and this was his first car.. but NO records whatsoever
starting price was 1400, got him down to 1175

400e#2
1992, red/mushroom creamish 198k
tranny has been changed 2 years ago, (he bought the car with car stuck in 1st gear)
everything ac-wise has been changed, not sure about vacuum pods but i'm sure it was the condenser,etc
its sitting at his mechanic's right now getting oil changed, and he recently had a tuneup
ac refill/serp belt/new spark plug wires
everything works on his car as well, but the leather has a little dry cracks
NO records of wiring harness/ETA/T-chain/T-chain rails
i have not test drove this car yet
he has piles of records of everything he did since he bought the car (2004)
and all this was done over the phone,
starting price was 2600, got it down to 2000

my worries.. obviously the gas.. since i have a long commute, but i love the w124s and can't stop getting enough.. so i'll drive it 3 days a week or something and just drive my mirage..

my other worries.. the 92 seems to get way less gas mileage than the 93, and i know the manual tensioner is a pita..

so what would you guys pick?

 

I would def get the one with the most service history and that's in the best condition. The interior can be a big indicator as to how well it was taken care of also in some cases, as they are pretty durable to begin with. I would let it idle tooperating temp andmake sure all fans work properly, check for fluid leaks, run a/c and heat, etc. then check oil and trany levels. When you check the oil look at it in the right light and see if there is any signs of metal in it (will act like glitter in the right lighting) A tuneup is a plus if they changed the plugs, wires, distributor caps and rotors, as this is a decent expense if good parts are used (+/- $500) If thr tranny has no records of ever being serviced I would do that first and probaly plan on replacing it JIC. The wiring harness was not as big of a problem on the 1992 as it was on the 1993 I have read a couple different different places. They don't really get that bad gas mileage on the highway due to the high gearing (2.23 IIRC) The first one I would steer clear of. Just take your time and the right one will pop up. I just bought another one with full service records for $1700, but it needs a few cosmetic items. Good luck!

This is the one I just picked up for $1,700

 

ended up buying an es300, decided i'm going to wait till have more money and just buy a perfect one with low miles

 

They are a nicer version of the Camry. What year did you get?

 

1995, paint is shot, but interior is perfect, and has receipts..
i'll probably fix it up a bit and give it to my mom...

then i'll look for a e320 coupe or a 400e later :|

i need to still get rid of the 300CE in my garage though as i'm parking my daily beater outside..

and man the camry v6.. PITA compared to any w124.. even the 400e.

 

Hard to beat a yota though for a dd. They are hard to kill