I was looking at both. What are the pros/cons of each car?
Things to look for that are prone to go wrong?

 

I'd go for the e420 -

I think it looks cleaner - nicely updated grill treatment as well as the trunklid (chrome accent vs plastic trim over the license plate area).

Color colored bumpers as well IMHO look cleaner.

As far as the engine is concerned, the newer 94+ has slightly higher compression as well as better engine managment so MPG is significantly better. 400e is EPA/MPG 16-21 and the e420 is EPA/MPG is 18/24.

HP is up a bit as well - 268 vs 275.

 

They are basically the same car so no matter what year you choose it will have the same problems.

I would choose a 94/95 E420 because of the facelift, other than that it's all the same.

 

They are basically the same car so no matter what year you choose it will have the same problems.

I would choose a 94/95 E420 because of the facelift, other than that it's all the same.

 

I have a '93 400E, the horsepower jumped to 272 from 268 for the previous '92 model. Also, I know Mercedes changed to a SOHC design sometime after. If I had to do it over again I would jump to a '96 model or the S.

 

I really wouldn't think to much of the HP increase since it's so minimal.

The SOHC design started in '98 and is a totally different engine. The M119 which is the V8 in the 124 chassis was only used to '97 except in the S class since the engine costs nearly twice as much to make as the SOHC one.