Hello all, just wanted to say hi and express my excitement at buying this car. I was looking for a similar vintage LS400/SC400 and just happened to come across a very low mileage, two owner 400E. This is only my 3rd foray into German cars and the first two were cheap VWs. This is by far the "nicest" car I have ever owned. It has a few small issues- fan clutch and belt tensioner need replacement, there's a small exhaust leak right before the muffler, it needs new tires and the driver's window regulator needs changing. All the wiring seemed flexible, not brittle and it doesn't appear to have any gremlins, fingers crossed. I don't have proof but apparently the original purchase price was $88,000 CDN. What an incredibly well built machine, it absolutely rips. Not crazy about the exterior color but the black interior is near perfect. Anything to watch out for besides the harnesses? I've only driven it for an hour but am in love.

 

Congrat's on your 400E, I own two 92 500E's and 1 94 E420, so I've got some experience on maintenance items.
It sounds like you've done some homework on issues with these cars, but let me emphasize the need to inspect the wire harnesses for eco junk. disintegrating insulation.

There are 3 basic area's that need attention, upper wire harness, (one that goes to the fuel injectors etc.), lower wire harness, (starter to alternator and more), and the wiring inside the ETA.
Don't grab the harnesses and manipulate them for flexibility, if they are bad you'll only disturb more bad insulation, you'll end up with bare wires inside a harness shorting out.
Cautiously inspect individual wires inside the harnesses where exposed, look for date codes on the build tags. Just google Mercedes eco wire and you'll get lots of hits.
Even if your 400e is running fine with bad harnesses, you need to replace them before things go bad. New upper harnesses are available at the dealerships or on line parts houses, and it's an easy DIY.
The lower cable gets ignored, but will need replacement just as bad, problem here is that they are NLA.
You have to remove it and send it out to one of the few shops around the country that will rebuild, using the old connectors on new wire, as the connectors are not available either.
The ETA needs to have a newer date code, or it needs to be sent out to get rewired internally as well.
The previous owners of your car may have done the upper harness, but I would guess the lower harness and the ETA are original, (they are usually ignored). You could get lucky and all three things were fixed, but that's not the usual case.
Anyway, it's all a pain in the butt, but once done, your good to go. I replaced the upper and lower harnesses on all 3 of my 124 v8 cars, and 2 of them have had the ETA repaired or replaced.
Much better to do these things as planned down time, then get surprised later on when you really need to use the car.

The only other big ticket items that pop up regularly with many of these era 124's are the A/C evaporator, and the vacuum pods that control the HVAC flaps.
As a 92, your evaporator may be OK, but so many 94's & 95's develop evaporator leaks, which requires removing the entire dashboard to replace it.
Also within that same HVAC unit are 7, (I think), vacuum pods that actuate the flaps to control air flow. The diaphragms inside the vacuum pods develop leaks and stop working.
When the wrong temp air comes out the wrong vent, or the fresh air vent won't close, the vacuum pods need replacing.
Again, the dash need to be removed to get access., and I think the pod to control the center vents is now NLA, but someone has a workaround rebuilding that one.

If your low mileage, no worries about the tranny and rear end then, but as a rule, you should change every fluid in that car right now, just to know it's been done.
Make sure the tranny and rear-end lubes get changed, they are too expense to replace, and new fluid is cheap insurance.

Post some pic's everyone loves Pic's.. Good Luck

 

That's fantastic information, thank you. Bummer that the lower harness is NLA, you would think someone would have manufactured an aftermarket solution by now as it is such a common issue. It's had all the fluids changed in the past couple years but those are the only records I have. Along with the repairs listed above I plan on changing plugs and putting a new fuel filter in. Here are a few pics, not bad for $3500.

 

Other than being my least favorite color, you did well.

 

I'm not crazy about it either- silver over black would have been my first choice- the classic German performance sedan combo.

 

My W124 is my favorite color combo


I owned this previously and is a close second


disclaimer: Neither are my actual cars

 

Nice looking 400E! Sorry to bump an old thread but are you in the Vancouver area? Do you happen to know of a good mechanic to work on the w124? Tried sending you a pm but wasn't able to. Thanks!