Looking for a W140 buyers guide.

[andy380SEC]

Hello all.

I did a search on "buyers guide" and buying and it came up with a british article but i need it from a german standpoint. My german is not good enough to ask on a german forum so I am coming here for opinions.

First of all I am an american military member living in Germany. I am a huge fan of the W140 it is an awesome car.

I currently own a 190E 3.2L that I have put alot of money into performance upgrades and am happy with but I don't like how small it is.

I want to buy a W140. I have been looking at several different Models. I have looked at and driven the 400SE 500SE and 600SE sedans as well as the 500SEC 600SEC coupes.

Here is what perplexes me. They all cost the same.
7000-9000EUR which makes no sense to me because in the US you would pay more for a 600 than a 500 but in germany some 600s are cheaper. Is this because of gas prices or the cars just have too many gadgets and are unreliable?

What are the biggest problem areas on the W 140s?

As far as aftermarket stuff which car would be better or are all W140s about the same. I was thinking of a WALD kit to go on it. Are there other body kits you can put on? How to parts compare in price between the different models? In other words if something goes wrong with a 600 is it going to be substantially more to fix than say a 400 or 500?

I'm leaning more towards a 500SE because the M119 was a pretty common engine compared to the V-12 (M120?) But at the same time I enjoy the raw power and the effortles acceleration of the 600 but if its going to be too much more to maintain I dont want that.

I like the 400 but the engine is a little lacking. Why would I go smaller when I can go bigger. Gas prices are not an issue with me.

Another question is are all w140 with short wheel base the same size? or is the 500/600 bigger?
How much more room do you get in SEL long wheel base, SELs are a little harder to find here, if it has more room it might be worth it.

Thanks for reading

ANDY

1993 190E 2.6> bored out to 3.2L (US SPEC)
1983 380SEC (rest in piece)(US SPEC)
1991 230E sportline (EURO SPEC)