Well, I bought this '97 S320 about a month ago, and everything works. I'm the 5th owner at 204,000 mi. Having said that, there were some things that worked, but were/are loose...or missing.
Two weeks ago: (1) replaced the little filter above pax feet (man, was it filthy) (2) installed trans filler tube cap (how can you lose one of these?) (3) changed oil (can't get filter cap off; tried several things - MB dealer hasn't had any cap removers come in regular deliveries, so will order one) (4) bought light for middle of instrument cluster
One week ago: put in 1/2 can R134a (left over from freshly recharging my '95 Villager). Pressures look almost okay, but still need some more - vent temp only 60F, outside air 82F today. Need to put in some dye to see if there's an actual leak. Looks like there might be some oil residue at connectors just past the fuel-cooler location.
Today: (1) installed new oil dipstick (top half of red fingerloop already broke, but was still clinging onto top of metal stick, sort of - until last couple of days - how does one break one of these ? Run it over ?) (2) Replaced the silver/grey wheel caps (most paint missing from all of them). I was going to buy the ones with the MB name around the perimeter, even though that is a little overkill with the name, but I wanted something with some color to darken the middle of the wheels a bit - but the parts guy said "we just got these in" - they are "black background - silver circle/star". And since "Ebony" (wife named her) is black, it was a no-brainer, and the wife approves - they really complement the car nicely (3) Bought fresh air filter, the one over the fan in the engine (will try to replace tomorrow) (4) While replacing caps, did my first "real good" brake inspection - rears are needed. Brake sensor light has been ever-so-momentarily coming on at stops. Lots of bushings look pretty good. Found out something - I'll post this separately under "Fewer Brake Sensors".
Future: Replace middle bulb in instrument cluster (already bought it), Re-glue liner of sliding sunroof shade, clean rear long horizontal reflector (contains water drops), fix loose inside mirror, tackle lazy-retracting driver seat belt, pay someone else to replace head gasket (leaking a little in rear - knew this when I bought it)