E420 buying advice?

Hello,

I'm a relatively new member on this forum, although I have loved the W124 chassis for practically my whole life. My grandparents had a 1988 300E they bought new, and I have a lot of fond memories riding around in that car.

I've gotten to the point in my life where I am mechanically inclined enough, and un-interested enough in the current cars in the market to think i can take on a nice project. A few years back my Dad gifted me his old 2000 VW Passat GLX 4motion, and I have spent the last few years putting some of the life back into it, and learning a LOT about repair and troubleshooting techniques. (If you are REALLY bored, I have documented that journey on PassatWorld, and can be found here KSEADUBs 2000 Passat GLX 4Mo 'build'/repair/gripe thread)

That project is coming to an end, and I am not on the hunt for something a bit more 'exotic' to spend my time and money on. As I mentioned previously, I absolutely love the W124s, particularly the face lifted 94-95 models. They are just so solid, even after 23-24 years and thousands if miles. The M119 seems like a sweet engine, hence I'm currently on the lookout.

So why am I posting? I'm in need of a reality check. I've started researching and looking, and am having a hard time jivving asking prices with info on 'True Market Value' from sites like Edmunds. Edmunds shows that an 'Outstanding' example from 1995, with 100k miles should be worth about 3.3k from a retail(dealer) location. Take a look on craigslist or auto trader, and the asking prices are typically much higher than this. The examples available that ARE in that price range (3-3.5k) that I have gone to see have been far from outstanding. For example, the last one I looked at had had a complete respray(which hadn't been done very well and was already scratched again in several areas), had several passenger compartment electrical issues that had been undiagnosed, had interior that looked like it had been baked in the Narobi desert for years despite being a Northwest car its whole life, and had 183,000 miles on it. He was asking 3k, and balked when I said as high as I could go was 2k. (He countered with 2.8k.)

So... MB V8 W124 swamis... am I completely out to lunch on this one? How much should I expect to pay an honest individual for one of these things? (Honestly, i think a sharp interior is my highest priority, since those parts can be hard to find in good condition... i can fix mechanical and electrical issues quite readily)

Thanks in advance!


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