W124 - 1992 230e v 1994 E280 Japan import.

[Fudger]

Folks, I have seen the above cars for sale for about the same price and mileage and both in excellent condition for age.

As a daily driver, which would you go for? Surely you would go for the E280, right? It has leather, air con and a more modern engine none of which you get on the 230e.

Putting aside a necessary wiring loom check on the E280, is there any reason why I should consider the 230e for the same price?

In addition, looking at the data sheet for the E280, it has a line item that says...

916 VEHICLES FOR HOT COUNTRIES - ADDITIONAL PARTS

Any idea what that means in practical terms?

Many thanks for your thoughts!

Jonathan.

 

[Fununcle]

VEHICLES FOR HOT COUNTRIES - ADDITIONAL PARTS

Not sure if it means something different for a merc, but I had to have the thermostat changed on a Japanese grey import Toyota some years ago, so it could be that

 

[grober]

option 916 comes up with 66 litre fuel tank? ----greater distance between filling stations maybe.
A 1992 car is likely to have the tougher solvent based paint whereas the 1994 is more likely to have the waterbased paint- not exactly sure when the changeover took place but remember the date of registration is not the date of manufacture. The M102 2.3 engine altho less complicated ignition-wise does have the EZL ignition unit which can give problems if its been allowed to overheat.