I'm about to purchase a "starmarked" 2001 E320 with 35K miles. It seems like a terrific car, compared to some of the alternatives I looked at (no I didn't look at the lexus). As the owner of an '87 560sl I've gotten to know local independent mechanics very well, too well maybe. Independent sources like consumer reports say the E class has a lot of reliability problems, but I'd really appreciate the comments of those of you on the board who really know. I plan to check the service records of this car to see what of the many reported issues it may have experienced in the past, but I have to admit that I am not looking forward to spending one month out of 12 per year with my car in the shop. Are these cars disasters waiting to happen? Or were the problems solved towards the end of the last E class design cycle? Thanks!

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John C
1987 560SL 109,000 miles
2001 E320 103,000 miles
2007 E350 32,000 miles