 A lot of the reviews here seem to be based on whether you get a good one or bad one.  But I think your odds of getting a "good one" are generally good.  Perhaps the "bad one" people are more vocal.  I didn't intend to buy a car to fall in love with when I happened to buy the E420, but wow, have I fallen head over heals.  This is an amazing piece of engineering.  I would say that the one I bought was in about the worst shape, but I still found the car amazing.  I just put on new shocks, engine mounts, cats, and OMG this car is like brand new and better than I could have imagined.  Just writing about it makes me want to go out for a drive.