I should have listened when I posted this last year... the Merc has turned into a bit of a money pit !
Since April 2013 I have repaired or replaced the following :
parking sensor
front brake discs, pads, hoses, stone guards
rear brake hoses
all four springs
front left ball-joint
abs sensor
water pump & belts
thermostat
gearbox oil change
new parking brake cable
replaced faulty stereo (with an ebay special)
paid Mercedes to re-code new stereo (arrggghhh!)
refurbished all four wheels and four new tyres
major service
minor service
That little lot adds up to almost £4k !!
At least the next owner won't have to spend anything on it for a while...
Looking around I should be able to get a very nice, low mileage, late LS430 for what I can sell the E Class for, maybe even an early LS460.
It could quite easily be the last car I ever need to buy... the only trouble is finding one with the spec I want. Has to be fully loaded with ML stereo, radar-cruise, air suspension etc. Ideally silver with black leather - I am guessing they all have the same wood ?
Anyway - as soon as I've found my new LS I will be back (for good).
Cheers,
Daniel.