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Depends very much upon original condition/appearance and full functioning of all the systems; ie, climate control, A/C/heater mechanicals and functioning, seat memory, mirror memory, cruise control, etc.
Big devaluations for any average repaint work/accident history, needing a valve job (not unusual at low 100k miles on the odometer), any running issues (motor, trans, suspension) .... and cosmetic/functional issues like seat wear, dash cracks, cosmetic wood appearance, door dings ... as well as incorrect type/size tires, "cheapie" replacement shock absorbers, midas mufflers/resonators in the exhaust system .... any signs whatsoever of cheapie aftermarket parts that don't perform like the OE parts having been used to maintain the car.
The selling problem with these cars in the marketplace is that they're incredibly expensive to maintain and to repair when stuff goes bad (and it does), and the cost isn't offset by any sparkling performance/luxury compared to many other cars in the marketplace. Nor is the fuel economy anything to get excited about. Performance wise, these cars sucked while driving in our region ... the power curve/transmission was totally inadequate for pulling hills at altitude, and these cars would "hunt" between gears, which was very annoying and unsettling for such an expensive/prestigious luxury car. (You had to step up in price to a more powerful series car to get away from this problem ... while older series MB 4.5 powered cars didn't have the problem at all).
I've recently passed on a number of this series of car at $2,500 from private parties. Almost all of them needed $8-15,000 worth of work to make them correct and functional ... not including the cost of paint work needed. While they are drivable at this time, the systems aren't functioning properly, and they're not worth fixing.
In our region, both of the cars you mention in good correct straight and functional condition are going begging at $5,000. Most potential buyers have gotten past the "three pointed star" ego trip and are buying the cars for the transportation value they have and the remaining service life of the vehicle while taking a chance on major expenses lurking in the near future.
Sorry to be such a downer on these cars from M-B. They simply didn't hold up in many respects and their cost/value has taken a huge hit in the marketplace. They were from production years when MB cut a lot of corners in quality and construction trying to meet a price point against the sales onslaught of the upscale/luxury cars from the Far East. MB didn't do a very good job of it from the late 1980's for over a decade. Electrical/electronics and mechanical problems plagued these cars with repeat failures. Stuff like aux cooling fans died with amazing regularity, and required extensive labor to replace or the A/C's didn't function properly, nor did the engine cooling on hot days in high density altitude. Very fussy/finicky/fragile cars compared to the 108/109/116 series cars that preceeded them upon which MB had built a good reputation. What stood out in the marketplace was that so many similar functional systems in other cars ... like cruise and climate controls ... worked, worked well, and were durable ... while MB's didn't, even though the cars were much more expensive to buy.
I beleive you have comfirmed what I suspected. Although both these cars have been garaged kept, never wrecked and dealer mantained, at the end of the day they are what they are.
sunspirits post was dead on. Just to give you some figures I got the info that I could. I can't reference vehicles older than 1991, so the only numbers I could pull were for the 1995 and even then it can't account for everything at that age car.
Trade value is anywhere from $3,788 to $6,338 depending on condition. Retail value is anywhere from $5,938 to $8,838, again depending on condition. These numbers are a composite of retail, trade and auction data and considered valid through the end of July. The big problem is that there aren't many sales to pull data from. I think sunspirits $5,000 number is pretty valid.
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