W211 E class is probably the best all round Benz you can get, i've not liked anything they made since.
Not wanting to hijack this and turn it into an MB thread but...
I always liked W124/210 and 211 - you can instantly recognise them as E classes and they look like proper Mercedes to me. All started to go downhill with W212 - what happened with the design of those headlights, and the W213 an later don't even look like an E class. Was disappointed with the E350 petrol engines in the later 211s and 212s too - ridiculous failures which MB should be ashamed of.
I think the engine in your W124 is probably the same as my W140 - M104 I think (?) - loved that engine. After 200,000 miles it never bunt a drop of oil, and I could get better mpg out of it than the book figure!