Thanks for all the replies. There is a '93 300E with a 3.2 liter engine for sale in the local paper. They don't mention how many miles are on it, but just wanted to get a sense of how long they last so that when/if I do call, I cna immediately make a judgement call. As my sig. shows, we already have a '87 300TD. So essentially everything from the back doors forward is the same. Granted there were some cosemtic changes in the interior, but it's the same. Of course the engine is gas in an E.
We live only 4 miles from the center of town and 2 miles from the highschool and this is wher most of her driving will be, until she heads off to college. I know that the gas mileage won't be great, but I would rather take a hit on the fuel economy than her getting it in something made of tin.

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1999 MB SL500 (110,000 mi)
2004 Volvo V70 2.5T (220,000 mi)
2014 Tesla Model S 85 (136,000 mi)
MBCA member