Originally Posted by rwthomas1

My wife and I are starting a family this year, with any luck, and so the preparation for that major life change begins. One of the issues is transportation. Her car is an '03 Jetta and I have the '84 300D. I haven't tried it yet but I have heard, from almost everyone I have spoken with that a child seat in a Jetta leaves no room up front as the seats have to be way, way forward. Child seats in the 300D may be possible but I haven't found anyone beyond this group that uses a 123 like this. I also NEVER drive the 300D in the snow. Its parked from the first snowfall to spring. Its is in very nice shape and I can't bring myself to subject it to NE winters. Basically I need a vehicle that will haul kids and still need another vehicle as a commuter, so selling the Jetta only gets half the problem solved.

So my options are these:
Assuming the child seat fits in the 300D
-Suck it up, install snow tires and DRIVE the MB in winter. Its just a car
-Buy another 300D beater, maybe a wagon, for winter use, keep my car nice.
-Sell the 300D and look for a late '90's or newer E-class, even a gasser. Does the '96+ have enough/significantly more room in the back? Sure seems like they do.

Other ideas appreciated, but please don't include minivans, neither my wife nor I will be seen in one. Thanks, RT