Or, you could do what I did and buy a VW TDI. I did this out of "protest" since M-B refuses to offer a lower-end diesel in the USA. I know all of the reasons but still refuse to buy a car that is "more car than I needed" for "more money than I wanted to spend" simply because it is all they sell. I think everyone who considers a new diesel model owes themselves an hour at the VW dealer to test drive a Golf or Jetta...you may just find yourself pleasantly surprised and save about half what you'd pay for an E-Class. I am not saying the cars are the same, what I am saying is they fill a market which Mercedes doesn't today. Something to consider, as far as I am concerned.

Before I drove a Jetta TDI I didn't consider it at all, but after I was sold. They even make a sportwagen TDI which I was thinking about.

One more thing...mine is a '10 and the new '11 new jettas are getting mixed reviews. You can still get '10s and still get a tax credit I believe, though it is half of what it was earlier this year (I got $1300 for buying my car).

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Marty D.

2013 C300 4Matic
1984 BMW 733i
2013 Lincoln MKz