Newbie looking at a '98 E300 Turbodiesel

[KennyBlankenshp]

I'm a BMW guy but have occasionally thought about getting a Mercedes Turbo Diesel. I'm not completely naive as I had a 2002 VW TDi for 5 years and loved it.

I visit my mechanic today and he has a '98 E300 Turbo Diesel for sale. It has 110k miles, had the injector pump rebuilt and main power relay (?) replaced. Mechanically, it appears to be well sorted. Cosmetically it has a lot of big dings and scratches, but no major dents. The interior is a little dirty but nothing major. The asking price is $10k. It sounded like a good price.

I always thought one of the better diesels was the "91-'93 E300 2.5 5 cylinder. My mechanic disagreed and likes the six cylinder versions better. This car did have great midrange power and was very smooth.

Can someone tell me the weak spots for this car? I always thought the '98 E300s were among the least desirable of the E series since they had teething problems being a new model. Any help is appreciated.