Hi ALL
This should be a fun topic. What was the best MB built in the last 20 years in terms of Safety,Reliabilty, classic styling and future collector potential.Here are my three picks.

3--1989-560SL

2--1992-E500

1--1995-E320 Cabriolet

I hate to leave the 2004 SL with the retractable hard top off my list, maybe someone else will go with that model.
Happy driving.

joe moon

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joe moon/95Benzman

1985 300CD

300SDL

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

20 years is too darn short. Some of the best MBs came in the 1960s and 1970s. It also hard to rank them, since they were all special in their own way. Among my favorites are: (1) 179-1980 450SL: can you say indestructible? (2) 1971-1972 300SEL 6.3, (3) 1972 600 SWB, (4) 1971 280SL, (5) 1985 300TDT , (6) 1981-1985 300SD, (7) 1991 560SEL/SEC, (8) 1995 E320 (sedan, wagon and coupe), (9) 1993-1999 w140 S500, (10) 2004 CL600.

560 SEC in white please

Just seemed to get the lines right and no B piller

'80 300SD
k-jet 450's
560SEC
240D
'82-85 300D
E270 Cdi
400E

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'90 300SE 298k
-300K and it gets put into retirement.
'80 300D 255k Purchased new by family in 1980.

Had a:
1973 220 (gas)
1980 300SD
1992 400E

hmm, since 1984 . . . of course I'm biased . . .

2.3-16
Evo
Evo II

It has to be the W126 and not thinking with reliability.....the W140.

The E is boring.

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99 C43
98 S420
99 C230K
01 C240

W124 All Flavors.

and 190e 16v, evo1, and evo2

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'92 300CE - Sold
2004 C240 - 744 - C7 Wheels - Android Radio
2002 C320 - 816 - Sport Wagon

W126 SEC.
Pinnacle of their engineering and styling together. It has been all down hill since then.

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past MB rides:
'68 220D
'68 220D(another one)
'67 230
'84 SD
Current rides:
'06 Lexus RX330
'93 Ford F-250
'96 Corvette
'99 Polaris 700 RMK sled
2011 Polaris Assault
'86 Yamaha TT350(good 'ol thumper)

I don't know what you guys are gripping about. It seems the best cars to you guys are the cars you own? Those that own w124s think w124s are the best. Those who own w126s naturally think w126s are the best. Then there are those who say that anything with an aluminum block is a piece of $hit. Give me a break.

Anybody who criticizes a w220 or a w211 actually own one? If you guys own it, then there is at least some basis. The w220 and the w210 are terrific, as are the w140, w126, w129, w124 and w107. I don't have a w211, so I'll stfu.

Mercedes Benzes are the best cars in the world. Period.

LOL!
That's why we own them. Because they are the best.

My response is about 75% tongue-in-cheek. I do think the W126 car is awesome, as I said. But it's the newest benz I've owned. So I have to base my judgements on what I see others say about the newer models here and at other sources. So far, I'm not real impressed by what I hear, that I want to buy anything much newer.
But if the finances ever come my way, I'll wander down to the dealer. Who knows.

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past MB rides:
'68 220D
'68 220D(another one)
'67 230
'84 SD
Current rides:
'06 Lexus RX330
'93 Ford F-250
'96 Corvette
'99 Polaris 700 RMK sled
2011 Polaris Assault
'86 Yamaha TT350(good 'ol thumper)

I have never owned a W211 or W220, but I have been driven in them before. The W220 lacks wood, the W211 lacks space.

The 220 is a beautiful car, and the 211 would look good too if it weren't for that Toyota-rear approach that Mercedes is taking now. In the W211, the E500 engine causes the car to vibrate at idle. The W220 S500 is as smooth as glass. I must be rare, because I don't care for the "+" and "-" parts of the automanual transmission. It doesn't feel right in a Mercedes not to have D-4-3-2-1.

The interior in the W211 looked similar to an older Lexus LS400. I was really disappointed with that.

Despite all the flaws, they are still very, very fast cars with superior handling dynamics.

I'll let you know which one lasts the longest in my fleet.

Not done yet.

Collector value isn't worth anything to me. I need cars to drive.

Ken300D

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1982 300D at 351K miles
1984 300SD at 217K miles
1987 300D at 370K miles

The w211 CDi is marketed as the finest diesel car MB has ever made. Diesel owners, including myself, will just have to wait and see. I still think someone ought to reevaluate their judgment if they claim (as some of my friends do) that they find their w123 interiors more attractive.

People tend to love what they have and have the tendency to crap all over stuff that they don't have or cannot afford, so much so that they call their own stuff the very best and everything else $hit. And. Don't tell me that folks with w126s drive it because they believe that it is and will forever be the best MB ever made. How many people who drive SDLs/SDs today bought the car brand new? Yes, diesels last forever, but most I know buy diesels because they are cheap a$$ thrills. You cannot tell me that if a new w220 S500 costs $4,000, you will pick the 1978 240D or 300D?

I have yet to meet a guy with the $150K on hand and about to walk into a MB stealership to order that S600 or S55 AMG, and rationalize with "you know what, that S55 or S65.. that's really $hit.. especially with all those negative reports... the rear looks like a Toyota.. the front looks like a Kia.. what I really want is a 1970s 240D with manual window cranks and door locks... after all its probably 25 times cheaper.. has superior engineering! ... and provides more value" :p