As Jim Villers said, "if it wasn't a five speed, I wouldn't own it".

It took me a LONG TIME to find my 300E five speed. The 124 car is great, and I may have given in and bought one with a slushbox, but it would've been awhile.

I have seen it in print that the five speed was only imported to the US in '86 and '88, but I don't think this is correct. I saw a posting here regarding an '87 US car with a five speed. I expect the numbers in the US to be just a few hundred. There was a post some time back by someone who had researched and found that there was a single digit number, four I think, that were sold in New Jersey. Judging by what I've seen and what I went through to find one, I expect something on the order of 250-300 were imported to the US. What a pity that there were so few.

When I began discussing purchasing an '01 C Class six speed on this forum, I got into a debate about MB manual transmissions. There was someone who kept insisting that the MB manuals are no good. I've driven bunches of different makes of manual transmission cars, and have found the MB manuals to be just fine.

I have turned down much more for my 300E than what even a premium slushbox 124 would bring. I'm still in love with the car.

Have a great day,