A Toyota will most certainly cost you less in upkeep. They are both good choices, but I'd go with Toyota/Honda for my daughter. The Benz's are great cars, but there will be service issues that come up--and these issues will be expen$ive.

On your mileage longevity question, my '91 300E has 192K and runs perfect. These cars last a VERY long time with proper care.

Besides, if she buys a Benz-there will be one less for me

-GH

__________________
For Now:
1992 Mercedes Benz 500SL
1998 BMW 528i
2003 Honda Element
2002 CBR600F4i
1977 Coachmen Motor Home

Ahhh yes the dreaded biodegradable plastic on the wiring, I forgot about that. What year did they start using that? Did it only affect the engine wiring harnesses?
What was the last year for the M103?

__________________
1999 MB SL500 (110,000 mi)
2004 Volvo V70 2.5T (220,000 mi)
2014 Tesla Model S 85 (136,000 mi)
MBCA member

My favorite combination is the W124 with M103. Less power and less refined, but a pretty much bulletproof all-around package. No headgasket issue and no wiring harness issue. Possible valve stem seals issue, but that's easily fixed with about $65 and a few hours of spare time on a weekend. Less issues too with the older non-722.6 tranny. Get a 91 or 92!

__________________
08 W251 R350
97 W210 E320
91 W124 300E
86 W126 560SEL
85 W126 380SE Silver
85 W126 380SE Cranberry
79 W123 250
78 W123 280E
75 W114 280

Or he could get her the "ultimate" W124....the 300CE.

Two less doors to worry about.

__________________
Current Benzes

1989 300TE "Alice"
1990 300CE "Sam Spade"
1991 300CE "Beowulf" RIP (06.1991 - 10.10.2007)
1998 E320 "Orson"
2002 C320 Wagon "Molly Fox"

Res non semper sunt quae esse videntur

My Gallery

Not in this weather!

Wiring harness:

http://tinyurl.com/8nx7v

Not just the M104, as you will see.

My 86 124 300e has 440k kilometers on it and works well - I always have a little list of thing's that need doing - but I drive it every day - but it's as much a hobby as transportation. I was sold on MB when my old 123 300d was hit head on/but off centre - combined speed of maybe 50mph. Grill was ripped in half - front left side of car was completely crushed, floor was pushed up to the brake pedal so it couldn't be pushed down after the crash. Anyway, my front door opened and I stepped out - closed the door behind me, to see the fellow oppposite struggling to open his door (Dodge Aspen)
My 2 cents.

I'm up to 457000 km, on the original unopened engine.
I'm just about to pull the head off because of the amount of oil that is leaking otherwise I wouldn't be doing it.
The last 7000km have been on propane.
Best car I've owned, and I've had bmw's, porsche's, and locally made stuff.