[QUOTE=Skid Row Joe;3668896
My next MB diesel car was a new 1999 E300TD sedan. Spent $42,500 plus sales tax on that car. Never again. Too much money for too little return. Drove it 100K in it's 1st 4-years of ownership. Nothing but a problem basically for years - one thing or another. Gifted it to a Brother 3.5 years ago. It had 132K on it. I repeatedly warned my Brother that it would cost $1K to $3K a year to keep it on-the-road, if he was going to drive it a lot. He keeps it as his garage queen. Seems to have ongoing issues, even when not driving it but a thousand miles a year.[/QUOTE]

I hear ya. I bought my 99 E320 wagon for just over $50K. Fortunately, my wife talked me into paying up for the extended warranty. Fool that I was, I didn't really think I needed a warranty at all on a new Mercedes. I called a friend who had the same car to share a little gloating. He said that his car spontaneously caught fire in the driveway, and he was overjoyed when the dealer offered him his full purchase price back. I had the car for 10 years, but maybe had six years of actual use. A good part of the time, it rode on a flatbed. A good part of the time, I just let it sit outside because I preferred whatever other POS was rusting in my driveway, and because I didn't deem it worthy of a place in the garage. A good part of the time, it was at the dealer, getting some major component repaired under the extended warranty. The agony ended when my wife accidentally drove off the road and impaled it on a tree. Insurance company gave me full book, and I was done. One thing I agree with is that if you want to buy a car for the purpose of crashing into a tree, W210 is the one.

Mxfrank,

That's funnier than h*ll driving it into a tree! You made out great getting out of your '99 E320 wagon!

I guess I've learned not to value anywhere near new the out of pocket cost of a Mercedes-Benz. There's enough financial heartache keeping a 10 year old MB diesel on the road that you bought for a fraction of what it cost the new sucker buyer. Christ, you have to either be a big earner, or a millionaire keeping one on the road. But that's another discussion. I'm certain that my Dad would be disappointed in the reliability and value aspects of the post 1980s MB diesels. He remarked.in the mid 1980s that the alternative car preference of an MB diesel car owner was a Honda Accord. I'm seeing his wisdom after the W210 I wasted so much money on. I'm seriously considering getting out of MBs altogether these days. A nice Honda or Subaru as my daily driver, and a new or nearly new Corvette C7, as my discretionary car is the direction I'm inclined to go these days. I bought my 1st new 1977 C3 L82 Corvette, 40 years ago this month. (December 1976)

I replaced the 210 with an Outback. The Outback is boring as hell, lacking in character, reeks cheap, but it thrives on deep snow and has been trouble free. My '87 Mercedes is still my longest lasting favorite, but with over 400K on the clock, it's only a matter of time.

That's good information for me, MXFrank. I haven't been in a new Outback.

The Subaru Outback 4 cyl base model, is what a colleague of mine now drives. He trades every 2 years into a new Outback each time with 30K miles. They're gold on the used market, from what I understand.

I'm not in snow Country, so, the Honda Accord sedan base 4 cyl. would be perfect for me.

I really wish I'd of either kept the 83 300SD I sold in '99 with 305K miles on it, or, found a low-miles one in the subsequent years. I have gotten along with only having 1 car for the past 38 years, because cars are costly to just keep up, insure and license.

These days, I'm kind of wanting an exciting extra car. The new C7 has captivated my attention. A 2015/16/17 Corvette fits the bill.