Im looking for a nice W108 or 109 M-B in the near future. Because i have the luxury of time on my side in my search, i want all of your opinions on what model W108 or 109 all of you recommend. I love the body style and am thinking the straight 6 would be the best engine regarding mileage and simplicity. I tend to like the later years better, what should I be looking for? In need your opinions!
Thanks,
Brett

I liked the 280/300 sedans and choose the 280 because of price and simplicity of the suspension. I wanted BIG, hence the SEL and the 4.5, and I am loving life now!

With the luxery of time, you should be able to find the car you want. If you locate one in the Atlanta area, I will be glad to help you by driving the car to a shop of your choice for a Prepurchase inspection. I will also video tape it in detail and mail the tape to you.

Here is a 108/109 specialty site that I suggest you visit. http://www.geocities.com/sveinn.geo/w108w109/index.html

Thanks Deezel,
I appreciate the link to the 108/109 site. Agree with you that a 6 280S,SE,SEL would be the best for me since i won't have a lot of money to dump into this car right away. I still don't understand what differences a S,SE, or SEL have?

Jeepguy,

The S and SE are both the same size, basically same car. The difference is the S is carburated and the SE is fuel injected. The SEL is fuel injected and the body/passenger compartment is a little bit longer providing more rear passenger leg room.

S = Luxury
E = Einspritz - fuel injection
L = Long wheel base

The code list goes on, but that'll give you a start in reading the model badges.

If you read the guestbook (I think) at the link Deezel provided, you will see that some of the folks in Norway or Sweden, refer to the 280/300 SEL's as limousines.

__________________
Mike Tangas
'73 280SEL 4.5 (9/72)- RIP
Only 8,173 units built from 5/71 thru 11/72

'02 CLK320 Cabriolet - wifey's mid-life crisis

2012 VW Jetta Sportwagon TDI...at least its a diesel

Non illegitemae carborundum.

Thanks Mike,
Sounds like the SEL would be the nicest to have. I would assume also the fuel-injected models may run smoother and have less maintenence. I will stick with the SE and SEL in my search.

I guess it depends on what you are looking for which one is best. I'd love to have either a 300sel 6.3 (109) or a 300 se coupe (109) but have only owned 108. My favorite was my '66 250S with the alpine rear end gearing. Really quick off the line, great handling, and simple to maintain. No fuel injection, no air suspension, 6 cyl. Actually the 108's got significantly heavier during the model run. My 250s weighed only about 3200 pounds while the later models weighed almost 4000 pounds. That makes a small difference in gas mileage, but a huge difference in how the car handles. Because my '66 was light, it had a more manouverable feel and handled great! The down side was it did not have power windows, ac, or power steering. But...simple, and no big maintenance issues.

I'd buy another 250 any day.