The old Benz philosophy, I'm not sure if it's still so, seemed to be, "It will not be cheap, but it will be quite possible to keep this car nearly new for as long as you wish"... Think about it. The finish quality (apart from a small peel in the clearcoat on the roof, my 1981 still shines after 25 YEARS in the AZ desert), the longevity of the engines, the availability of parts for a long time... it seems geared toward either being a prestige car for the lease customer (four-five years of status) or a long-term rewarding proposition for the motivated-to-maintain owner (20+ yrs of presentable, pleasurable use with mostly original major components seems reasonable)... it's a hell of a way to build a car. I've seen pics of your SD, rchase... can you think of *anything* domestically built in 1981-82 which looks nearly as good as our 126s now?