I think there may be a line of demarcation that takes place with most MB diesel owners on this board.

Folks who drive MB diesels around here 'tend' to like older car designs and also... tend to be frugal people who are a bit off the beaten path.

While looking down the list of cars here I noticed that virtually everyone has at least one car that is 15 years old and many folks have vehicles that are more than 20 years old. That's virtually unheard of for most enthusiast circles as it pertains to daily drivers.

I actually liquidate over 10,000 vehicles a year (an auctioneer by trade) and I currently have a 1995 MB E300 that is unfortunately in the shop. However, I truly like diesels because they are durable vehicles that can last a very long time if they're maintained appropriately.

My daily driver before this was a 1994 Toyota Camry coupe that registered 237 k and still ran like a top when I sold it for $2500. It drove well, got 27 mpg between city and highway, and was extremely easy to maintain. The Benz can get about 35 mpg but I actually think that the added cost of maintenance more than offsets it. However it's not really the reason why I bought it.

The main reason why I got it is that I really do like the clean design of the vehicle, and, it's simply so different from everything else I see in my daily work. My other daily driver right now is an immaculate burgundy 1996 Saab 900 S 4-door hatch with a 5-speed, leather, sunroof, and dealer records. I bought it for $1300 and I actually prefer that over the 2001 Volvo S80- T6, 2001 Aurora 4.0 V8, and 2000 Volvo V70 Wagon that are currently on the driveway. However when it comes to all the driving that I do the Mercedes is simply a more complete vehicle for it's time and should still stand the proverbial test of time. I think the Saab represents that level of value as well. The others... well... I think they won't be seen as classics or good values as time marches on.

I guess I just like older cars, and older car designs in general. My 88 Celica All-Trac, 83 Lincoln Mark VI , and 78 Mazda RX-7 were my favorites along with the Saab and Mercedes, and not a single one of them cost me over $1500 with the exception of the Mercedes (a repo I bought for $4700).

Perhaps another factor is that I see so many late model vehicles at the sale, and they all use the same tricks... oversized tires, lots of weight, and features that are just plain useless. The sameness of features (literally from the same parts bin) and the massive consolidation of manufacturers during the past 10 years has made true distinctiveness that much harder to find.

An older car usually gives you a lot more interaction with the driving experience and in a few select cases (Jaguars and large Benzes) they serve to relax you by giving you a nice comfortable degree of separation from it.

I will say that this Benz and the Saab are extremely enjoyable to drive on the one lane roads of North Georgia. I can take 60 mph apexes with precision and still get 32 mpg with either vehicle.

No car these days can match that level of economy and on-road performance except... well.... a diesel.