I’ve been looking to make a diesel vehicle run on b99 as my daily driver on a 20 mile daily city driving commute.

I just “committed” to the ’87 190d 2.5 TD I bought on Labor Day by having the tranny rebuilt by a great local independent just last week.

However, not being able to let well enough I alone, I continued looking and stumbled on a ’96 e300d, took it to same shop for a PPI today.

Two weeks ago I would have taken the ’96, no brainer. I’d been looking since July and honestly hadn’t been able to find the right combination of price, condition, mileage, etc.

96 e300d – “Good deal” on a real nice car that I can drive for a while
• Asking $7,400 (KKB) – appears negotiable
• 132,000 - Blue opal, gray MBTX
• 2nd owner, bought after 29,000 while still under warranty
• Dealer serviced, service records
• Needs $800 in body work for minor scrape along drivers side (not that noticeable)
• Mechanical great - Recommended by technician and shop manager after PPI
• Newer fuel lines are supposed to be biodiesel friendly
• First year of new chassis, problems? More “computers”
• 606 engine, no turbo = good for city
• Growing a business, no technical background = don’t mind having it serviced by the indie

87 190d - I can drive cheaply and have fun doing it for the next couple of years
• $3,200 - invested since September purchase price, transmission rebuilt, DS window motor replacement, registration
• 214,000 - Silver smoke, burgundy MBTX
• I purchased from 2nd owner who bought @ d’ship @ 125k
• Service records, dealer and indie service
• “Rare” – evidently only year of 2.5 TD in model
• Needs AC work, I would like to replace driver seat springs
• Need to replace original rubber hosing to run b99
• Sure would be fun to learn to work on cars

I don't think I can recoup on my investment. Maybe I should just ride it out for a while, it is a fun car.

I figure the difference between the 2 is about $4,000.

I’ve noticed folks have all sorts of opinions on all sorts of things -
• Biofuels
• New vs. old – chassis, ease of DIY, reliability, handling, etc.
• When things go out
• How expense to fix
• Valuations
• Fuel Economy

Do you think it’s worth it? Is the grass always greener?