Melanie,

I, too, live in North Texas, and I drive a 300D turbo. Now, those two facts have nothing whatsoever to do with one another, but I am quite pleased with the power of this car, considering it's a diesel. I would recommend an '84 or '85, but you might opt for a W126 model, and it sounds like your budget would make that possible. If you can locate a 300SDL in cherry shape for under 5K, jump on it, or let me know about it!

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Matt
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1995 E300 Diesel (Die Blau Frau)