Thanks for the comments. Heres some of my thoughts to them:

My old GMC gets 16-18, so anything from 22-26 mpg would be great. My wifes '95 Caddy with a 155K gets 25mpg @ 60mph.(BTW, wouldn't buy one of those again!), so I'd hope a Benz would be about the same. As far as buget being $5-6k, thats what is doable with liquid assets ermarked for a vehicle. Something comes along at a higher price that I like, I will need to decide if I want payments.

Have never bought a car without seeing it person. Not saying I wouldn't, but chances are that I won't.

I like the W126 class and currently have a 500SEC, but would like to down size to a smaller platform. Plus coupes generally bring a little more $$, and I'm wanting some practicality with 4 or 5 doors. I'm going to look at a 190 to at least see what one is like.

I found the thread relating to the wire harness issues, so I'll study that tonight.

Cliff