I'm into diesels because of a couple factors. First, there are a lot of good MB's to be had for less than $5K; most of these are diesels. Second, I tend to push the limits of most cars at one time or another; having only 123 hp tends to keep me out of trouble with the law. Also, I definitely get better fuel economy than a premium guzzling model of similar vintage. I get 20 mpg in town, and easily 25 mpg on the highway, and I have a lead foot. I used to get 17 mpg in a 4 cyl Volvo, and 20 mpg in town in a 69 hp Nissan Sentra, and once got 12 mpg in my ex-gf's Datsun 510. So for me to get in the low 20's makes me very happy. I never got much over 16 mpg in any of my gas MB's.

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Bob Roe
Lehigh Valley PA USA
1973 Olds 88, 1972 MB 280SE, 1978 Datsun 280Z, 1971 Ford T-Bird, 1972 Olds 88, 1983 Nissan Sentra, 1985 Sentra, 1973 230.6, 1990 Acura Integra, 1991 Volvo 940GLE wagon, 1983 300SD, 1984 300SD, 1995 Subaru Legacy L wagon, 2002 Mountaineer, 1991 300TE wagon, 2008 Murano, 2007 R320CDI 4Matic 52K, some Hyundai, 2008 BMW 535xi wagon, all gone... currently
2007 Honda Odyssey Touring, 2014 E350 4matic