listen to Ted and Dan- - -they are spot on!

from my experience, I picked up a 1967 250SE 4 speed stick in mint condition w/ a tad of 50k miles on the odo....it had been stored inside a garage in Alameda, CA for a couple of decades++

...when the original owner passed away, I bought it from the next owner in his 70's whom had inherited it...what a find I thought!

In many ways visually the 250SE was "as-new", however- - after driving it only a couple of days it became apparent that due to lack of use- - -every single major hose, belt, rubber bushing, seal, gasket, etc. required replacement/ lubrication for the car to be road worthy and consisent w/ its external and interior 'as-new' appearance (brake lines, brake pads (crumpled to dust upon 1st use!), vaccuum hoses, sliding heater controls, window regulators, speedo cable, etc.)

A variable Pandora's Box:
....many $1000's later which included upper end motor work- - the car was correct and I enjoyed it for nearly a decade - - problem free- - before giving it to my little brother.

If you can pick up the SEC for $5-$8k (or lower) and budget at least $10k on maintence/ fix-it items standard fare for a 13year old car- - it may be a fair bargain... realistically, a total financial outlay of a premium $15-$18k

Also, yikes: ...if the a/c doesn't work, and/or any of the hvac system doesn't work- - plan on spending most of that budgeted $10k r/r'ing the entire systems correctly (to avoid nickel and dime future pblms req more labor vs. cost of parts to address)

>if on the other hand, this car has been totally restored, climate control maintained , w/ records by a MB enthusiast- - a downside financial risk on a used MB is somewhat mitigated (but not entirely)....there's a post in the diesel section indicating that any qualified MB tech/mechanic should be able to find at least $2k in recc work on any old MB...

hope this helps
-fad