Originally Posted by citationtech

i think you should base your decision on what chassis suits your tatse, rather what engine to avoid. i've owned a '85 190d 2.2, '84 300d, '84 300sd, '83 240d manual, '86 300sdl, even a '89 300e gasser. i have probably 20,000 miles of seat time in my dad's '87 300d. they were all fabulous and i dearly miss every single one of them. they all had their own special character and unique addictive diesel clatter. i love my '98 e300 turbo, but it's so refined i think it lacks the vintage diesel mercedes character that made me fall in love with these cars! the w123, for me, is simply to old to be used daily for my 100 mile commute. the w126 300sd/l is more refined and better looking than the w123 albeit the sdl is a massive automobile and i was told i looked rather pompous in it.. the 190d and 240d were dangerously slow, but had loads of character. so the w124 300d? perfect. enough creature comforts to be used comfortably daily, solid reliability, great performance, and classic looks that may go down in my books as the best looking mercedes and it still retains the diesel character of the w115-w126.