The 300Es went to "urban environments" and were beat to **** and the oil never got changed. Hence why nice, gas, 80s benzes are impossible to find, despite a ton being sold.

Diesels went to nuts and other forms of enthusiasts (read: people like us) who took care of their cars and loved them. People who got 87 300Ds or even the 90-93 knew they had something different and paid a premium for the cars even used. So more of them are surviving. I maintain most diesel owners inherently are better about taking care of their cars than gas owners. I've seen a 378,000 300E 2.8, but I've also seen a ton of buy here pay here rusted out 300E 2.6s with 110,000 miles for $995. The second, third, and fourth owners are doing their best to make 300Ds less rare and 300Es a scarcity. Look at 123s, they did sell more diesels than gasses, but a 280E/280CE is a pretty hard car to find.

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68 280SL - 70 280SL - 70 300SEL 3.5 - 72 350SL - 72 280SEL 4.5 - 72 220 - 72 220D - 73 450SL - 84 230GE - 87 200TD - 90 190E 2.0 - 03 G500

Nissan GTR - Nissan Skyline GTS25T - Toyota GTFour - Rover Mini - Toyota Land Cruiser HJ60 - Cadillac Eldorado - BMW E30 - BMW 135i