To be honest I have never owned a diesel, so I can't compare. My coupe is an automatic, but I am generally satisfied with the performance of the car. Tune up parts are easy to come by and I think the car holds its own on the road. I never feel like the car can't keep up with traffic. It's never going to win a drag race (unless I'm racing a diesel). My car is registered as a collector car, so no emissions issues. But that is something to keep in mind if your state requires emission testing.

Another thing is that it's good to get any EPA/DOT docs with an imported car. My car didnt have them but I was able to jump through the hoops to get the docs for my car. It was done in the 80s and they actually still had them on file.