Don't get me wrong, the 300se/sel with the inline 6 are good cars and they will last probably as long as the others with 500k+ miles before they die. The oil consumption is just more an aggrivation than anything. I personally think the inline 6 strains itself in everyday stop and go driving. In other words, it is underpowered for the size and weight of the car. My MB mechanic told me that he had done many, many 300's as far as valve jobs and had never seen anything like it. For some reason, I find it hard to believe that if a car is consuming oil to the tune of a quart to a quart and a half every 800-1000 miles, a certified MB mechanic should know whether a valve job would solve it. He has been a MB mechanic with both the MB dealerships and now on his own for over 20 years. My 300 has 190k on it. I have tried all kinds of weights for oil and now I am using Mobil 1 synthetic 0w40 and it seems to do the best now. I have absolutely no spotting on the garage floor. The only time I did was when I switched to 20w 50. As soon as I switched back to 40 weight, the spotting stopped. My 90 420sel with the v8 uses very little if any oil. Maybe someone here might have a clue, but I can drive to Hopkinsville, KY from Kingsport, TN (375 miles) and it will use between a quart and a quart and a half. I can drive it around town on the weekend for a couple of days at my inlaws in KY and start back home to TN and get all the way home before having to add some oil (another 375 miles). It is like it is speratic oil consumption. I would think that it should use the same amount of oil going as coming since you are putting it through the same conditions, but it does not. I have 2 friends in TN that have 300 se's and one uses oil of a quart every 1000 miles and the other says he has not noticed much consumption. I have talked to several people on this board with the same car and all of them I have talked to uses oil. Any suggestions? Someone even suggested changing the oil filler cap seal. At one time, oil was getting into plugs 2,3 & 4 with 2 being completely fouled. Now, it doesn't seem to be as bad. If ever buy another w126, it will be the small v8 in the 420sel. It has sufficient power for the size/weight and is more comfortable and does not have the omen of oil consumption.