A former Chevy nut here. I bought my Benz, a '91 300SE, from a lady I used to rent a house from. My son started working for her while we were renting and he still works for her. He borrowed the Benz from her (she has a heart of gold) when his ride went down so he could get to school, work, etc. One weekend I borrowed it from him and absolutely fell in love with it. Soon after I found out that she had it up for sale, but it wasn't being advertised as such, it was a "spare" car for her family as she had bought a 2002 E320 and kept the 300 because she didn't like the "trade-in deal". I jumped at it paying the $5500 she was offered as trade-in. It had 182,000 miles on it when I bought it in November of '03 and has 210,000 clocked now. I've put about $700-$800 into parts for the suspension and have it just about perfect now. I never would have dreamed of owning a Mercedes, let alone having one 13 years old in near new condition. It runs smooth, plenty of power for me, comfortable ride. My daughter will be learning how to drive soon and have already thought about looking for another Benz for me and letting her drive the 300. I would not have to worry about her in it because I know this particular car and more importantly the safety reputation of a Mercedes. I'll never go back to the "Big Three".

Some ideas I've entertained.....a Unimog dump truck to drive for work and converting a wagon into a Benz pickup truck to pull my boat, I saw a completed conversion on the net.

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1991 300SE (my ride, 279,000 miles, looks almost new
1954 Cadillac (21 yo son's car, he bought when age 15)
1972 SeaBird 19 ft runabout (old but solid, slant six, Volvo sterndrive perfect condition, undergoing complete overhaul and refit)
1998 Toyota Rav4 (my sons daily driver when he is in the Continental US, PROUDLY serving in US Navy)