I think an important question to ask yourself is if you are willing to commit both the time and money to owning and driving a 25+ year old Mercedes on a daily basis. As one who owns both a '70 air-cooled VW and a '72 280SE 4.5 I can tell you there is a world of difference between the two. Bottom line: Keeping the 280SEL maintained so that it is safe & reliable on a daily basis is expensive to a degree that you cannot imagine compared to the VW!
Having said that, they are wonderful cars deserving of our love and devotion. If you truly have a Jones for this car, know going into it that it is not a question of if, but when you will have to put some serious money towards it.

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1972 280SE 4.5