Ken,
I must agree with several other posts on this thread. The W123 is the best car for this situation. My daughter will be sixteen in a couple more years, and she already knows this is what she will be driving. My ten year old son has already claimed my 300SDL. I think Larry and Aaron hit the main points in their earlier posts. I had a 84 190d and I was not impressed, although I'm told the later models were better. Good luck with your decision.

Ken Yancey

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1987 300SDL
1990 300E
1989 300E
1986 300E
1981 300D
1983 240D