I will strongly agree with the comments by BlackMercedes concerning the '96 C220. I doubt that you could find a more reliable MB, and Consumer Reports confirms that fact. It is not the most robust Benz ever built by any means, but it more than equals a 2.3 190 in performance. And, with gas prices as they are, the 36-37 mpg highway figures (my actual experiences!) for this car are impressive indeed. The fit and finish are classic Benz (keep in mind this is one of the last before the damned buy-out of Chrysler), with the burl walnut on my particular example better than on my W140 S-class!

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1996 SL320 97K miles
1996 C220 130k miles
1992 500SEL 170k miles <---sold
1986 300E 216k miles <---sold