I am looking for a new or very nice used car. I looked at the new TDI VW's but they are just to small and I am not sure about 20K for a VW. I like the looks of the E class cars, I have up to 30K to spend. Suggestions?? Performance, Safety, Reliability, and Milage are important factors. Thanks for your help.

98-99 E300 TurboDiesel. Performance, Safety, Reliability and Mileage, all great. Not as great of quailty as the older 123 and 126 cars. If I were you I would buy a superior condition, low mileage 123 or 126 diesel for $3000 to $6000 and put the rest in the bank, Just MHO.

John

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mileage 123 or 126 diesel for $3000 to $6000
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I agree with you, John.

However, these cars are not easy to find, especially not in a big city. If anyone comes to see some of these, please post here so we know.

Thanks.

Bo

Gee, with that money I'd probably get the 1983 D, CD, and TD and still have enough for some repairs.

Alex

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1983 300D (parked for four years)
2012 VW Sportwagen TDI Manual
2001 Miata SE
1962 Chevrolet Corvair Rampside

I just bought a 1998 E300 TurboDiesel with 42,000 miles in perfect condition with a Starmark warranty to 100,000 miles (or 20 months, which ever comes first) for a little more than your budget. On the internet the suggested private party sale of such a vehicle is around $32,000. This is a superior car, with all the gadgets and things one might want in a new car, or, if you are like me, worry about fixing when the car gets old and you want to keep it running with all the gadgets working. I bought it because I love Diesels for all the reasons you read about here, and was dumbstruck by the performance of this car. The test drive had my wife driving at 105 mph, no loud noise, smooth, and it got there quick enough to drive at that speed for a few miles between exits on the I-395 between two exits. She had the second pass on that stretch of road, after I drove by checking for constables in the other direction at 95 mph. And it is purported to get over 30 mpg, though not at those speeds.

For around $8 to 10K less, you can get a 1997 model, which has no turbocharger and likely won't have some of the whizbang gadgtetry, or leather. They will probably have a few more miles as well, but for a Diesel I think the difference between 40,000 miles and 80,000 miles is easily worth the $8 or $10K. I drove one of these and was also very impressed by its performance, but only favored the 1998 model because of the remarkable acceleration and much better (for my taste) color combination.

I am not familiar with the earlier body of the middle range Mercedes (now known as the "E" Class) in gas or Diesel models. I am certain the guys on this board can fill you in on them though, as well as the W123 series Diesels (I just bought one of those with 221,000 miles in pristine condition for $1,000). So it seems you have lots of choices and hopefully lots of time to check them out and find what you want. Good Luck, Jim

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Own:
1986 Euro 190E 2.3-16 (291,000 miles),
1998 E300D TurboDiesel, 231,000 miles -purchased with 45,000,
1988 300E 5-speed 252,000 miles,
1983 240D 4-speed, purchased w/136,000, now with 222,000 miles.
2009 ML320CDI Bluetec, 89,000 miles

Owned:
1971 220D (250,000 miles plus, sold to father-in-law),
1975 240D (245,000 miles - died of body rot),
1991 350SD (176,560 miles, weakest Benz I have owned),
1999 C230 Sport (45,400 miles),
1982 240D (321,000 miles, put to sleep)