Well, like clockwork my wife is getting the itch for a new car. She seems to want a new car about every 3 years and her Mini Cooper was our most recent purchase about 3 years ago. She doens't even know what kind of car she wants... just that she wants something new. I stupidly chimed in "I know what I'd like... a newer Merc diesel!" I then added that we couldn't afford one.

Well, she jumped on it and said that if we sold our Cooper and '96 E300D, then we wouldn't be far off from a later model Bluetec. Yeesh!

So, I pose this question for anyone who wants to take a few pot shots at it... is it worth the hassel of getting rid of the two cars in favor of a Bluetec? I've not really heard much about buyer satisfaction with the newer diesels... are they built as well as the '96? Also, I have no idea what my '96 is worth... just that I've done quite a bit of work on it to get it where it is now... a reliable daily driver.

Personally, I'd be happy just keeping the '96... it's in good shape and I've crawled into many of its nooks and crannies in keeping it up to snuff. The prospect of a newer diesel would be attractive IF I could justify (in my lil' noggin) a reason for upgrading.

Any input would be appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

-l-

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'84 300d turbodiesel (83K miles)
'96 300d (226K miles)
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other fine diesels...
'99 Polaris diesel (Fuji Heavy Industries single)
'01 Diesel Trail gator (Yanmar triple)
'95 John Deere 970 (Yanmar quad)
'11 BMW 335d
'12 VW Jetta TDI

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'00 BMW K1200LT
'02 BMW R1150RS

'15 BMW R1200GSA