Hi, my name is Jason, I'm 20 and I live near Seattle, WA. All of my driving days I have been driving "Rice-Boy" cars, my current car is a 95 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX turbo AWD with a crazy body kit, painted BRIGHT orange, looks good to me and lots of other people my age, but I think I am finally growing out of my "race anyone who looks at me wrong" phase. I just want a classy car that I don't have to worry about people wanting to race me every 5 minutes. Ok now that I'm done with the intro (sorry) here is my question:

I'm looking at 92-95 W140 300SE, S320, S420. From what I have read in the forum the 6 cyl motors are underpowered for these big S-Class Mercedes, but honestly I don't care, as long as I can get onto the freeway safely it's fine, (I don't need a fast car anymore, if I keep at my current pace I am seriously going to probably kill myself).

I really can't go any higher than $27,500 or so. I will probably only get $15k or $16k for my Eclipse so I can't get a $40k S500 or anything like that. The one's I have been looking at average about 65,000 miles, and they run anywhere from $19k on up to $28k or so, I want to spend about $25k. What kind of problems are inherent to these cars, and are these problems easily solvable by a dealer mechanic (and not TOO expensive)??

I guess really what I want to know is if I go out and buy (just for example) a 1994 S320 with 80k-90k miles, what am I getting myself into? I know it depends on how well the car was maintained, but I am trying to make my question as general as possible.

Any input greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Jason Garrett

Also what about the S350D's? I've seen a couple for sale for around what I want to spend. I've seen quotes with the ads for these like: "Will run forever" and "bulletproof". If this was the case why doesn't every car have a diesel? Excuse me for my ignorance to the subject, but I know absolutely nothing about diesel engines. Are there any drawbacks? Does a "funny" smell come from the exhaust like I have smelled countless times being behind old diesel Mercedes?

Thanks Again,
Jason Garrett

Jason: As a general rule, if you are not inherently attracted to a Diesel, I'd stay away. Kinda like the old Harley slogan "If I have to explain it to you, you wouldn't understand". On the 140 chassis, only 2 things come to mind: On the earlier ones like this, make sure the AC works OK, they have had trouble with leaking evaporators. if the evaporator leaks, the whole instrument panel has to be removed to replace it, it costs a few thousand dollars to do it, takes a couple days working time. You can usually spot compressor oil coming out of the interior drains if it's a leaker. I'd almost want to warn you to only buy one that's had it replaced, seems like if it hasn't been done yet, it will need it. Second, If you buy a 300SE, 300SEL, or S320 (same name for basically the same car) these have the 104 engine in them, the 104's are all known for leaking head gaskets, so be careful there, too. If you find one you like, if it isn't at a dealership, I'd try getting it looked at buy a dealership or an independent 3rd party who specializes in MB.......Gilly