Hi all, just a quick introduction on myself, I am in the military and will be moving to Stuttgart Germany in 2020. Since I will be in the heart and home of Mercedes, I am considering getting a classic Mercedes to use as a three season car. I want to be able to carry the whole family (3 kids) plus stuff, so I am after a wagon. To be able to import it back to the states, it has to be more than 25 years old in the summer of 2023, so something registered before June 1998. Due to the emissions laws in Germany, if it is a diesel it has to be a classic "oldtimer" older than 30 years, so built before Aug 1990.

I can do basic car maintenance and I am good at following YouTube directions, so I should be fine doing most of the work myself. I plan to buy on the higher end so that I can drive it day one without having to deal with a lot of problems. Yes, there are always things to refresh, but I do not want to spend the first couple of months working on it to get it road worthy. My budget is around 20k Euro. I will be using this to cruise the autobahn at around 75-85 mph, so the smaller gas or diesel engines wont work.

Anyways, without going too much into the W123 vs W124 debate, are there any Euro spec engines or options that are worth hunting for or staying away from? I am tracking the lights, bumpers, and typically a few HP bump, but what else? Most of the info I find in English online focus on the US spec cars so any help would be appreciated.

Below is what I have been able to figure out so far based on my research:

W123 TD Turbo - very cool classic car, as the Germans would say, it is an "oldtimer". Good mpg but autobahn speeds might be a challenge

W124 TD Turbo - 1990 at the newest, great MPG, faster than W123, much better autobahn car. The Germans have a great term, "youngtimer," to describe a car like the W124 that is 20-30 years old but not yet old enough to be called a classic "oldtimer." I am guessing I should go for the M603 engine, correct?

W124 Petrol - There are a lot of cool options here line the Sportline option, and the later 24 valve engine. It is probably outside of my price range but what about a E36 3.6 AMG? Did they put the 4.2 V8s in Wagons? Are there any other cool Euro only gas engines worth going for?

I dont need a Euro spec car just for the sake of being different, but if there is something that was only sold in Germany and it is worth hunting down, then I would like to know what you can tell me.

Thank you for your help!