[V8] 300E Beater

[Roger Woodbury]

Brian is pretty much on the money here.  I am really not much of a 300E fan,
and I think the earlier cars...the W-124 body...are no longer really
appropriate to give to a younger beginning driver.  

But I think I would opt for the smaller bodied car...the 190D or 190E.
These cars are really cheap, and off the same reliability as the bigger 300E
and will deliver better fuel mileage.  I like the diesels because a four
cylinder 190E has enough poke for normal traffic but will simply not go much
faster than seventy.  Pretty hard for a young person to get in too deep with
one, yet the cars are "modern" enough to not pose a traffic clogging issue.

Either one of these cars will require 4 studded snowtires for winter.  As
Brian suggests, the later the better, and the better service history, the
better.

Incidentally, right now there is a 190E with eighty some thousand miles on
eBay with a Buy it Now price under four grand.  This car is on Long Island,
New York and if it is in fact what it says it is, and what the pictures make
it appear to be, then it is the ONE to buy.  There is also an earlier 190D
(2.2 litre four cylinder) car in Illinois on eBay that is going through the
auction process beginning at $7500:  the deal on that one is that it
supposedly has not had winter service and has only 20,000 miles.  Doubtful,
but possible, and if so, will go for the upper teens, I would guess.

I am not on the S-car list, Kent.  Perhaps you would forward this for what
it is worth.  I had two of the small body 190's, both diesels, and would
love to have another as a summer car....but then, the V8 is a great summer
car, too......

Sigh:  too many nice old cars, too little time.....

Roger