My wife is a photographer and I'm considering getting her a wagon for hauling her equipment to various locations in Texas and Louisiana. I need something durable and reliable since she often has to travel alone. Price-wise it will probably have to be something from the late 1980's or early 1990's. What do you recommend, gas or diesel? Turbo or normally aspirated? Any caveats?

300 series diesel wagon is a very good car according to
past posts. Do a search on the forums for specifics.
The expensive thing to look out for are the rear
suspension items. E-bay has one with new parts etc.
for $4K, Los Angeles,Ca.
Many people are after these cars.
good luck.

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1979 300D 220 K miles
1995 C280 109 K miles
1992 Cadillac Eldorado Touring Coupe 57K miles SOLD
********************
1979 240D 140Kmiles (bought for parents) *SOLD.
SAN FRANCISCO/(*San Diego)
1989 300SE 148 K miles *SOLD

Diesels from that era are very economical. Almost as quiet and quick as gas. Texas and Louisiana are good locals for oil burners too because it's fairly flat and rarely freezing.

The aluminum head gas(104?) is prone to head gasket trouble. I think they started those in '91

Maintainance records and or a compression test will tell you alot about condition of the engine.

Make sure the A/C is good or replaced.

Either is a good choice.

__________________
Mr. BILL

91 300E 120K
90 300SE 275K (sold)
92 BMW 525iM 120K
90 BMW 525iA 175K
85 300D 175K (sold)
84 300SD 245K (sold)

Good mileage, parts are cheep, easy to work on, a hwy cruiser, I believe they are becoming collectors items.

__________________
2000 Ford 7.3 Powerstroke 4x4
2006 Mazda Tribute
1983 Black 300 D (donated to charity)
1993 Teal 300 D (160K) Sold
"I love the smell of burnt diesel fuel in the morning, it smells like ....VICTORY"

Semper Fidelis
USMC 1973-1976

Well, you have two choices...

123 chassis wagon '78-'85. '81-'85 are Turbo versions. I recommend one of those (with turbo). They can be had fairly inexpensively and are economical to maintain. They're also incredibly reliable workhorses and are pretty fuel efficient. As mentioned in this thread earlier, beware of faulty rear hydraulic leveling components. It's expensive to put these systems right.

124 chassis wagon '87-'95. Not all are diesels, but my pick would be the '87 300TD. Most all of them have had the trap oxidizer modification done and are quiet as their petrol engined counterparts. Considerably smoother than the 5 cylinder engine as well. All 6 cylinder (OM 603 motor) are turbocharged. Personally, I feel the older 123 chassis would make a better car. I thought the 6 cylinder diesels were nice but I never felt they could run as long as the true and tested 617 engines. But either car will prove safe and reliable if it has been kept up well. Choose wisely!

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Regards,
Aaron