That was my point, although perhaps not very clear. The Mercedes is in the 1st category vehicles I mentioned, and specifically the diesel version of the Mercedes tends to be like the diesel version of any pickup, any VW/Audi, it is more sought after and commands a premium.

This isn't to say that a good car for a good price isn't out there, I've seen ads for cars that I thought were a very good buy, someone on this board recently bought a nice '05 for what seemed to be a very good price, but they're hard to find nice, for a low price, and go quickly. The 124s have never really enjoyed high value like 123s did so bargains are out there.

The 124 is a balancing point of sorts between reasonable fuel economy, durability, luxury/convenience, and reasonable DIY-friendly design, and IMO nice ones are a bargain.

The '95 is also kind of an orphan, one year, no turbo, ... I like the upgrades to the body and interior but not the engine (personal choice). OTOH, I like the '87 engine, but couldn't drive one without the upgraded interior and body. The '91-'93 is in the middle of both, not exactly the engine and not all of the upgrades. All IMO good cars if the suspension, HVAC, engine maintenance, condition are all up to snuff.

I am the opposite, I love the 95 OM606 engine, it seems to be relatively trouble-free (except for snapped glow plugs and wiring harness issues) and doesn't suffer from head/head gasket issues like some of the earlier W124's, although it can be a leaky engine in terms of annoying little fuel leaks.

With that said, it was kind of tough to get used to how doggish they can be from a stop compared to the earlier turbo cars, but once they get rolling they are great. Perhaps I am biased, or maybe I'm just used to the 0-30mph being a bit "leisurely." :)

Understood, many who have the '95 like it better than all of their others. As you can see though, ... I like a little more "poke" VV and the '95 look/interior, ... had to make that myself. I had a '95 gas, can't go back to the older look and feel.

Yea, that's what I thought you were saying. I know that I'm not going to buy a 20 year old car that is going to be 100% trouble free. I just don't want to buy one that's going to cost a couple thousand dollars a year to keep on the road.

Haha, I understand. But you're got to realize, I'm coming from a non-VTEC Honda Civic. Lol. Doesn't get much worse than that.



Alright, so let's say I'm talking back and forth over Craigslist with someone who's selling a 95 E300D. Presuming everything is in decent condition, not pristine, but good paint, interior, motor runs fine, etc. what kind of money would you call a reasonable deal? KBB is showing that one with 100k miles is worth $3100-$3700 in good-excellent condition. But it sounds like a few posters here believe that $3500 is only going to get a turd.

What say you?

I've seen several sweet 95 E300 in the $5,000.00 range 8 my part of the country, as well as others, and they're usually gone within days. The incidence of them becoming available diminishes over time though. You've got to monitor your website sources and pounce when you see the right one for you.

Without going to inspect each one in person, you won't know for sure. The sweet 95 E300 are going to fetch $5,000.00, or perhaps mid $4K, IMHO.

IMO if you find one with a good service history, under 200k, in great shape, working A/C and no apparent issues; $5k or less would be a good price.

The wiring harness is easy enough to check, just look at the wiring at the temp sensor behind the upper radiator hose. If it's falling apart, expect to replace that. ~$450 if you DIY.

In LA/San Diego they seems to fetch at least that much; significantly more in Seattle where the bio thing is still huge.

Geographic location has a lot to do with it. I'm always jealous of those finding 05-06 CDI's for reasonable prices, in So Cal they're usually 10k or so for a nice example, in Seattle people want $15k+ for cars either 200k+ AND/OR salvage titles.

Good to hear you have things under control. Way too many people get deep into debt when they are young and spend their entire lives as a rat on a wheel.

Any hints as to what sort of product you are working with in the day job?

Gotcha.

Well, in addition to the $2900 one I posted on the first page (haven't seen it yet b/c the guy has been out of town), I've come across another one that I actually like somewhat better. It's black on black (my favorite for these cars), also just over 100k miles, and looks very clean from the pics. He said the dealer replaced the glow plugs a short while ago, and that the A/C system had given no problems. No rust anywhere, non-smoker. Only problem is that the dealer said the wiring harness would need to be replaced soon, but that it wasn't showing any symptoms yet.

I've already talked him down to $3500 just via text without even seeing the car. Planning to go take a look at it later this week.

I certainly owe a lot of that to good parents, but I've also worked my butt off for it. Studying and working a lot through school instead of partying all the time makes a heckuva difference.

The engineering group that I'm part of in my company does any and all sorts of turn-key custom engineering relating to precision measurement. That includes weight, dimensional, torque, force, flow, etc, etc. We do the mechanical and electrical design, any fabrication necessary, and then finally the software and physical integration. Pretty much, if you need to measure something, but can't buy a product off the shelf that will suit your needs, then we'll make it for you. It can be as simple as a go / no-go gauge for the diameter of a gun barrel, or as complex as a full-blown batching system at a concrete plant, or as precise as repeatably measuring the runout on a shaft to under 5 microns (that's a human hair split about 15 times :eek:). Stuff like that.

It's really freaking awesome and I love it because:
1. It's challenging. Customers don't normally come to us until they've already tried really hard to do it themselves.
2. It's NEVER boring. We do projects for customers in virtually every industry. Automotive, aerospace, pharmaceuticals, energy, food, you name it.
3. What kind of mechanical engineer DOESN'T wish he had a job where he designed something, then had a full blown machine shop to build it, then got to have personal interaction with the customer when installing it.

And to think, someone is willing to pay me a fairly significant amount of money to do this.

Yup, living the dream. All those nights cursing at fluid dynamics or thermodynamics or controls homework paid off.

I wanted to become an engineer so that I could work for ACME, they make so many cool things for the Coyote.

Heck, I just wanted a Plymouth 'Roadrunner' in 1968/69. ;) :D

What ever came of all this? What did the OP end up doing?

One thing that was a biggie for me when weighing the 87 OM603 vs. the early-90s OM602s vs. the 95 OM606 is the fact that the 87 OM603 is the only one of the three that came with the stronger 722.3 trans. The other two came only with the weaker 722.4 trans.

And there is no denying the fact that the OM603 is WAY more fun to live with. Driving a car that puts a smile on your face EVERY TIME you drive it is worth a few MPG penalty to me. That's why some folks buy V6 Accords instead of 4cyl ones.

And while on that topic of acceleration, if the slow acceleration of the OM606 is of no concern to the OP, then maybe the 06-07 4cyl manual 4 dr Accord should be on the table too, not just the V6 version. That would be a car that is more comparable to the OM606's acceleration and fuel economy capabilities. Now mind you, I am the LAST person who would ever recommend a 4 cyl Accord to anyone but the OP was clearly prioritizing highway fuel economy over everything else, and he was already considering a 06-07 V6 manual 4dr Accord anyways. I've NEVER shopped for a Honda but I would think that a 4 pot Accord would also have a lower price of admission than the V6 one would too.