Diesel used to be much cheaper up until... maybe 10 years ago. These days they hover right next to each other, diesel seems to be more stable and changes price slower, while gas prices fluctuate a lot more. I think last week I saw diesel the exact same price as regular unleaded.

I'm not sure that I've seen an 80's Mercedes diesel with less than about 160k, and that was 20+ years ago! Most were between 250-350k. Lower body rust was common. Vacuum powered central locks, when bored I would sit there with the key in the door and see how many cycles I could get before the vac ran out! The engine cut-off is vacuum powered as well. If you have a leak, well, the engine won't shut off even if you turn off the key, pull it out and walk away. You have to use the manual shut-off on top of the engine. They have a unique smell inside which I'm told is due to the horsehair stuffing in the seats (likely combined with the diesel exhaust smell). The wood trim on the dash and console always cracks. The turbo lag can be pretty wild, though it varies. On some cars acceleration can be downright dangerous until it kicks in, at which point it feels a little like a jet taking off (a little!) I've driven a non-turbo Benz, a total slug. With their oversized steering wheel and that diesel under the hood, I liked to imagine I was driving a bus :)

Ya, there are a lot of basket cases out there.

By 84 the turbo lag was improved. For 85 it was further improved with a higher stall speed torque converter, and a taller rear end ratio which helps fuel economy.

Be aware that most reman R4 ac compressors are not appropriate for the Mercedes. MB mounted it upside down compared to GM, which results in the oil passage for the bearings not getting oil.

This might be helpful for you:

http://eva2.homeip.net/

https://www.startekinfo.com/StarTek/...tedDocId=12265

The later 6 cylinder cars get out of their own way quite nicely on a cool day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srXc2xV0fO8

On a 100*f day the hot air does cause a fair bit of power loss... it feels like 30 less hp at the wheels. Add the power draw from the AC compressor and things do feel rather sluggish.

Actually 15 years ago. When I bought my 2005 Diesel Jeep Liberty, Diesel fuel was about 10 to 20 cents cheaper than regular, then later in the year it shot up about 40 to 50 cents higher. That little scheme about lower operating cost backfired on me. Plus the oil changes were a lot higher too. The engine used synthetic oil.

For it to have taken that long you must have taken refuge indoors whenever possible.

http://videokarma.org/attachment.php...1&d=1529609142

Was indoors quite a lot, but no A/C, windows open. Actually, as I recall, that happened when I was in Akola - not a terribly large city. Wasn't wearing white shirt collars while in Hyderabad, which is much more densely populated.

Cadillac Diesel piece of unreliable, underpowered junk. Oldsmobile Diesel engine. Mercedes Diesel engines good, reliable workhorses if maintained. Slow like all other non turbo Diesel engines though. Mercedes mechanics tend to be more likely to know how to fix one over say a Cadillac mechanic. Oldsmobile diesel also didn't have a water separator (a very bad piece of design engineering)

Ive owened a few diesels, includieng a 2002 VW and a 1980 Rabbit. the rabbit only had 48 hp orignally, and after nearly 500,000 miles the engine was very tired, had to disconnect the crankcase breather hose, it had so much blow by it would suck the oil into the intake, then the car would accelerate on its own, and leave a huge black cloud behind... Once the hose was disconnected, almost as much exhaust came out of the breather as the tailpipe. id love to find a Volvo diesel station wagon.

1980s Volvo diesels were actually VW engines too. 6 cylinder version of the 4s used in the Rabbit / Golf and Jetta.

And that PRV (Peugeot Renault Volvo) engine is commonly referred by Volvo fans as a Frog Motor. Commonly referred to as "The Satan Of Volvodom" in the USA in terms of their Gas V6 version which was also a joint venture. The Diesel was OK but slow and hard to get repaired in the USA.

My dad, Henry, started his Mercedes journey back in the early 60s, w/a "Ponton" model. He even had a '65250SL, the little "Pagoda roof" model. He progressed up to a '72 280 SEL 4.5 V-8, last one sold here that was basically set up like a German home market version. I was in it w/him once, we got up to an indicated 140 MPH, & it wasn't done then. He never really found out how fast it WOULD go. He made it home from Richmond, VA, to Rogersville, TN once, trying to beat a snowstorm-375 miles in 4.5 hours.. He beat the storm ! Then came the Gas Crisis of '74, he traded it for a 240D diesel.. That car's top speed was about where the big V-8 shifted into high... But he stayed w/the diesels, the LAST one he had was a '79 300TD, a 5 cylinder turbo Weasel..It was almost as fast as the big V-8 was... Maybe not off the line, but it sure as hell wouldn't embarrass you, either.. It also had the then current "S-Class" body, it LOOKED like a "Drug Dealer" type Mercedes... rather than a dowdy taxi or Polizei car. If you get a Mercedes that has been taken care of, HOPEFULLY by a Mercedes dealer, you'll likely get a car you can have & enjoy for a LONG time. There's a REASON they cost so gotdang much-take care of one, & YOU can get 2,3,400K miles outta one, too ! Be patient, Chilluns, I'll spin youse my tale of Woe about putting half a tank of Weasel Juice in a '76 Cutlass 350 GAS V-8..

I spy one mileage badge on the grille, but with 387k miles you can claim the second.

https://www.mbusa.com/mercedes/herit...ghmileageaward

Nice to see some MB appreciation here, I own a W163. Had a few issues with it but all in all for having such a dogs**t reputation (muh "Alabama trash can") mine has been pretty solid. 122k miles and counting.

You wanna talk "Horrorshow"-Lemme tellya about my Generous Motors Weasels... Got outa college in '79, w/my newly minted BA in Economics degree...Shit, baby, I was ready to set the world on fire ! My Dad bigdealed me into trading my '76 Olds Cutlass 350 gas car-more about THAT later- for a '79 Cutlass 260 V8 DIESEL... Sposed to get almost 40 MPG on the hiway.. Which I think it actually did, the 2 or 3 times it wasn't in the shop.. If it wasn't the head gaskets, it was the injection pump. If it wasn't the Injection Pump, it was Water in the injection Pump. If it wasn't that, it was the Hydramatic transmission. Generous Motors, in their INFINITE wisdom, put a Chevette tranny in a car that was half again as heavy as the Shit-Vette, & wondered why they weren't lasting..

My dad bought a '79 Cutlass with a 350 V8. Transmission went out at 12,000 miles: yeah, a 200 THM. My dad swore off GM's after that. His last car was a Ford. Yeah, it died of Forditis of the intake manifold. I heard that's quite common on Ford fours and V6's.