When I moved to Germany I was without a car. While it's only a 15 minute walk from home to work, it was getting cold and starting to rain. I needed a car and would check out the used car lot twice a day.

While heading home one day, I saw it. Slightly lowered suspension, new burgundy paint, a car I remember drooling over while in high school. Yes, I finally had the opportunity to own a Mercedes. A 15 year old car with less than 100,000 miles on it, I knew I had to own it. I called the owner and paid him.

Driving this car is wonderful. It corners well, rides smoothly, and is exceptionally quiet (at least until the speed climbs above 80 mph). The engine interesting to live with. At idle, you are louder than any other car on the road (almost). People will try to tell me that there is something wrong with the car because of the noise. "It's a diesel." "Oh. Does it always sound like that?" "Yes." Roll up your windows and let everyone else worry about the noise. Inside you are well insulated from it.

The one thing that bugs me is the fact tha my car is a slug. It looks wonderful, has good fuel efficiency, and it's quiet (at least on the inside). However, it accelerates like it only has 53 HP. That could be because it does only have 53 HP.

If you can find one in good condition, and don't mind that it's slow, it is a wonderful car. If you are a 0-60 junkie... you better look elsewhere. Max speed for my car is about 110 mph/175 kph. At that speed it's loud, and it sucks down fuel, but most people don't travel at those speeds anyhow...