Help me choose

[MarX]

I have been recently looking at a few cars and would like some help deciding on which one would be best.
My criteria are as follows:
Must have room for 5+ persons
Must have a large trunk
Not a big fan of wagons/hatchbacks
Must be fairly good on gas(too damned expensive)
Must be comfortable for longish trips
Has to be a good highway car
Here are the cars I have been looking at so far

1981-1990 Mercedes-Benz 300d or 300sd-still looking for one
1987 Jaguar XJV12-found one for a little under $2000

Or would you suggest maybe a smaller Asian car such as a corolla or the likes. I am looking at the diesel Benz mainly because I want to put in a oil conversion because I am very cheap:rofl:

[nismodrifter]

The 300SD will kill you on small parts man.....the engine will be rock solid for hundreds of thousands of kilometers...but damn...so many little pieces break here and there and it just gets annoying after a while. Parts aren't cheap either but usually you can get away with ghetto fabbin parts y0!

They are great cars IF you have mechanical ability and can do the small repairs yourself.

As for your highway requirements...I don't think you can go wrong with a 300SD...cheap on gas (made it from Vancouver to Calgary without a fillup...made it to 37th and Sarcee before it started sputtering :D) and they are pretty comfortable.

[BubbaSTi]

I don't get it. You say you want it good on gas, but you looked at a v12 jag? I would probably suggest a Mazda 6 if you wanted a Jap car that is roomy and good on gas. But it looks like you want a car at a very low price, so I really don't know.

[MarX]

Bubba-Well the Jag was a car based on low price rather than fuel efficiency. Yes I am looking for basically the cheapest route here as this is my first car and part time doesn't provide the most money.

Nismo-Yeah I hear you can get almost any part you need from a Benz dealer but they will charge you out the ass for it. However I can make my own parts its one of my hobbies actually. It's looking like the Benz is the way to go unless I can find maybe a very cheap small beater for now and perhaps later maybe gas prices will drop and I can get a Nicer Caddy (I have had my eye on a '84 Fleetwood) but gas would kill me on an engine like that for the time being.

If there are any suggestions as to a car to get that is older and won't break the bank for me(under $3-4k)then I would be glad to hear them.

[MarX]

Any other suggestions?

[BerserkerCatSplat]

As much as I love them, if you want reliability, stay away from a V12 Jag. if you can get a V6 Jag of the same era, by all means, go for it. But those V12's are notoriously unreliable!

[Weapon_R]

I'd go for a cheap Japanese Camry or Accord or the like. Definately better than the old merc diesels and the Jags for reliable and economical transportation.