diesels are good for a newbie?

[nmikmik]

I am looking at some 84-87 300 SDs and SDLs but not sure if it’s a good choice for me. I’ve never dealt with diesels, except some trucks and it was a looong time ago. The reason I am looking at those cars, is the hope of some fuel economy because it’s a diesel and to save some money by not making payments on my car. $2600 to $3300 seems to me a reasonable price for daily transportation, but I am not sure if that is not going to cost me an arm and a leg in repairs. Any comments, suggestions please.

Thank you,

[blindside.AMG]

Mercedes Diesels are some of the most reliable engines out there. All the guys at my shop love them and I'd say about 1/3 of the techs own them. Gas mileage, I've heard, is great. But repairs can get pretty costly if something major breaks.