Hello all,

I am new to this forum, don't yet own a Benz but am looking for opinions on what to look for. I am a Swedish Brick fan (740/940 Volvo), tough, easy to work on and pretty durable is central Canada the salt capital of the world. I plan to keep the 2 I have as long as they stay together.

I work on all my own stuff, own a walk underneath hoist (yes I love it) and plan to do all my own work on any Benzs I get.

The RWD Volvos are getting very hard to find here in any sort of decent shape, death by salt and neglect.

What I'm looking for is a durable station wagon, something that will resist the salt attacks here. Something along the size of the 300-320ish class. I prefer gas but will take diesel if people make a compelling case for it. I really like manual transmissions but I figure that's unlikely. I am very happy with less bells and whistles (automatic evrything control) but will consider if robust. I see a fair amount of 320 wagons here for sale 1999-2003 in shiney new paint condition. Alot have 4 wheel/AWD, how problematic is this?

I want it to have enough power to pass on the highway. I don't need a sport vehicle but certainly don't want an underpowered dog that can't get out of it's own way.

I'm not in a hurry so I can be picky. So please let me know what your experiences have and we'll see where it leads.

cheers ian