Oh, well good luck, an original M100 equipped W108/109 might be hard to come by
The W212 is good. It's just that it is a very expensive car here in Pakistan, so when i take it for a drive i get strange gaze from people around me....which gives me a guilty feeling....i am telling dad to sell it now since the new W213 is slated for launch next year or get a Audi A6/A7 just for a change.
You are right that the new W222 and even the W221 S-class are blingy, but then all new premium cars are. Check the new G11 BMW 7 series just like the MB W222, it has massage seats, reclining seats and what not electronics. The problem is, the more moving parts you add, the more prone they are to failure.
The good thing about classics from 1950s/60s is that they are pure cars, purely mechanical. Anything broke, you could fix it at home with minimum tools and some dexterity. The W124 and W126 are legends in their own right, many are still running after clocking 800,000km.....and the MB diesels of the time have a story of their own to write. I mean look at the designers that worked for MB:
1-Paul Bracq
2-Bruno Sacco (the man behind the W126/W140 and W124)
3-Friedrich Geiger
4-Bela Barenyi (the father of auto motive safety)
5-Rudolf Uhlenhaut (the designer for the 300 SLR)
Lexus cannot be classified as classic yet, since it only came about in 1980s, and except for some markets it has had some very limited success. It's just not the German marque feeling. I mean, there is no comparison b/w a company that patented the first petrol car (the Benz Patent Wagen) and thus has been building cars and at times aero engines for over 100 years and a company from Japan that started out as building sewing machines.
About the Landcruiser and LX470, basically they are the same. So why exchange one badge for the other? The only legendary vehicle that Toyota ever built was the Land Cruiser. But by bloating it up with plastic and body panels they have taken that rugged feel out. They've made it more suited to the typical north american drive way market. For that market, MB has the GL Class.....because for serious offroaders, there is the G-Wagen, in my view much more expensive, but much more superior to the Land Cruiser. LC was supposed to be a dependable and cheap off roader, but today it is not that. You know what they say in the off roading community that if you are stuck in the Land Cruiser or Nissan or Mitsubishi, then the only two cars that can reach you and pull you out are the Mercedes G-Wagen and the Land Rover defender.
Check this page out:
Mike Horn | Facebook
Mike Horn has traveled from Switzerland to Pakistan's K2 using the G-Wagen.
I am not sure if i will be making my career in Pakistan or abroad, but definitely one thing i know is that i will be owning a MB classic over all others. Might be a W113 Pagoda even if my stars get aligned correctly. I would sell my kidney for that car.
Of course, i can sell my life if i could for the W198 300SL and 190SL......but unfortunately too few remain and very few for sale that too for the millions.