1978 Mercedes-Benz 250 review from South Africa

The pipe leading from the radiator to the engine cracked in 2006, leading to over-heating. I was able to get a new part for under $20 and replace it myself.

The keyword for this car is 'reliable'. At 28 years of age it has NEVER let me down. In fact I often see newer model cars parked on the sides of highways and wonder why people will shell out tens of thousands for structurally weak new cars when they can buy reliable classics for a tenth of the price.

The car does have some issues however: the first of these is the cost of petrol. At the moment my fuel consumption is easily double that of any other car and only decreases when the car has plenty of open road ahead of it.

Secondly the car isn't a great accelerator and doesn't enjoy topping 120km/h.

Apart from that there is something impressively solid about the car. It has superb shock absorption, power steering and a whole range of small features - such as an alarm that lets you know when you've left your lights on - that I have never seen in newer model cars. One of the smoothest, classiest classic rides around. I've had several opportunities to sell this car and buy a new car and have stuck with it each time.

A last note about this car is that it is extremely solid. My car has been involved in four minor collisions which have left the other object in the collision with serious damage whilst my Mercedes has cracked only a headlight or dented its bumper.

They won't build them like this ever again.