When I was in my early 20s.. I was not really crazy about Mercedes-Benz. The BMW's were "in"; with their more aggressive marketing they were more successful among the younger crowd..

Driving a fair amount of kilometers (up to 80,000km/year) on the Autobahn (no speed limit!!) I had to pay my share on repairs - no matter what I was driving - BMW, Ford or Opel. A Citroen was standing up very well, but at that time I did not like the 4-cylinder engines anymore and at high-speed the front-wheel drive had some disadvantages. 

Complaining about these repairs, a friend of mine convinced me, to try a Mercedes Benz - even if it is a used one... so I did.

Here came the  250SE