Hello to all once again, and Happy Holidays to you all.

I just returned home from a cross country drive in my new old '91 560SEL
with 166K miles.

I've been driving W126's since I was reintroduced to M-B sedans 4 years ago.
To date, I've had one '85 300SD (Old Gray) and two '86 300SDL's (Black Jack
and Jinx).  I love the diesels.....but the wife doesn't, especially our
latest that she named Jinx, for very good reasons, as it is the most unlucky
/ cursed car I've ever been associated with.  My mechanic even agrees.
(BTW, I'm going to sell it.  Comes with a spare engine and tranny
too....maybe it just needs a change of scenery).

I've learned alot about the diesels from this group.  Now that I've got this
big dog V-8, I have a few observations about my new addition to the family
and hopefully some of the resident experts will weigh in.

First, I flew from Texas to Conn. to pick the car up and drive approx. 2000
miles home.
I keep turning the key on and waiting for the glow plugs to get hot!  Ha!
Great handling car.  Much better than my '86.  Did they change the
suspension on these from the previous 126's?

Got upper 18's when driving properly.  As low as 16.7 when I was driving
like an idiot with two other M-B's between Louisville, KY and Nashville, TN
(we saw 100MPH often....lots of full throttle driving)  Do these numbers
sound right for highway driving?

The car has incredible power compared to my SDL.  But I did miss the economy
of the SDL on this trip.  Big time!

It runs real smooth, except at start up and idle.  It starts and idles like
it has some injection / ignition problem.  Feels rough.  The instant any
pressure is applied to the accelorator, it smooths out and runs great (to
me).

Also, there is some type of bumping noise / feeling from the rear end under
a hard acceleration from a stand still....just for a second.

This car (maybe all of the 91's) has heated seats.  The buttons for the
front seats are underneath the ashtray (bad design, considering ash tray /
cigarette lighters are often in use for cell phones, radar detectors, etc.)
with another button in the middle between them.  The symbol looks like an
old fashioned horn (best way to describe).  I did not get a manual with the
car.  What is that button?

Oh.  The Paint.  I've never seen this.  The clear coat is ruined.  And from
what I can see, it looks like a defect in the paint / clear coat.  It looks
like it is cracked, over the entire balance of the car.  It's not scratched
on the outside, but rather looks as if it was 'flexed' and cracked
internally.  'Crazing'?  Is this an accurate term, and is this a common
problem?  Was there a recall on these cars for paint / finish defects?

Typical rust bubles on the doors at the body panels, and on the trailing
edge of the rear fenders.  (Why do they always rust at the doors???)

The interior is absolutely cherry.  The only issue is the wood facia on the
ashtray has come off and I need to get some doublesided adhesive to
reattach.

Any common issues with these cars / drive trains?