What model to buy ?

[peterjones2]

Hi, I am interested to get a view on which model would be a viable long term buy. I have looked at a couple of 450 sel's [78/ 81] but I am concerned that they are v. high maintenance, and complicated for DIY work, apart from fuel economy !! The main issue is that I live in Dublin, and I am not sure how available leaded petrol, or lead additives are, not available as far as I know [maybe fuel additives are]. I have considered 280 se's and 300/350 sel's, but the leaded fuel bogey keeps cropping up with older engines. I had a big problem with an '82 Volvo 244 some years ago, cost around €850 for un-leaded cylinder head !! Would something like a 380 or 460 sec be a better bet. Of course then the issue is, in Ireland we pay road tax on HP output, anything over about 3 litre attracts top road tax rates of around €15-1600a year. Sorry for long message, maybe there are a few ideas out there.
Thanks in advance, Peter Jones, Dublin.