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Originally Posted by MS Fowler
Very interesting idea.
Oh, and Welcome to the best place to learn about MD Diesels on the web.
The answer to your question is, " It all depends"
It depends on (obviously) the condition of the actual car you buy.
It depends on your available time to maintain said car. If you can't afford the time you may lose work.
It depends on your ability to tirn wrenches. If you have topay someone to do the regular and deferred maintenance, these cars can eat you alive.
It depends on how comfortable you are with the car.
If you had two cars ,and one was a mid eighties diesel Benz, and the other one was a econobox, it might work. You would have the Benz to fall in love with, and the other car for getting to work on those occasions when the Benz is off the road. The problem is that the Benz will spoil you. You will probably begin to hate the econo box, simply becasue it isn't a Mercedes.
Read the archives, and you will observe the truth of this little saying, " There is nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes."
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i was in the same boat as the original poster. i commuted about 600 miles a week and was tired of my little plastic economy car getting blown around. so i parked the neon in favor of a 1979 240d.
it worked for a year, but the car really isnt suited to rushed commuter type driving. the final nail in shlomos coffin(as a daily driver) was getting back to the city and an urban campus. these cars arent made for the rushed, hairpin turns into tiny modern parking spot sort of modern driving we have to do sometimes, theyre MUCH better suited to county roads.
i think youll do better to buy something small <2.0L and cheap <15k and just run the hell out of it for 5-7 years, throw it away and start over again. this is my opinion, now, i adore my shlomo car.... it was a sad day to start shifting and worrying about accidents again, but the other drivers sort of demanded i drive something quicker and more nimble.
i say save your "splurge" money for 6 months, buy a decent example and test it as a second car first, you can always sell the car if it doesnt work out.
