Quote:
Originally Posted by jake12tech
I would buy that car if I were you. I feel you've had a bad taste for older cars. If they were taken care of and maintained, unlike your 300SDL, they re usually reliable. Age doesn't make a difference. I've had a lot of luck with old Benzes. I think I'm at 15 or so Benzes older than 02. Half of them were projects (I buy them that way out of choice) but the clean ones on initial purchase never let me down. After a diff replacement on my current daily, I've driven it to Georgia and back with no issues.
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The gas engined cars from the 80s aren't as dead simple as the diesels. The chassis has all the same issues as the SDL does because it is the same chassis. The vacuum system and the spaghetti that's all under the airflow meter can turn into a nightmare if someone who didn't know what they were doing has ever been in there. Without records of RECENT work done and decent history showing the car was maintained, the V8's can easily be bigger money pits than his SDL. If even considering dropping $2K on a V8, think more logically and drop that money on a used engine/drivetrain for the SDL, at least it already has a lot of stuff done to it that the "new" car will likely need too.
Don't fall for the "cheap Honda" routine either. If you do, you'll likely wind up with a Civic from '96-'04 which have HORRIBLE automatic transmissions. If you go for one from that era, go for a 5-speed, the slushboxes are absolute garbage with an extreme failure rate.
If you want something dead reliable, find something Japanese with a 5-speed and learn to drive it. You'll get good economy, good reliability, and a decent ride. When you're done with it, you can probably sell it on for what you paid for it.