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My axioms:
1) 'similes per mile' is good until you need to fork out $$$ on a 30+ years old car. Or roll underneath the car if you DIY.
2) I would not buy 'comprehensive' insurance on an old 30+ car. It does not make sense.
3) Restoration and 'daily driver' do not appear in the SAME sentence. Restoration = garage queen, if you really sink big money.
4) You cannot have ONE 30+ years old car as a daily driver. You are taking your chance big time. You need more than 1 as a back up for whatever reasons.
5) You can claim MBZ has 'character' all you want. It is a bad investment, old or new, period.
A 2005-2006 CDI can be had now for under $8K or less. GLK250 $15K. Toyota, Honda, Subaru, Hyundai for much less. They all make good daily driver with little worry and minimum maintenance. I would not call it 'smiles per mile' but 'worry-free per mile'.
Sinking money into an old MBZ is BAD investment no matter how you cut/spin it. The bottom line is that it is your money, spend it whatever shape and form you like. Enjoy the car while it runs good but stop crying when it is in the shop AGAIN. May be my mentality is much different from others, all these cars are disposable cars. You try to maintain it the best you could to make it run good, in you spare time. I meant spare time as life is too short to roll underneath them all the time. If you find you cannot justify the repair costs then just move on to another.
p.s. don't get me wrong. I enjoy all my MBZ and they have given me great service and extremely low running costs. I use 'running' costs as I add all insurance, license, fuel and maintenance costs together. I started with 1 MBZ in 2008 and have never pushed one over the cliff yet.
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