It's about $350 per month...

gets bigger with interest. no interest only loans on cars these days. i have 14 months left on the '98 town and country. just had the tranny done and a new radiator to boot. ya wnat it, its yours for a smaller sum than 21 grand. and just for snicks i will deliver it with my car in tow so i can have a nice cruise home.

You can lease a new Camry for $199 a month, I keep thinking about that.

__________________
1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

BS Hattie.

Check out the down payment and divide by 33 months (or whatever the term is) and add this amount into the monthly payment.

Now multiply by 1.06 (sales tax, of course; could be more or less)

Now add in another $60.00 per month for the collision and additional comprehensive insurance that you now have to carry.

No way you are looking at $200. per month. If you could do it for less than $350. per month, I'd be amazed.

This is exactly how the new car dealers sucker you in. $200. per month leases a brand new Camry!!!!!!!! Hello? ITS $350. NOT $200.

Your right I just saw an add today reading the paper that offered that. They get you in the door with a low price then they have you!

__________________
1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

I can tell you one thing. They do not have me.

Absolutely - it must be in the blood. I've money killing time in the bank, people at work think I'm stupid, but my 21 year old car will outlive all the A3's, VW's and mitsu's. Resources are scarce, knowledge is power, and my 300d drives me onwards.

I have seen more nice cars trashed by drivers who did not like or actively hated them.
My ROT (Rule Of Thumb):
#1. If you don't love the car after six months = sell it.
#2. If it hurts your (spine, etc) or your spouse hates it = sell it.
#3. If you never enjoy the car = sell it.
#4. If you can't work on it = sell it.
#5. If you can't afford to repair it = sell it.
#6. If repair and maintenance costs more than one pay check per month, averaged over a year, you can't afford it = sell it.
#7. Respect yourself enough to answer these honestly, and follow them, you will own cars that make you happy and the OEM's unhappy.

__________________
ASE Master Mechanic
asemastermechanic@juno.com

Prototype R&D/testing:
Thermal & Aerodynamic System Engineering (TASE) Senior vehicle instrumentation technician.
Noise Vibration and Harshness (NVH).
Dynamometer.
Heat exchanger durability.
HV-A/C Climate Control.
Vehicle build.
Fleet Durability
Technical Quality Auditor.
Automotive Technical Writer

1985 300SD
1983 300D
1984 190D
2003 Volvo V70
2002 Honda Civic

https://www.boldegoist.com/

"You can buy an automobile" that allows you to "walk away" from most major
crashes as enexpensively as you can lovingly repair your "BENZ" ?????

Great inspirational thread. I too am tempted to give up, and I only bought it 4 months ago!

1986 300SDL, bought with 236k, now has 245k

The Good:

I got it cheap.

The new serpentine belt and tensioner were worth the $$. The 2-hour wait at the Rest Area for the tow truck after it blew out on its test ride, helped us bargain the price down considerably.

Balancing the wheels smoothed it out so much I'm amazed. New upper control arms didn't hurt, either.

What a great cruiser on my 3 1/2 hour drive across the state!

Getting it stuck in beach sand up to the axles (OK, I misjudged the turn a wee bit...) lead to a pleasant interlude with my wife while we waited for a tow.

It starts, shakes a bit and then runs. It hasn't failed to run. It seems to have bags of power.

The new radiator doesn't leak, fluid level now stays up, and temp stays down.

New passenger window motor makes the window go up and down, wife is now happy.

The courtesy lamp under the driver door is broken, but I won an auction for replacements on ebay.

New fuel return line stopped the little fuel leaks, and the car smells less like a filling station.

It's only stranded me once (serpentine belt loss) and it's got a lot more character than any othe car in the fleet, even if it's not perfect.

Did I mention I got it cheap?

The Bad:

I got it cheap.

P.O.'s custom sound system installer cut the wires to the radio and the fader switch and then threw away the plugs the radio and plugs! I bought a Becker, found power and speaker connectors and the rear speakers, so I have some sound. I still need the antenna power connector from the radio, and to connect the front speakers.

I removed the shifter console wood to access the fader, where I figured all of the speaker wires went. That's when I found the cut wires. I didn't find the front speaker wires, or if I did they're disconnected somewhere else, but I did manage to break the nose off of the wood and pull the plastic clips out of the wood trying to put it back. It now time for some glue.

I removed the sunroof liner, pulled the tracks and lubed them with MB paste but there's still a slow spot and/or binding somewhere. It's a tilt/slide roof, and I haven't had the nerve to remove it for a more thorough look. So, there's no headliner. One bracket hangs broken. The sunroof jiggles open over bumps and I open/reclose it to reseat it. In the rain, it sometimes drops water on my head. Gotta check those drains! :p

Left front marker lame sometimes doesn't work, the lamp failure light goes on, and then it fixes itself before I get really mad...


It has an intermittent surging idle and speed control. See my separate post.

I need to pull the valve cover, check chain wear, replace the gasket and try to clean the oil, tar and goo off of the engine.


The Ugly:

IT'S RUSTING! Well, actually, I bought it with rust. A fair amount of rust. Probably a lot of rust.

The repaint is OK, a baby blue, but it's not M-B.

The front bumper cover has rusted through.

The End:

Did I mention I got it cheap?

My wife keeps reminding me that I wanted another diesel, that I bought this as transportation and a project, and I should keep my temper in check, settle down, and get along with it.

Best Regards,
Jim

"Right now the car is under warrantee, and every time I take it in I get a laundry list of things that they replaced. I bet that car has 300 sensors on it. We are going to sell it. I can't image the maintenance on that car once the warrantee runs out."

To date I have owned 5 MB's but I am approaching the end of the line, I know that I will drive my 240D forever, but my wifes E320/97 has been an eye opener for me, last week I had it in for the 60K mile service, the bill was 2.2K, they had to take the transmission down to replace a leaky seal, 1K for that alone but that one was covered by warantee, last year the upper engine seal had to be replaced to stop oil leak, another 1K. My warrantee is going to run out in about 6 months so i'll be on my own. I had breakdowns and leaks on this car that are simply not acceptable even from a low end Detroit product. I had my eyes on the new CDI for a while, but I am afraid the it is designed to be a money pit for those who can afford it.
Time to move on to something a little more reliable.

Vahe
240D/77 350K

You're right-it does get deep into you. Don't know if it's in my blood, but it's deep

BTW-I got rid of a '95 diesel suburban and bought a car 10 years older. My buddies think I'm crazy so I come here to this forum to keep my sanity...

Cheers,

Bill

I get that all the time.

"What year is your Mercedes".

"1986" (figure I'll give them the new one)

"1986?" "oh boy". "Why don't you just go out and buy a new car?" "You can afford it."

"you are right. I can afford it"

Discussion over.

My conversations usually go like this:

Why did you get rid of your [late model] Suburban?

$10,000 and 17mpg/ $3000 and a solid 28mpg.

Yea, but the parts are high for these Mercedes.

Yup, they are.

End of discussion.

Hell, I'm not tellin' them the parts are no more expensive and sometimes cheaper than parts for a late model;they don't seem to break down any more than newer stuff;they're easier to work on.

The way I look at it it's more cars for us Right?

Cheers,

Bill

........"Very true, but the labor is cheap"