Everybody has so many cars...


if its your passion than theres no need to justify it right?




Anyhow I'd like to have an alternative fuel vehicle that competes in car shows. That's going to be a long time coming I suppose!

I have yet to find a W126/W123 that I could look over and not find $2k worth of stuff it needed.

My 300SD isn't costing me much at all to run, I have only changed a few fuel filters this month. However the PO did take good care of it, and I am neglecting a lot. If I wanted to bring it up to a real solid driver I could drop $3k worth of parts into it without a problem.

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

brian--
I'd venture to say that nothings ever been replaced on the shlomo car. i am waiting for an expensive repair to creep up, but until then, i wil just keep replacing the little thing that breaks and makes a noise.

so far my repairs have been: fuel screen, a tire that was out-of-round, an alternator belt, a thermostat and rear sway bushings.

ive never had to replace a part beyond the stereo...

its not a cherry example, ALDiesel wouldnt buy it when it was for sale....

but it has never cost more than 50 dollars to repair at any one time.

i take that back-- the transmission service was 56 for the parts from the dealer and 36 for fluid/labor. that is the biggest bill i have had for the car in a year and umm 146-129... 17 thousand miles?

i dont think im lucky; quite the opposite, actually. i think youall just go overboard with repairs

__________________
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i1...Untitled-1.jpg

I don't think that's too far fetched. I would like someone to come up with a really cool alternative car, something that would get the public excited. To date they have all been pretty hard to get excited about.

You'll be seeing your first one tomorrow.

Thats definitely what the PO did with Rag Doll. Drove it for a year and just put diesel in her. Thats why I got it, and I was amazed I made it home without dying in a firey crash.

I've spent a few bucks on her, and getting her back into shape!

__________________
91 350SD
14 F150 Eco
19 Fusion Hybrid
11 GT500

would that be because his owner needs the 2-3 large in repair work instead of the automobile?

__________________
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i1...Untitled-1.jpg

I think you just don't know how lucky you are?

I wonder if you've just jinked yourself?
Keep us informed.

__________________
'87 300SDL

dieselbenz

Nah, it just means the automobile, unlike some others, has almost all of it's maintenance and repairs up to date. It also means the owner has carefully looked over the vehicle and replaced things that are marginal, instead of just waiting for the inevitable.

by this logic, all cars of all makes should constantly rebuilt?!

i do not wish to pick a fight, but if we as a whole checked everything we own, we would spend entirely too much money(more money than any of us have) on everything!

"theres a bad shingle, better re-roof the house!"

dont give me any flack for it, but i actually like the loose steering, i always have. it lets me know im driving a quality old car. cheap cars steering boxes never get worn before theyre garbage. i have never installed rebuilt steering on any of my vws, i dont plan on restoring the steering wheel, either. its just something i think a car can carry as a trophy.

__________________
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i1...Untitled-1.jpg

Your philosophy of ignoring the maintenance on a vehicle will suit your purposes to get from here to there with a certain reliability. However, if you wish to get in the vehicle, on a moment's notice, and drive it 600 miles with the knowledge that all components on the vehicle are in a condition to easily make the trip, then you must thoroughly check out the vehicle and determine what needs replacement.

I'll use the SD as an example. It had a cracked head, worn prechambers, loose exhaust valves, original water pump, original oil cooler lines (leaking constantly), original oil filter housing gasket (leaking constantly), belts that have been there a looooong time, filthy air filter, dried oil packed intake manifold, one dripping injector, dried return lines.

It ran fine. Very easy to ignore all of the above and simply drive it, just like you do. But, all of the above items were necessary to maintain reliability of the vehicle and to prevent further engine damage due to coolant in the oil.

You prefer to operate the vehicle ignorant of its true condition until a failed component leaves you stranded on the side of the road. Don't come on here complaining when that happens, however. You'll get no sympathy.

Now now Brian, you’re jumping to conclusions!

Nothing, mechanically, is wrong with the automobile. It needs lots of driveline mounts. It needs a dent taken out and a bunch of rust repair where it was left parked outside, under a tree, with a leaking battery for a long long time. The battery juice actually ate through the inner fender!

It starts at a click of the key, every time. It rolls along just fine and shifts notchily. It doesn’t smoke, even if I try to make it!

I've changed the oil 4 times; I've replaced all the filters just about that many times as well. I had the transmission serviced and have replaced the belts and brakes (due again, is this a yearly thing?) in the year I have owned the car. I know its not new and I do take care of it, but I do not believe any of this bares mentioning because it is understood that one has to do these things to an automobile.

What I do not believe should be counted as maintenance is alternators and axle shafts and rear-ends and power steering pumps and head repairs. When I say I have not had to repair anything on the car, I mean major components.

How can I be treated as a bad Mercedes owner when I do not spend money to fix things that are not broken?

__________________
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i1...Untitled-1.jpg

You can certainly have your own definition of "repair" and you can have your own definition of "maintenance". It's a free country. You can decide how you "maintain" your own vehicle.

Nobody is going to treat you badly if you spend nothing on maintenance and/or repairs. You can repair the vehicle as each component fails on you. There is nothing wrong with this approach.

However, I stand by the statement that all of these vehicles need significant maintenance and repair due to their age. You may not have changed the water pump or the shocks, or the front end components, or the rear axles. However, all of these items are nearing the end of their useful life if the vehicle has some mileage on it. You can delay the inevitable..........but you cannot avoid it unless you sell the vehicle.

it has 145 thousand miles on it, the 146 earlier was a type-o, ive put 16k on it since last january

__________________
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i1...Untitled-1.jpg

If you're serious about not wanting to do "major" component repairs, this would be a good time to sell it. You will need to fix things in the 150K-200K range. I don't know exactly what or when, but it will happen.