Since their are a lot of new people around lately, lets have a little fun and scare them a bit! I know their are a few members here who are not shy about doing whatever it takes, to not only keep these old cars on the road, but restore them to their former glory.

So lets crunch a few numbers!!!

My SDL is named the "money pit", for good reason:
Purchased in Jan of 04, I am on my third year. I yanked her out of the back of a Ford lot in horrible condition. The interior was nice and the body was decent and rust free, those were the good points. Price $2,950 out the dealers door.

Just a tick over 20k miles later, $10,777.10 spent on parts divided by the 2.5 years I have had her= $4,310.84 per year, or $359.24 per month.

If purchase price is figured in:$13,727.10/2.5=5490.84/12=$457.57.

Or $.69 cents per mile.

Lets scare the newbie's, I know their are a handfull of people that out do me by a pretty good margin.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

It is very possible to own one or more of these cars and keep them in very nice condition without spending that kind of money, if you are doing the work yourself and not going to the dealership for every little thing.

__________________
Andrew Villasenor
805-720-5057
1984 300D turbo 5-speed manual(daily driver)
ALL MY DIESELS RUNNING WVO
Everything is for sale for the right amount
Ebay Store

Hatty does do everything himself (or nearly all of it I believe).

Same for me, and I've spent about $7,000+ on my car in the past 3 years, I don't keep track anymore. That is in addition to the purchase price of $3,107. I've driven it from 207,128 miles on it the day we left Harrisburg with it, to 239,764 currently, and it has not once left me stranded or let me down. I'd drive it anywhere, and have been putting about 600-800 miles a week on it lately. Almost 80% of the money I've spent on mine was parts, and I did the work. Rarely do I have to go to the dealer, I haven't been there in 6.5 months! (last time was just an alignment, $132)

My dad's '83 was purchased for $3100 2 years ago, and he's put about $4-5k into it total, including the massive and sudden sway bar project, which was about 1,000 by itself. He's driven it about 23,000 miles since purchase (from 248k to 271k currently) so his costs are about the same as mine so far.....

__________________
-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

Let's see-
240D: $700
Clutch: $25
Conversion project parts: $200
Aux. fuel tank: $75
Air filter housing: $30
New tire: $80
Gauges: $250
Water injection: $195
Total so far: $1,555
Add $250 or so for the engine value.

6,260 miles driven to date: $4.03/mile in the first 8 months.
Less than most would spend on one from the start.

My TD-
300TD: $2200
Total: FAR more than I want to think of.
Money back from the scrapyard: $71

I kept every receipt for the first few months I had my TD. It started trailing off from there.

So what do these old cars cost to keep on the road?

LOTS!!

__________________
Jimmy L.
'05 Acura TL 6MT
2001 ML430 My Spare

Gone:
'95 E300 188K "Batmobile" Texas Unfriendly Black
'85 300TD 235K "The Wagon" Texas Friendly White
'80 240D 154K "China" Scar engine installed
'81 300TD 240K "Smash"
'80 240D 230K "The Squash"
'81 240D 293K"Scar" Rear ended harder than Elton John

I estimate I am around 34 cents a mile or so....fine with me.

My dad's car is around 35 cents a mile....almost the same.

In contrast, our minivan was like $23,000, and it has only about 82,400 miles on it. A cost of about 36-37 cents a mile, so a touch more...but its also sitting in the street right now with dead fan relay (7th one) and is dying (engine has a lot of blowby etc...tranny makes noises) so its going to end up more costly than our older diesels.

__________________
-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

$25 for a new clutch?!?!!? were did u find that lol.... when u replace a clutch u have to replace the whole system, not just the pllat... IE the throw out bearing and the preasure plate


but maybe it was a typo?????

__________________
1983 Euro 240D 277K
2016 Mazda 6
Coming Soon, 2013 Mercedes E350 Bluetec
Formers:
2012- Mazda 3
2007 Outlander- complete pile
1995 E300 Diesel 208K
2007 VW Passat 2.0T 63K SOLD
2003 Jaguar X-type 3.0 Sport Sold 04/11 w/88K
2009 Lexus RX350 9061 miles. Sold 04/09
2008 Mitsubishi Lancer GTS:Totaled Sept.,09 @ 24,000
2003 Infiniti I35 58K Sold
1984 300 turbo diesel 222K

Nope, $25 on eBay that included pressure plate and disk. It was 1974 old stock and listed in the wrong catagory. I got the flywheel machined for free by a friend. I could not find a throwout bearing in time, so the old was reused (It was still in good shape), and the master/slave were not leaking. The pilot bearing was thrown in with the "conversion parts" ($6).

My first 84 300D I bought in 1988 for $16,000. It had 81,000 on the odo. I totaled it with 438K on it. I kept almost all the receipts and just started doing 95% of my own work on it within the last 3 years or so. Spent another $16,000 over the years on tires, maintanence etc.

I got $2,750 from State Farm for the replacement value (idiots, it still had its original transmission and engine in it!) less the $197 salvage value......Lets see: $32,000 for 357,000 miles (less the $2,750 + the $197, still with me?)......I've got a total cost of around $29,447 for 357,000 elapsed miles or $0.082 per mile. Killer!!!

My current 300D I bought for $3,000. Put $3,000 into it within the first 6 months. Haven't done much within the last 1-1/2 years I've had it. So I have put 32,000 on it with a total investment of $6,000. $.1875 per mile is still pretty good.

Heck, buy a new car for $30,000.........put 32,000 on it and lose $10,000 easy.

__________________
84 300DT Puke Yellow. Totalled after 438,000
84 300DT Orient Red. 169,000 (actual mileage may vary)
2002 Explorer EB (wife's)

Crap if u ever find another deal like that agian let me know!!!! its gonna be time soon to do a clutch job and 300 for parts is alot!!! the dealer ship wanted to charge me 800 for parts and labor ... hahahahha i can just do it all in about 6 hours im guessing



but seriously let me know next time u see one please!!!!!!!

__________________
1983 Euro 240D 277K
2016 Mazda 6
Coming Soon, 2013 Mercedes E350 Bluetec
Formers:
2012- Mazda 3
2007 Outlander- complete pile
1995 E300 Diesel 208K
2007 VW Passat 2.0T 63K SOLD
2003 Jaguar X-type 3.0 Sport Sold 04/11 w/88K
2009 Lexus RX350 9061 miles. Sold 04/09
2008 Mitsubishi Lancer GTS:Totaled Sept.,09 @ 24,000
2003 Infiniti I35 58K Sold
1984 300 turbo diesel 222K

1979 240D Automatic. 1900.00 purchase
Automatic trans service 85.00
2 sets of brakes 70.00
2 rear tires 125.00
4 oil changes(one syn) 125.00
3 air filters 30.00
Engine mounts 150.00
Rear shocks 150.00
Belts 20.00
New stereo(4.1 sound, ya'll!)500.00 including amp/woofer
seat warmers 50.00
rear headrests 10.00
Christmas decor 20.00
insurance 800.00
------------------------------------------
total 4035.00

I have done it myself beyond the trans fluid and the first oil change, and have traveled around 24,000 miles since I got the car in January 2005 which totals to 17.5 cents per mile, not including fuel. If fuel is included, at 24mpg and 24k miles, I have used 1000 gallons of fuel, an average of about 2.50(it was 2.29 when i got the car) then that makes it 6,535.00 including all repairs, maintenence, insurance and fuel. Around 27 cents a mile.

Kinda cheap, I suppose--But what is the cost per mile of something small, new and around 40mpg? I did the math and an economy car that costs 14k new, 150/mo insurance-- at 50k, it is 50 cents per mile. I assume that comes way down by 100k, but I don't care much, because I don't own one of those cars--- wait, i do! Lemme do that math.

Follow-up on the leon to come

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

It will gladly take as much as you want to give it.

After spending WAY too much on the car to begin with, in one year I have done:

New header pipe,
Muffler hangers,
Engine mounts,
Transmission mount,
New turbocharger,
Steering damper,
Left ball joint,
Both upper control arms,
Right tie rod,
Front brake pads,
New rear axles,
4 new shocks,
4 rebuilt calipers,
4 new rotors,
4 brake hoses,
New battery,
New alternator,
Replaced cracked window and door rubber seals,
Replaced crumbling hood pad,
Applied Quiet Car under hood and behind seats,
Replaced broken driver’s side tail light,
Replaced broken door handle,
New door catches (just because new chrome looks good),
New grill insert,
Rear window mechanisms repaired,
New front seat upholstery,
New dash cover,
Replaced rear deck,
Installed new stereo,
Removed rust and rebuilt rear window ledge,
New rear window seal,
New ACC unit,
Euro lights,
Wood gearshift knob,
K1 spring replaced,
Replaced seat belt catches,
Installed EGR bypass kit,
Floor mats,
Miscellaneous trim pieces,
Probably more…

And it still doesn’t actually look much different than when I got it (other than its being cleaner and the rear window now being transparent). The split rear seats need new upholstery, the headliner is torn, the wood is cracked, the paintjob is crap, and the aluminum trim is all frosty.

I’m afraid to count it all up. How much does it take? How much have you got?

It truly is a labor of love, though. If I had spent $10-$12K on a new car this past year, I could be on my way to having one of those new MB convertibles. I see one every now and then and wonder what the hell I'm doing. But, I get out from a long drive and just think about how much I friggin love this car! I guess it's worth it.

__________________
1982 300CD Petrol/Black Leather

I think it's working...

__________________
1987 Mercedes 300SDL; SOLD
1985 Mercedes 300D; SOLD
2006 Honda Pilot - wife's ride; 122K;
1995 Toyota Land Cruiser - 3X locked; 182K

The part most people are overlooking here is availability of parts and the cost of them. I purchased my TD for 1800, D for 1000, and a parts TD for 300. So far the only extra costs have been new seats for the D ($40), new key/locks all the way around for the D ($50), shutoffvalve for D ($41), one new caliper for the TD ($80), new fuel hoses for TD ($15). I also bought oil filters, air filters etc but those are normal maint on any car and were not overly pricey.

That being said I have made over $200 back off my parts car. The good thing is that if anything else goes wrong there is a pull-a-part down the street with PLENTY of 123's (including diesels), I can get a whole motor for $150!

__________________
http://superturbodiesel.com/images/sig.04.10.jpg
1995 E420 Schwarz
1995 E300 Weiss
#1987 300D Sturmmachine
#1991 300D Nearly Perfect
#1994 E320 Cabriolet
#1995 E320 Touring
#1985 300D Sedan
OBK #42

1981 240D Auto

Purchase price $700
Purchased in Minneapolis but was just there from Florida with a brief stop in Wyoming. In other words, no rust. So far I have:

New tires
Motor,trans mount and engine shcok
Starter
Master cylinder
Water pump, belts, hoses and thermostat
Battery
Valve adjust
Swaybar links
Tie rod
Alignment
Trans fluid and filter (Mobil 1 ATF)
Power steering fluid and filter (Mobil 1 ATF)
Rear axles
Diff fluid change
All rubber fuel lines
All vacuum connectors and most lines in engine bay
Trans shift thingy on top of valve cover (forgot what it's called)
Shutoff solenoid (thing on the injection pump that shuts off engine, forgot what that's called as well)
Both front door seals

Purchased parts car for $200 and have:
Swapped interiors (seats, trim and most window seals)
Converted power windows to crank
Swapped cruise relay (it worked!)

Things to do this year:
All shocks
New windshield
Injectors rebuilt

Did 97% of above work myself, don't want to know what it cost. Probably left out a few items.

I enjoy doing the work and get real satisfaction driving this classic and understanding how a mojority of the car works. Also, knowing if something does go wrong most likely I can order a reasonably priced part and fix it myself. Priceless

Currently burning B50

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'85 300D - 206K (sold)
'81 240D - 149K (sold)
'03 Jetta TDI - (sold)
'79 300D - (sold)