Used MB as First Car for Niece? - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Hatterasguy · #16 10-25-2006, 06:15 PM

If she is like most teenage girls she won't like the MB. If you are dead set on one the 87 300D is more modern and faster so she would probably like it more.

I say buy her a newer Honda, Toyota, or Buick. The 300D could crack a head next year, where is she going to come up with the $3k to fix that? MB's are very expensive to maintain.

Maintaining a MB without being able to work on it on a college kids budget is not something I'd want to do. I make good money compared to most kids in college and do my own wrenching. Still I notice what it costs me and it isn't cheap.

Jim B. · #17 10-25-2006, 07:17 PM

A "grandpa" owned Ford Crown Victoria/Mercury Grand Marquis might be a nice alternative to a Honda Civic, worse gas mileage but pretty safe and they need relatively low maintenance and repairs. There are reasons that Police and Taxi fleets favor these, and safety, durability and overall economy (actual cost per mile after fuel and repairs) are among them. Repairs are usually simple and easy. An 18 year old won't look "cool" in it, but it is actually a good first car for anyone.

The Honda/Toyota alternative is acceptable if you don't mind the fact that the used ones are overpriced in some areas and they are not particularly safe in accidents. Unfortunately, young teenaged drivers have a MUCH higher liklihood to have accidents, so I would think having a VERY safe first car would be really important, so I'd encourage a look at the Crown Vic/Grand Marquis and the old Mercedes as a first choice here. Especially for the trips on the interstate...

A first time driver who can learn to drive one of these big american cars (Crown Vic/Grand Marquis) will easily adjust to something smaller later in life if she wants.

The Mercedes diesel (123/126) appeals for the safety factor, and the fact that it would be very durable and safe. Non diyers might have trouble maintaining it on a budget though.

BenzDieselTuner · #18 10-25-2006, 07:23 PM

yeah if she cant maintain it, then she would just run it into the ground........

speedy300Dturbo · #19 10-25-2006, 07:31 PM

Why do so many folks think that Hondas and Toyotas are unsafe cars? I hate to open a can of worms, but cars designed 20 years later than the W123 and W126 have made some pretty impressive advances in crash safety.

Civic and Accord crash tests:

http://www.iihs.org/ratings/rating.aspx?id=603
http://www.iihs.org/ratings/rating.aspx?id=34
http://www.iihs.org/ratings/rating.aspx?id=166

Corolla and Camry crash tests:

http://www.iihs.org/ratings/rating.aspx?id=169
http://www.iihs.org/ratings/rating.aspx?id=653

pgringo · #20 10-25-2006, 08:11 PM

a few thoughts...have you considered a gas volvo 740? there were bajillions of those made and they can be picked up for a song in the houston and dallas areas or on ebay pretty cheap just about anywhere. austin and the surrounding areas have several rear wheel drive volvo only independent shops. lockhart is sort of out of the way though. she could drive a 740 into the ground and it wouldn't be any great loss. also, the police practically ignore a clean volvo.

#21 10-25-2006, 08:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dmorrison

Not the insurance. Don't carry collision, and it's very cheap. My Son's and Daughter's insurance is about $45 a month, under my policy.

Dave

I pay less to insure my '92 XJ-S convertible, than the '84 300D. The insurance lady explained that the Jag was less because it has abs and airbags. I just called them, and they told me that a late model Vette would be $15.00 more a year than the 300D, around $450.00 a year.

Hatterasguy · #22 10-25-2006, 08:20 PM

Honda's are extremly safe cars. My cousin rolled his late 90's Civic a few years ago, horrible accident. Him and his budy were wearing there seat belts, the air bags did there jobs, the safety cage worked and both walked away with minor injuries. The car rolled over several times knocking down a tree and landing on its roof. Doors still opened with some effort.

Ok guys no offense but I go to school and I hang out with girls slightly older than her. 99% hate these cars and call them "grandpa" cars. Sorry W126/W123's are not popular at all with them. I go to a large school and I have the only W126 on campus. There are a handfull of W124's. Most girls that age who drive MB's have SLK's, C's, or ML's.

The most popular cars on campus are:
Honda Civic/Accord
Toyota Camry/Corrola/Matrix
Anything VW
BMW 3 series
Hyundai anything
Kia

Get her a nice clean 5 year old Civic and she will be very happy and not go broke fixing it. They are a very safe car, get good mileage, and pretty much any shop can fix what may go wrong.

If you really want to get her a MB then look at the mid 90's C220's. Lots of girls seem to drive that vintage C class and they are good little cars.

Monomer · #23 10-25-2006, 10:01 PM

Toyota

even one of those little new Scions.

Volvo Diesel · #24 10-25-2006, 10:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by retmil46

Another I found on autotrader this morning, an '83 300SD Turbo, 161K miles, $4700, down in TX about 30 miles from their location.......Also, would anyone be able to recommend a good MB diesel mechanic/shop in that area (Austin/San Antonio) where she would be able to get the car serviced/repaired without spending a fortune at the dealer?

If this is the '83 SD that's also been advertised in the Austin American-Statesman lately, I went and gave it a look, just for fun (always liked the big SDs, and kinda miss my 300D) and, IMHO, it's not worth what they're asking. Nothing really outright wrong with the car, just not the best maintained example I've ever seen, AND you can buy about 3 Volvo 740's for $4700 in Austin (as mentioned in an earlier post, these have the 4-cyl gas motors that give diesels a run for their money longevity and dependability), or an early to mid 90's Camry/Accord, which is about as safe and reliable as you can get. Also, as previously mentioned, a Crown Vic/Grand Marquis is a tank, and they last forever. My dad drives them; he had a '92 he took to 342,000mi, then bought an '01 which is at 178,000mi now; both (have) had no problems, and ran/run as new (the '92 did start blowing a bit of blue smoke about a year before he sold it; still had "unopened" engine, but tranny was rebuilt at 278,000mi). As for shops: In Austin, both Ben's Workshop and Phoenix Motor Works have done quality work on my cars, although I think Ben only takes 1990 and newer models on unless the car has been serviced there before. If she goes the Volvo route, avoid a certain shop up north with the first 3 letters of the word VOLvo and the word TECH in its name, they (allegedly) serviced my diesel once and, frankly, didn't know what the @%#$ they were doing, after assuring me they did. In San Antonio, I've used German Auto Center and Autobahn Automotive, and found them both to be good, honest shops. The recs are, of course, my *opinion* only...

Good luck--very kind of you to help your niece out, by the way. When I turned 16, my great-aunt gave me her "spare" car, a '79 Caddy. I appreciated it so much, I still have it!

retmil46 · #25 10-26-2006, 12:28 AM

First off, thanks for all the replys and advice.

After talking with her parents today, we agreed with the majority opinion of the thread - something used in the 5 to 10 year old range, fairly common for parts and mechanic availability, good safety and reliability ratings, setting an upper limit of 5K for price unless it proves difficult to find something satisfactory within that range.

She's already had a fair amount of experience driving the different vehicles they've owned - an 04 Dodge Quad Cab Cummins auto, Jeep Wrangler stick, and Jeep Liberty CRD auto - over the past 2 years. I'll give her credit, she knows how to drive a stick pretty darned good. Also pretty darned good riding a street or dirt motorcycle. The stick in the mud is that AFAIK she's totally inexperienced when it comes to maintenance.

Saw one option today down in their area I pointed out to them. A '97 Subaru Impreza Outback wagon, 113K miles, $3900, spent it's entire life as a commercial lease as a business car, just put up for sale 4 days ago. From the pics looked to be in excellent shape, and as a commercial lease/business vehicle has most likely seen regular maintenance, 23/30 MPG RUG, 4 speed auto, AWD.

I've still got an '87 Subaru GL wagon I bought brand new, 165K miles, still runs and gets mid 20's for gas mileage with an ancient 2 barrel carb and 5 speed stick. You just can't kill the bloody thing, basically an old VW Bug engine with water cooling added on. Had the engine rebuilt a year ago because I bent an intake valve working on it, and the only thing they had to replace was the bent valve and gaskets - 158K miles on the engine at that time, and the mechanic who had 20 years experience working on Subaru engines said it was in excellent shape and was good for another 100K miles. I've been run off into a snow drift at 60 mph, had it spin round 360 several times when in ice and snow, ending up in the center median facing the other way - it never tipped over, and in each case all I had to do was start the beast back up and continue on my way.

For my vote, I'd tell them to go with the '97 Subaru wagon.

Hatterasguy · #26 10-26-2006, 11:24 AM

Not cool, but certainly a decent car:
http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?car_id=208644433&dealer_id=1362540&car_year=1999&search_type=used&num_records=25&make=BUICK&model=&transmission=&distance=0&address=06460&make2=&advanced=&certified=&max_mileage=&bkms=1161876184099&max_price=5000&sort_type=priceDESC&min_price=1&body_code=0&end_year=2007&color=&start_year=1981&drive=&engine=&fuel=&doors=&style_flag=1&cardist=54

Jim B. · #27 10-26-2006, 11:53 AM

Well I have a 1995 Subaru Legacy Outback wagon (inherited from father)asidefrom regular maintenance, NOTHING goes wrong with that thing. It's just amazing. Got it used from a Subaru dealer. I was able to use DMV connections to contact the prior owner who said the engine mysteriously blew up at 4k miles, and was replaced under warranty, but other than that, nothing ever went wrong with the car, he just had a wife who wanted a new one.

Those boxer flat 4 engines, especially the 2.2, make a great choice when selecting a Subaru. They are pretty good on regular gas too!!

A neighbor's friend had one (Subaru) too, and traded it in on a new one when it had 350,000 miles on it because he was afraid something would go wrong on it (Nothing ever did!)

Jim B. · #28 10-26-2006, 12:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hatterasguy

Honda's are extremly safe cars. My cousin rolled his late 90's Civic a few years ago, horrible accident. Him and his budy were wearing there seat belts, the air bags did there jobs, the safety cage worked and both walked away with minor injuries. The car rolled over several times knocking down a tree and landing on its roof. Doors still opened with some effort.

Ok guys no offense but I go to school and I hang out with girls slightly older than her. 99% hate these cars and call them "grandpa" cars. Sorry W126/W123's are not popular at all with them. I go to a large school and I have the only W126 on campus. There are a handfull of W124's. Most girls that age who drive MB's have SLK's, C's, or ML's.

The most popular cars on campus are:
Honda Civic/Accord
Toyota Camry/Corrola/Matrix
Anything VW
BMW 3 series
Hyundai anything
Kia

Get her a nice clean 5 year old Civic and she will be very happy and not go broke fixing it. They are a very safe car, get good mileage, and pretty much any shop can fix what may go wrong.

If you really want to get her a MB then look at the mid 90's C220's. Lots of girls seem to drive that vintage C class and they are good little cars.

I disagree with you about the safety of Hondas and Toyotas. They are still flimsy and tinny compared to an old Mercedes, or a Crown Victoria.

The truth about them is found in the wrecking yards!! You won't find a Mercedes with intrusion into the passenger compartment.

The Hondas and Toyotas Hyundais and Kias might be "cute" and "popular" with young college age girls, and maybe get good mileage, and are reliable, but are essentially tin cans - good tin cans, but still tin cans.

Cute and popular shouldn't count if RETMIL is buying the car either

But they aren't safe in accidents.

retmil46 · #29 10-26-2006, 12:42 PM

Well, I guess the Subaru is out. Someone already snagged it and the ad hadn't even been up for a full week. Not surprised really, from the photos it looked to be an excellent buy for that price.

I'm going to let her do some slogging thru the lists and see what she comes up with. If it's something she likes and all the adults involved approve, all the better.

Dad already had to shut her down on a few choices she mentioned, when he saw that the price was well over the 5K limit. He had to remind her 5k is the tops, unless the adults agree that there isn't anything decent available within that range, and decide to up the limit. Best that she learns to live within a budget now, and learns one of life's hard truths - that what you want and what you can afford are usually two different things.

Jim Wickham · #30 10-26-2006, 03:20 PM

I think to say that newer hondas are unsafe is more a biased opinion against asian cars and usually see that reserved to the domestic crew. They do NOT have the class, comfort or driving experience of a MB but to say they are not safe just because they are small shows a lack of respect for engineering data. FWIW I am still a honda guy at heart I raced honda bikes and drove honda cars for 10 yrs, still own one of both. They are more dependable with less attention paid than a MB diesel 20 yrs of age can ever hope to be...

I am Biased towards HONDAS because I've never had one leave me asking for a ride.

83 accord parked it running and driving at 195K just because I had two other cars

89 CRXsi sold with 243K on it ( I put the last 100 on and it still ran like a top.)

91 CRXdx with B16a, turbo, brembos, and 5K worth of suspension work... I'm holding on to that one... it has a missing synchro on 3rd gear with only 35K miles on the total rebuilt setup but that has to do with use more than honda's engineers

00 Civic Si coupe, sold with 40K because people were paying close to sticker when they were 2 yrs old and used

Hondas got me through the years where I didn't care to touch a wrench or worry about where I was going to get fuel. Ran the tires bald, shifted at redline, rarely put in air filters... did everything that should have killed them and never had issues.