Realistic service life? - Page 4 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Shawn T. W. · #46 10-01-2009, 08:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jnc19610

I've driven all sorts of orphan cars... (cars no longer made... karman ghia... merkur, etc......)

the killer for old cars on the road is... if you go out of town... and they die...
who fixes it... how do you get home.

I think that 10 years.. is the 'economical' life of cars....
after 10 years.. you start fixing expensive stuff... but.. the cars can be bought cheap.

I don't really want a car over 20 years old... I have one.. it's basically an antique... a 1970.... ok... 40 years old.. it's vintage... where am I going to take it?....

to me.. 20 years old is the 'end of pratical'..... still have parts.. still have some reliablity.

Bulloney!

I drive mine every day! Depend on it! Just used it for a trip So my 240D took me for a ride yesterday!

ah-kay · #47 10-01-2009, 12:32 PM

w123/w126 are all very dependable and reliable cars. If it is maintained well then it will run forever. This is a fact and no one doubts it. The issue is the owner will age, the car may not in a way if all guts are replaced. There will come a time the owner will not be agile enough to drain the oil, let alone to change the tranny.

Say you have a 85 w123 ( last year of production ) and a 35 years old member ( I think the average age of members here is higher ) keeps it as DD until 70, i.e. year 2044. The car would have been on the road for 59 years. Unless ( a big UNLESS ) someone is willing to take over or buy the OLD car, the car is doomed. It may or may not be a 'cool' car anymore for a young guy/gal to buy in 2044, I don't know.

There may be new regulations in the future from State or Federal government for old cars due to safety, fuel consumption etc that may force it off the road.

My $0.02. Enough said for me on this thread.

Oldwolf · #48 10-01-2009, 12:58 PM

I think the best you can do, when you get old and tired, is to find a young MB enthusiast to sell your very old MB too.

engatwork · #49 10-01-2009, 08:22 PM

I met a 79 year old lady today that is interested in having me maintain her diesel MB's for her. Her favorite is her 84 300D with 433k miles on it. She just recently picked up an immaculate 85 300SD showing 125k miles. She never drives the SD because she likes the D a whole lot better. She said she purchased the 300D in 86 for $20k and it has served her well. She owns/works a 700 acre cattle farm and pretty much uses the 300D as her "truck". Both cars started immediately and sounded good. Anyway, I was impressed with how good a condition this lady was in but after she told me that she "worked" her cattle farm it was not hard to understand why she was in as good a condition as she is. Something interesting was that there was a block heater plug hanging out the front of the 300D and I asked her about it. She said that she always plugs it in. I suspect that has alot to do with how long it has lasted. Imagine never having a cold start

. Anyway, on the way home I stopped by another lady friends house that has a 79 300SD with 350k miles on it that she wants me to change out the servo on. I put that car on I16 at 80 miles an hour and you would never believe that it was as old as it is with that kind of mileage. I will say that the electronics (dashboard indicator lights) do some funky stuff when you dim the lights but it runs out better than alot of brand new cars. I will be hard to convince that MB has ever built a better car than the turbo diesel w116. If I could find one in excellant condition I would probably pick it up for myself but for right now I will hang on to my '95 E300

.

Cr from Texas · #50 10-02-2009, 01:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ah-kay

Say you have a 85 w123 ( last year of production ) and a 35 years old member ( I think the average age of members here is higher ) keeps it as DD until 70, i.e. year 2044. The car would have been on the road for 59 years. Unless ( a big UNLESS ) someone is willing to take over or buy the OLD car, the car is doomed. It may or may not be a 'cool' car anymore for a young guy/gal to buy in 2044, I don't know.

He's probably an exception, but dad is 88 and puts in about 20 hours a week in his backyard shop. Does all of the routine maintenance on his cars and the neighbor's. The neighbor is an antique car collector and dad is a retired mechanic. Any of the cars over 50 are a problem for the other shops as they don't know the cars and don't have some of the special tools that dad still has and uses.
It keeps him and the cars in better condition. It's a real joy to watch him teach one of his great grandsons how to do routine car maintenance and explain the basics of how a car works.

#51 10-02-2009, 06:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cr from Texas

He's probably an exception, but dad is 88 and puts in about 20 hours a week in his backyard shop. Does all of the routine maintenance on his cars and the neighbor's.

That's great, if I'm alive when I'm 88 I will be working full time and driving whatever I want. What's this "keep it until 70" nonsense?

pleiades · #52 10-02-2009, 07:09 AM

They'll last until the rust gets to them. My 300CD had terminal rust (jack points) when I bought it, but that hasn't stopped me from putting 30k miles on it. I'm tempted to replace it, but it still runs well enough to be a daily driver. I drove it 450 miles, let it sit for ten weeks without starting it (not by choice, but by demands of the job) and then fired it right up and drove 450 miles home. The car looks terrible inside (cracked upholstery, wood panels falling off) and out (rust, extremely faded paint) but drives too well to get rid of. Of course, that doesn't mean I can't complement it with a nice W124 or W126...

#53 10-02-2009, 07:28 AM

Age is a relative thing. My Dad will be 89 in December and up until very recently worked a LOT. He got more done than most young people I know. He's now in an Alzheimers wing.

I'm 60 and it's almost a half mile from where I park to my office inside a large plant. There are very few people older than me that work here, and the vast majority are in their thirties or younger. I pass them all when I'm walking in every morning and I'm carrying a heavy laptop bag every day. It's rare to see them carrying anything. I probably do more actual work when I'm at home on my place than these "kids" do at work all day. Age is what you make of it.

The diesel MB's we are talking about have a relative age as well. There is no better example of a WELL BUILT car on the face of this planet IMHO. How long it lasts depends on the care it receives and how its treated when driving. For the unfortunate folks in rust country, I suppose there's nothing that can be done about that.

#54 10-02-2009, 09:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LarryBible

For the unfortunate folks in rust country, I suppose there's nothing that can be done about that.

They can move.

Oldwolf · #55 10-02-2009, 10:10 AM

I just had a weird thought.

I'm 52 now.

If I can keep my 124 running, say another 10 or 15 years, which would make it 30 years old at that point, then the car I get next, MIGHT BE THE LAST CAR I NEED TO BUY FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE!

Kinda Scary.

#56 10-02-2009, 10:26 AM

Yes, realizing that you are nearer to the end than to the beginning, can be a scary thought depending upon your relationship with the man upstairs.

charmalu · #57 10-02-2009, 12:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LarryBible

Yes, realizing that you are nearer to the end than to the beginning, can be a scary thought depending upon your relationship with the man upstairs.

Having a good relationship with the Man Upstairs, then that part might not be so scarry.

I have 66 coming up on me tooo soon, and the 123 will out last me most likely. so if I keep on keppin on like I do, and say Iam still driving it till Iam 85, that will make it 44 yrs old. Ihave no problem with that being dooable.

Will the Forum still be here?

and how many of you members will still be here posting? I can see the Topic now, "Who has had their W123 the longest"

Charlie

Oldwolf · #58 10-02-2009, 12:24 PM

My Dad bought his Chevy S-10 new in '93. He is still driving it (180k miles) although it is a bit ragged. He turns 88 next week. I just say this because maybe you can get tired of taking care of stuff when you get to be his age.

yellowrosefarm · #59 10-02-2009, 12:58 PM

One thing that a couple of folks have touched on is the effect of ever tightening government regulations. The key for me to maintaining older cars and truck for years was the local junkyard. Now, all the local "pick your own" yards have been forced out of business and the "salvage" yards left crush everything older than 5 years. Having your own parts car is the best insurance, but also illegal in most places. Right now, the internet is still a good source for used parts, but eventually the feds will find a way to dry up the entire older than 5 years used part market. Trying to keep a "vintage" car as a daily driver using all new parts is going to be too expensive for most people.