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  #16  
Old 09-30-2010, 11:12 AM
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Or, you could do what I did and buy a VW TDI. I did this out of "protest" since M-B refuses to offer a lower-end diesel in the USA. I know all of the reasons but still refuse to buy a car that is "more car than I needed" for "more money than I wanted to spend" simply because it is all they sell. I think everyone who considers a new diesel model owes themselves an hour at the VW dealer to test drive a Golf or Jetta...you may just find yourself pleasantly surprised and save about half what you'd pay for an E-Class. I am not saying the cars are the same, what I am saying is they fill a market which Mercedes doesn't today. Something to consider, as far as I am concerned.

Before I drove a Jetta TDI I didn't consider it at all, but after I was sold. They even make a sportwagen TDI which I was thinking about.

One more thing...mine is a '10 and the new '11 new jettas are getting mixed reviews. You can still get '10s and still get a tax credit I believe, though it is half of what it was earlier this year (I got $1300 for buying my car).

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2013 C300 4Matic
1984 BMW 733i
2013 Lincoln MKz

Last edited by nhdoc; 09-30-2010 at 01:19 PM.
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  #17  
Old 09-30-2010, 12:33 PM
cirrusman's Avatar
Just add Diesel.
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
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Or you can just buy your wife a romantic dinner and convince her to keep the cars if they're not giving you guys problems... Doesn't look like you're in an urgent need of a newer car just now. I, for one, am not desperate to add to my debt a New Mercedes Monthly Payment, New Mercedes Insurance Payment and the constant and inevitable "What if somebody bumps my Pristine Brand New Mercedes with their door?" nagging thought.
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[/SIGPIC]~cirrusman

1983 Mercedes Benz 300SD - Wife calls him "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang"
[SIGPIC]




1983 Toyota Tercel (Tommy, The little Toyota that could)
1965 Ford F100 (Grandma Ford)
2005 Toyota Sienna (Elsa, Wife's ride)


Gone:
1988 Toyota Pickup
2004 Subaru Outback

1987 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham
1986 Volvo 740 GL Station Wagon - Piece of junk.
1981 Volvo 242 DL 2 Door - Hated to see it go. R.I.P.
1987 Pontiac Fiero GT
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  #18  
Old 09-30-2010, 12:49 PM
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I don't see why there's a push to have the guy buy a new anything. He's not wanting to spend that kind of money, any more than I do. We're looking for value at a price, not $859.00 a month payments. Ask me where I got that number from? From my sig. car's payment book of 60 installments @ 8.75% APR in 2000. The balance was $38K I wanted to buy the car on the spot 1,000 miles from home, and I only had $5K in my checkbook I was carrying, so put put down $4K and took out a loan of all things to buy it. I paid-off the car in 16 months, cash flowing it with income. I did not want to use savings when I could just cash flow it. $859.00 a month payments? That's insane for any car.
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  #19  
Old 09-30-2010, 02:05 PM
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Nobody's pushing anyone to do anything...the OP asked for some advice and people responded...sounds like everyone here needs to just relax a little.

People have different reasons for buying new cars. Some like modern conveniences. Some try to maintain domestic tranquility, like the OP. Some don't want to spend every other weekend on their backs in the driveway.

Me, I always have something old and something new...I just like cars. Next year our C300 lease is up, so there will be a 2011 something coming...just don't know what yet.
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2013 C300 4Matic
1984 BMW 733i
2013 Lincoln MKz
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  #20  
Old 10-01-2010, 03:19 PM
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Well, the pressure is soon on. The wife put the Mini on Craigslist and it sold 4 hours later. There have been multiple suggestions about this predicament, (albeit an self imposed predicament) but I'm in need of more info in order to make a decision that makes some kind of sense.

The suggestion to schmooze her with dinner and try to reason sounds logical... but that is from someone who obviously doesn't know my wife. She has 2 weaknesses... cars and diamonds. I am more likely to concede to the former rather than the latter. If I had the resources, I'd shower her with both... she's one of the best people I've met (who else can claim a wife insistent on your buying a BMW LT "because you've always wanted one"?) In short... I feel her car fetish keeps her happy and is something I can live with.

The recommendation of buying a Japanese ride won't cut it. She had a very nice Avalon a while back and that didn't seem to cut it. I must say, the Avalon was THE most comfortable car I've ever driven, but it handled like a tap-dancing pig and only got ~26 mpg (on a good day.) I have had 6 Toyotas and a Nissan in the past and, while they are a decent car, they have never gotten the handling down.

The bid for the VW is something I've already contemplated. I have owned 3 VWs and it seems that with each progressing year, their quality goes down. I know they make a very good diesel engine, but the rest of the car (at least in my experience) tends to be lacking in durability. The Audi I had seemed to follow suit.

At this point, I know when we both get home tonight, my wife will want to discuss what's next on the auto agenda. We are now down to basically one car (as our pickup is a gas hog and is only used to haul stuff and pull trailers, and the '84 300dt is too pristine for daily driving (especially in the winter).) In order to make an informed decision, I still have the same nagging question that needs to be answered... "Can a guy with a Star service manual and a fair assortment of tools be reasonably capable of fixing the majority of issues likely to crop up on, say, a 2005 or 2006 CDI?"

Thanks all for your time and input on this issue, it has really helped!

-l-
__________________
'84 300d turbodiesel (83K miles)
'96 300d (226K miles)
------------------------------------------------
other fine diesels...
'99 Polaris diesel (Fuji Heavy Industries single)
'01 Diesel Trail gator (Yanmar triple)
'95 John Deere 970 (Yanmar quad)
'11 BMW 335d
'12 VW Jetta TDI

****************************************
'00 BMW K1200LT
'02 BMW R1150RS

'15 BMW R1200GSA

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  #21  
Old 10-01-2010, 03:55 PM
Skid Row Joe's Avatar
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Quote:
Originally Posted by landev View Post
Well, the pressure is soon on. The wife put the Mini on Craigslist and it sold 4 hours later. There have been multiple suggestions about this predicament, (albeit an self imposed predicament) but I'm in need of more info in order to make a decision that makes some kind of sense.

The suggestion to schmooze her with dinner and try to reason sounds logical... but that is from someone who obviously doesn't know my wife. She has 2 weaknesses... cars and diamonds. I am more likely to concede to the former rather than the latter. If I had the resources, I'd shower her with both... she's one of the best people I've met (who else can claim a wife insistent on your buying a BMW LT "because you've always wanted one"?) In short... I feel her car fetish keeps her happy and is something I can live with.

The recommendation of buying a Japanese ride won't cut it. She had a very nice Avalon a while back and that didn't seem to cut it. I must say, the Avalon was THE most comfortable car I've ever driven, but it handled like a tap-dancing pig and only got ~26 mpg (on a good day.) I have had 6 Toyotas and a Nissan in the past and, while they are a decent car, they have never gotten the handling down.

The bid for the VW is something I've already contemplated. I have owned 3 VWs and it seems that with each progressing year, their quality goes down. I know they make a very good diesel engine, but the rest of the car (at least in my experience) tends to be lacking in durability. The Audi I had seemed to follow suit.

At this point, I know when we both get home tonight, my wife will want to discuss what's next on the auto agenda. We are now down to basically one car (as our pickup is a gas hog and is only used to haul stuff and pull trailers, and the '84 300dt is too pristine for daily driving (especially in the winter).) In order to make an informed decision, I still have the same nagging question that needs to be answered... "Can a guy with a Star service manual and a fair assortment of tools be reasonably capable of fixing the majority of issues likely to crop up on, say, a 2005 or 2006 CDI?"

Thanks all for your time and input on this issue, it has really helped!

-l-
It would help to know what you are wanting to spend on a replacement car. If all I had was $20K or less, I'd buy a 2006 E320 CDI. If all I had to spend was $10K (give or take) I'd buy a '99 E300TD.
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  #22  
Old 10-01-2010, 04:07 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by landev View Post
"Can a guy with a Star service manual and a fair assortment of tools be reasonably capable of fixing the majority of issues likely to crop up on, say, a 2005 or 2006 CDI?"
Probably not as easily as you would like without a Star Diagnostic Computer and a sizable bankroll. Someone mentioned that your '96 is just on the cusp of DIY maintainability... I'm afraid that I have to agree.

I too have owned a more recent VW (2001) and only let go of it because it had been totaled. My previous VW was a '72 beetle with terminal metal eating bacteria, leaking heads and electrical issues. But both were easy to keep running. Degrading quality? That would be hard for me to tell considering my experience.

The '99 E300 TurboDiesel I currently have is paid for, but in serious need of TLC. I'm knocking out one issues at a time as I can, but it's costly as you probably already know.

If looking at a newer MB, I would personally factor in an extra $3500/year for maintenance, as most must be done at an authorized service center now. Heck, they're not even putting fill tubes on the new (2009+) 7-speed ATs. There's no way (unless you buy $1500 in shop equipment) to check and change your AT fluid (must be done every 30k miles).

This is only my opinion, and I will probably get razzed for it; however, if I absolutely was given no option other than to buy new.... I think I would go Subaru for petrol and VW for diesel.
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  #23  
Old 10-01-2010, 04:08 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Skid Row Joe View Post
It would help to know what you are wanting to spend on a replacement car. If all I had was $20K or less, I'd buy a 2006 E320 CDI. If all I had to spend was $10K (give or take) I'd buy a '99 E300TD.
I spent twice that on my '99.... four years and 70k miles ago.
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  #24  
Old 10-01-2010, 04:41 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by anghrist View Post
I spent twice that on my '99.... four years and 70k miles ago.
I spent almost four and a half times that on my '99.....11 years and 122K miles ago. Never again.
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  #25  
Old 10-02-2010, 01:54 PM
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Well all,

I'm a bit discouraged about the future of MB vehicles. It seems, with the increasingly un-serviceability of their cars, the company is precluding all but the wealthy from being able to afford their vehicles.

As Dahmler has been in business for many years, I imagine they must know their market fairly well, but it seems to me that that if the trend continues toward making cars that are user un-serviceable the resale of the cars they are currently making can only be hurt. Who wants to purchase a used car, however nice, for a reasonable price only to find that the car's maintenance costs will far outpace the purchasing price?

I may not be seeing "the big picture" but it seems that in the not-too-distant future some of the most well made vehicles on the road will, due to simple economics, only have value as scrap metal. A real shame that...

Thanks all for your input on this matter.

-l-
__________________
'84 300d turbodiesel (83K miles)
'96 300d (226K miles)
------------------------------------------------
other fine diesels...
'99 Polaris diesel (Fuji Heavy Industries single)
'01 Diesel Trail gator (Yanmar triple)
'95 John Deere 970 (Yanmar quad)
'11 BMW 335d
'12 VW Jetta TDI

****************************************
'00 BMW K1200LT
'02 BMW R1150RS

'15 BMW R1200GSA

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  #26  
Old 10-02-2010, 01:58 PM
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Name a maker who cares about user serviceability after the sale.
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  #27  
Old 10-02-2010, 02:17 PM
Craig
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Three points:

1. All new cars are very difficult to service yourself and all dealers are expensive. If you need/want a newer car, find an indy that can work on your car, put up with dealer prices, or find a brand that can be serviced locally.

2. The vast majority of people do not service their own cars. This forum is not a representative sample of benz owners, not even old benz owners. It costs most people at least $0.50 per mile to drive newer cars.

3. MB does not really care whether the third owner of a ten year old car can work on it themselves or not. They do enjoy some good PR by having their cars last a long time, but they don't make any money from the bottom of the food chain. They understand their market pretty well.
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  #28  
Old 10-02-2010, 02:27 PM
cirrusman's Avatar
Just add Diesel.
 
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Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
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It's not just Mercedes... BMW has pretty hot diesels too, as unserviceable as the Millenium Falcon would be for me. Even a 2011 Toyota Corolla or Ford Focus would be pretty much left to the dealership to maintain. Old is the way of the DIY.
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[/SIGPIC]~cirrusman

1983 Mercedes Benz 300SD - Wife calls him "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang"
[SIGPIC]




1983 Toyota Tercel (Tommy, The little Toyota that could)
1965 Ford F100 (Grandma Ford)
2005 Toyota Sienna (Elsa, Wife's ride)


Gone:
1988 Toyota Pickup
2004 Subaru Outback

1987 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham
1986 Volvo 740 GL Station Wagon - Piece of junk.
1981 Volvo 242 DL 2 Door - Hated to see it go. R.I.P.
1987 Pontiac Fiero GT
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  #29  
Old 10-02-2010, 06:19 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cirrusman View Post
It's not just Mercedes... Old is the way of the DIY.
In short... Yes! Now, how do we fix this problem? How do we, the DIYers of the world encourage automotive manufacturers to change their engineering practices?
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http://badges.fuelly.com/images/smallsig-us/193500.png


It's a car not a science experiment! Open the throttle!
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  #30  
Old 10-02-2010, 06:26 PM
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It's DIYers that drove manufacturers to make cars less serviceable.

DIY technology catches up. 10 years ago it was impractical to service a 140 at home. Now there's little you can't do yourself on an early 140. The equipment to manage late 140s isn't cheap but it's more affordable these days. You just have to keep learning.

Sixto
87 300D

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