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#16
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A new car is almost certain to cost more. A carefully chosen $1500 POS stands a good chance of delivering 15,000 trouble free miles. I've owned 35 cars and this strategy has served me pretty well. I'm still trying to decide if there is a year/model MB that will meets the criteria. Of course, a car as nice as the 95 E300 is worth a little more to me. |
#17
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Personally my decision to purchase a W124 was a bit more emotional. I wanted a car that would keep my family safe that was no expense spared when engineered.
.10 a mile sounds a lot like my old Honda Civic. 200k, and barely anything ever except a used transmission for 500.00. However, it was seriously like driving a refrigerator. Some folks, including myself, buy these for their intangibles. I never understood what "motoring" meant until i got behind the wheel of this 95 E300d. Coming from a really rare BMW 540iT sport package (until slammed by meth head trucker), it was a real change. I'd just say if price or cost per mile is the preeminent factor, I'd buy a used Honda, etc, etc. Of course, you wont feel that tiny bit of pride knowing you fixed this or that whilst motoring down the road amongst the smooth diesel clatter of your old W124, a design that was truly ahead of its time. Jeremy was dead on. Hang the cost, enjoy your decision. Last edited by Evagee; 08-03-2012 at 10:12 PM. Reason: mispelling |
#19
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Under 150K miles = good
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Jeremy
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"Buster" in the '95 Our all-Diesel family 1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car 2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022) Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762 "Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz." -- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970 |
#20
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Well put!
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__________________
14 E250 Bluetec "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 153k miles 06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 171k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU 91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver, 142k mi, wastegate conversion 19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi Fourteen other MB's owned and sold 1961 Very Tolerant Wife |
#21
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Gregorios Sachinidis is at 2.8 million miles in his 240D. Do you think he's spent more than $280K ? He could have bought a lot of Crown Vics for that (probably not a practical Greek Taxi) These cars are well designed and well built. THey go for 300,000 miles easily and the average 95 E300 is at 93% depreciation. So how is my target cost per mile out of line? Maybe not a 95 E300, maybe something older and simpler with more parts available? I could buy any number of E300's on CL right now for around $4K and drive it 20,000 miles (about nine months for me) and sell it for $2500 Of course, you can't own a car with a soul when you do that. I've searched on "1995 E300" on all the MB forums and read most of what people are posting. I don't see a lot of sudden, catastrophic parts failure (none actually) And i don't find the parts to be much more expensive than parts for my newer Honda. I know a lot of people just get into a particular car because they like the car but I figure there must be someone on this forum who approaches the cost the same way I do. And just to be clear, my formula is; price of the car, divided by miles driven, minus the current value of the car- not counting consumables. Thanks for indulging me dave |
#22
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In that case, your cost/mile calculation could very well work out to the number you want. If you can find a nice E300 with fewer than 200,000 miles, one that has been well taken care of by one or two owners, you may very well be able to keep it for several years and sell it for most of what you paid, especially if you do a little work to it in the meantime.
After I get my E300 fixed up I expect to have very few expenses. My "newer" (1996) E300 has had almost no expenses this year -- one glow plug. The previous expense was an oil change last December. So it is possible. The challenge is to find the right car and if time is of the essence, records of past service are your best friend. Jeremy
__________________
"Buster" in the '95 Our all-Diesel family 1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car 2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022) Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762 "Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz." -- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970 |
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