The compulsion to "Over Repair"

[Carrameow]

Well, after years and years of coming home to boxes from Fastlane, Ebay, AutoParts.com, Foreign parts.com, and whatever, on the front porch, I finally seem to be overcoming my compulsion to repair every used car in our 4 car fleet to "mint condition".
Even now its hard to fight it. To me my 85 300D has to look and run perfect and had to be better than a new car. But you can spend a fortune making these cars totally mint!
What's worse, I would order one gasket and a filter and it would show up in a box the size of a TV set and it was hard to cocnvince my better half that i was just spending 15 or 20 bucks,
It really got bad when I had my 87 300D, where the parts were running $100 a throw. That was one expensive car to own, and on top of it the Head scared the h*** out of me and I kept my 85 vice 87 300D.
After that, I decide to down size my used car fleet and to just concentrate all our driving on two cars with the other two in reserve and never driven except in emergencies.
Finally I made up my mind to just make them run and be safe. Basic maintenance, Brakes, engine and transmission and suspension, but thats it. No more Interior parts or special struts and shocks or trim or Central locking gizmos or nice to have features. No more seats or mirror switches. No more owning a used car museum of unique fun to have cars.

I guess it's just a matter of what you want. Personally, I don't see the point of owning these older cars if I'm not going to attempt to keep them as correct as possible. If I didn't want to deal with it, I'd just buy a new car. If I just wanted cheap basic transportation, I'd buy a Honda or something. I have no interest in running these cars into the ground. IMHO, if I don't keep up with all the little "nice to have features," I'm going down that path. If I ever lose interest to the point where I'm willing to start letting my cars fall apart, I'll just sell them and find a new hobby.

[airbus]

I bought that 300DT on ebay for $1950 last month. POS, though but I couldn't stop myself and started to fix it up. So far I put in a new exhaust front to rear, rebuilt brake calipers all four wheels, new glow plugs, I spent days to fix that electrical system, I just picked it up at the bodyshop ($1500) and dropped it of at the mechanic for repairs/maintenance. After checking the car thoroughly the estimate is at $2300 to fix/service it all. In detail: allmost all moving parts of front suspension have to be replaced, rear stabilizer bar missing (Why would anybody remove it ) Tranny and engine are in pretty good shape for 260000 miles, very little blow by, one major oil leak at the oil filter housing and the second connector IP to fuelline is leaking. Engine mounts and shocks have to be replaced, no problems at all with tranny. By the end of next week I will have paid close to $6500 for a 21 years old car. I sure hope it was worth it...

Originally Posted by airbus

By the end of next week I will have paid close to $6500 for a 21 years old car. I sure hope it was worth it...

If it's worth it to you, it's worth it.

You don't want to know how many $$$ I'm into my 300D, but that's what I want to drive, so It's worth it. I could never get half my money back, but it's not for sale anyway. Is a new E-series worth $50K? Is a generic Japanese/American/Korean sedan worth $25K? Is a hybrid worth $30K? What are they going to be worth in the year 2030?

[TX76513]

OMG the words "used car museum" that the second time in a week that has been said. When my son and I unveiled the 92 Bimmer Swimmer (Katrina Car) on Saturday the other half mentioned those exact three words.
Incredible - now I have Dr. Pepper all over my keyboard from when I read Carrameow's post

I am guilty of everything that has been written in the above threads - but I love it! Anyone ever get a dash cap from coverlay? The box looks like it could contain a S class body.

[Charlie_M]

I think it's all very much a part of the deal. The way I look at it, you'd have no business owning a car as old as these (approximately 20 years or more)if you didn't at least like to tinker a bit. I would say that describes me pretty well, and the car fits me perfectly. I've found a balance by just taking my time with projects. I'm not in any hurry after all and doing it this way helps keep the $$ burn rate in check. It can be tough on the marital harmony though sometimes. Take last night for example: I was looking at how to plumb for my EGT, just taking my time considering different options, then I pulled the bolt that's apparently there for this purpose only to find that the hole is nowhere near the size I need for my VDO EGT. Then of course, the threads on a 20 year old exhaust manifold need to be cleaned up a bit before reinstalling the bolt and so I'm running the tap through there, hands now as black as coal... and out comes the wife: "what's wrong with your car NOW??" me: "wrong?? nothing at all..I'm just kinda playing out here." Then there was a bunch of stuff about the baby and how she wished she had time to "play",etc... all part of the fun really. I think I found where I'll mount that EGT sensor... NOT in that predrilled hole though.

[Ra_]

I think 20 and 30 year old Benzes are more attractive than more recent models,
so even after I end up having to throw some big bucks into it,
I hope I will still think that these older cars are a better deal than a new Benz
and far superior to 'lesser' makes.

I don't think I'd enjoy a new Honda this much,
despite my high regard for their reliability.

[torsionbar]

Originally Posted by airbus

By the end of next week I will have paid close to $6500 for a 21 years old car. I sure hope it was worth it...

if you keep that car for 5 years, and put lots of enjoyable miles on it, then yes it makes perfect sense.

calling it a "21 year old car" is doing it a disservice imo. i recently sold my 27 year old porsche 911 for nearly $20k. nada lists its "retail value" as north of $30k. $30k for a 27 year old car. age and value do not have a direct coorelation, unless you're talking about cars 6 years old or newer. beyond that, it's all about condition, maintenance records, etc. since these are fully depreciated at this point. obviously a 20+ year old mercedes or porsche is going to be worth a lot more than a 20 year old ford or toyota.

old cars and upkeep are for people who keep them for years at a time, and directly benefit from all the new parts and elbow grease invested. if you're always buying and selling and switching cars every 2 or 3 years, then no, it's not worth your time or your dollars to buy a neglected car and repair it, as you'll just be fixing it for the next guy to enjoy.

[pwogaman]

Originally Posted by Carrameow

Well, after years and years of coming home to boxes from Fastlane, Ebay, AutoParts.com, Foreign parts.com, and whatever, on the front porch, I finally seem to be overcoming my compulsion to repair every used car in our 4 car fleet to "mint condition".
Even now its hard to fight it. To me my 85 300D has to look and run perfect and had to be better than a new car. But you can spend a fortune making these cars totally mint!
What's worse, I would order one gasket and a filter and it would show up in a box the size of a TV set and it was hard to cocnvince my better half that i was just spending 15 or 20 bucks,
It really got bad when I had my 87 300D, where the parts were running $100 a throw. That was one expensive car to own, and on top of it the Head scared the h*** out of me and I kept my 85 vice 87 300D.
After that, I decide to down size my used car fleet and to just concentrate all our driving on two cars with the other two in reserve and never driven except in emergencies.
Finally I made up my mind to just make them run and be safe. Basic maintenance, Brakes, engine and transmission and suspension, but thats it. No more Interior parts or special struts and shocks or trim or Central locking gizmos or nice to have features. No more seats or mirror switches. No more owning a used car museum of unique fun to have cars.

Quit reading my mind! I suppose it is a road that many of us have followed.

[boneheaddoctor]

I understand it.....I had that comulsion the first year....when I saw a $1,000 credit card bill one month reality struck me and I reassesed what needed done vs what I wanted done....

I've been on the wagon since.....

[phidauex]

There is a balance..

I understand the desire to keep these cars correct, but that can be balanced with just keeping them going.

Here is an example... My silver paint is shot. The clearcoat is peeling off, its got chips all over, etc. The correct thing to do would be to get it repainted in the original color. I may do that someday, but I can't afford it now, and I don't have a safe place to store the car while the paint cures. So I just touch up the chips to keep them from rusting, and live with it. I'm not making the car 'correct', but I'm also doing what I can to keep 'correctness' and option for the future, for myself, or another owner.

Right now my problem is that every time I do some serious work on the car, I notice a few other things that need to be taken care of. Now, most are totally legit, like brake parts that need rebuilding, and none have been terribly expensive so far, but I'm a little afraid to open the hood these days, because I'm afraid I'll find something new to buy. I'm afraid that my tendency to repair every little thing will magnify and move from calipers and master cylinders to body clips and trim, down to random pieces of carpet and headliner, to gauge needles and whatnot.

When do you stop? For me, its when the car is safe, effective, and not in danger of further damaging itself. Someday, when I have more space to work and more resources, I might allow myself more freedom in that sense.

peace,
sam

[ykobayashi]

Hi,

I've been unemployed for over a month now. Guess what, I actually fixed my vacuum locks!!!! It took two days to find all the flaws in the system (thread on this forum). Then I started getting all the body trim that had come loose and reattached it.

The previous owner never fixed the locks. It is one of those things we can learn to live without. When I bought the car the previous owner said it had "manual" locks. Hah! Anyway, I have so much time on my hands I ended up fixing them.

Then I installed a really cool backflush valve on my veggie burn system.

I'm having trouble buying parts though. No money no parts.

I know how it is. I used to look at old benzs and laugh when they were really cherry. I'd think some old fart really loved that thing in a sick way. Well I can see one of those idiots everytime I look in my mirror nowadays.

Keep the faith!
Yoko

[Avarec]

why everybody so scared of their wifes, be a man and grow a pair and tell her to suck on it, older benz is our passion, some say there old, and ungly but we love them, so keep it going and learn to DIY not to brake a bank

[Bio300TDTdriver]

Originally Posted by Avarec

why everybody so scared of their wifes, be a man and grow a pair and tell her to suck on it, older benz is our passion, some say there old, and ungly but we love them, so keep it going and learn to DIY not to brake a bank

That's nice, you are a real class act. I guess the redneck forum had enough members so you came here. No offense to you rednecks.

[bipolardave]

Haha.

Thanks for the bump.

I think the OP must be my long lost twin brother.

I'm approaching $10k in body work, IP rebuild, tires, shocks, stereo, timing chain, and "little" things. Still have some ways to go. Thankfully, the front end and motor mounts had already been replaced or I'd be out another few grand.

This figure doesn't include the purchase price.

Why spend 3x more in repairs than what the car would fetch should it ever find a buyer? At some point it's not about the money. If we bought cars based soley on financial considerations, we'd all be driving 10 year old beige Toyota Camries.

If someone has to ask, then they'd never "get it" anyway.