Guilt over owning/driving a Mercedes
 

Do any of you suffer from Mercedes Guilt? I've spent years crawling through junkyards and staying up to 4 am working on cars, but I have that feeling after buying an 87 300D
When I ran my 85 W123 300D low to 1/2 qt of oil back in the spring, I had no idea the engine would resurrect itself. For a month it smoked, used oil like crazy, and made terrible noises and had no acceleration or power. I didnt give up on it however, and now in June, the car runs like new..
The problem is, I panicked & ran out and bought an 87 300D which is the size of a luxury liner because the price was so good. It was the natural thing to do, to buy a Diesel, 6 cylinder Turbo and I love the car technically, its a lot of fun.
Driving the W124 87 it is a different matter. It really makes me feel like I am from Old Money or someone Rich although I am just a working grunt from the middle class. Sometimes I feel as if I am Lucky to have a rough over my head. the 87 300D is a big heavy Cadillac like car, and not the all purpose Jeep that the W123 is. I have heard the W124 87 cost $50,000 new.
My wife wont let me sell the W124 because her friend was badly injured in a Corolla this spring, so now I am stuck with this Queen Mary of a Car..so guess which car I still drive...my W123..The W124 is our "Spare" car for a rainy day..

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/snow7ice/BENZ.html

Guilt? No way. I feel like I'm liberating a car from the rich, turning it into an alternative energy vehicle, and giving it to the poor (me).

Not to mention getting a high-class education on working on well made, beautiful machines.

Guilt: No

Pride: Absolutely

Guility, no I feel sorry for all the people that have a new POS that costs ten times as much to operate as my MB.

P E H

As I recall you spent $2k on the W124 300D?

Why in the world would you care what other people think about your choice of transportation?

If the guilt becomes unbearable I'll be happy to give you 2k for the car - let me feel your pain.

I don't think the 124 weighs much more than the 123.
My 123 wagon outweighs my 124 sedan by about 400 lbs. My 124 sedan listed new for $39995 in 1999, according to the sticker.
Of course, I have no idea what it really sold for, but I doubt that it was discounted more than 5% or so.

It does feel like a larger car. I don't really think anyone needs to feel guilt.

It might be silly to pay $50K for a car, but to buy one for less than half that only five years later, and drive it for the next ten to twenty years.

I'll never forget, a family friend said that when they had just met us, my little brother (about 6 years old at the time) told them "My dad drives a Mercedes." They wondered if we were rich or something, but I'm sure when they found out it was a fifteen year old diesel the picture became a little clearer.
I would only feel guilty about driving a car if I knew that in some way I was doing it in an attempt to out-class people. I have absolutely no qualms about flashing any moniker, be it Ford, Mercedes, Honda, or whatever. Obviously you have to be prepared to deal with whatever preconceptions people have about certain cars (BMW = aggressive "big shot" driver, for example). I have no problem if it makes me look richer than I am though, as long as it's not actually costing me.

Don't forget the debt service too.

I was helping a friend for a week on a construction side, the owner of the building came to my buddy and asked him how much he was paying me while pointing out to my '79 300CD!

A lot of people look at you when you tell them it's such a cheap car to own.

R Leo,

That would be included in my estimate. Actually the debt service is very resonable now and even zero in some cases of new car factory incentives.

P E H

I think the guilt should lie with the folks who buy new cars every couple of years. That's an awful lot of depreciation down the drain. As well the folks who buy a stripper Honda and fit $5000 worth of big wheels and accessories. I can buy an MB and keep it running for a couple of years for $5000. Plus whatever the environmental impact of the SDL and S420 might be, it's nothing compared to building a whole new car.

... not that people should feel guilty about spending their money.

A friend of mine got a BMW because his wife doesn't want to be seen in an MB. Nice lady and I love her dearly but... whatever :P

Sixto
95 S420
87 300SDL

Never in my life did I think I'd own a car such as Mercedes. The car I have is a statement to the fact that I've done well buying cheap cars and working on them so I can save up and buy something 'special'. Now my time has come.

Sometimes I wonder why I didn't do something like this sooner. I once picked up an old Hemmings Motor News and looked at the price of used Benzes 20 years ago and got my answer. Prices were incredibly high compared with what I was making, and high even compared with the price of used Benzes today!

I have no guilt whatsoever.........................but I do have a bit of smugness when I know I paid far less for mine then most people paid for their used jalopies.

Good point. It's the 80-20 rule in action. I have 80% of the function of the S420 at my disposal and it cost me 20% of what it did when new. What other car can offer that value?

Sixto
95 S420
87 300SDL

Guilt? No I will never feel guilty to drive what I buy with my hard earned money. Be it a $2,500 SDL or a $300,000 Rolls.