I do, and I actually prefer it to new cars.

Only things it's needed since I bought it were some initial suspension work, a thermostat, injector return hose, and some clutch hydraulic parts (would have taken a day at the mechanic, but the man was a cheapskate and didn't replace the pressure hose the first time round so it kept leaking down). Oh, and oil changes/fuel filter changes.

I haven't wrenched on the 240d in any serious manner for about a year, and I've put about 10k miles on it in that time period.

is the 240 your only car?

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1984 300SD Orient Red/ Palomino
1989 560SEC
2016 Mazda 6 6 speed manual
1995 Ford F-150 reg cab 4.9 5speed manual

Yep! (Unless a motorcycle counts as a car )

I'm probably less paranoid about reliability since I live in the city and have other ways of getting around, but the car has only let me down once (blown clutch master) and was drivable to the mechanic even them.

Depending on your individual situation. It can be a requirment to have one really reliable car Or not so important.

Reliable cars quite new are a waste of money in many ways but a requirement for most. If they are not driven much the cost per mile is pretty bad. A friend just got rid of a car his wife would not drive much because it hurt her back.

Paid about twenty thousand six years ago. Had about 40k miles on it. Got five thousand eight hundred for it. Thats about forty cents a mile for just depreciation.

There would have been little maintenance cost except oil changes though. Add gas up here in Canada at 15-20 cents per mile and we have 55-60 cents per mile.

I have left out insurance, registration etc as they would apply to any car. If they had driven it 80-100 k miles their cost per mile would have been signifigantly lower as the resale price would have been about the same.

Most of us have to look at cars as a utilitarian expense that is pretty well unavoidable.

Do the AC and cruise control work?

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2016 Corvette Stingray 2LT
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200