Different strokes for different folks I guess. I got out of the GTI quickly as well, after only 2 years but I don't regret it. I completely understand the OP's point about not having time to work on something, I'd add in the space (not having a driveway) makes it difficult as well, especially if your local code enforcement officials are sensitive to non-running cars parked on the street. I wish I had a nice big driveway/yard to keep a project going but more than anything I need something solid and comfortable that I don't really have to think about. Also nice (but of course not required) is something ludicrously fast and/or fun, which is something I would say non-AMG benzes are lacking. Its a luxury having a new(er) car or faster, or more luxurious car than something bare bones for sure, but if you can afford it why not?

__________________
TC
Current stable:
- 2004 Mazda RALLYWANKEL
- 2007 Saturn sky redline
- 2004 Explorer...under surgery.

Past: 135i, GTI, 300E, 300SD, 300SD, Stealth

I dropped my bike off at the shop for its 22,500 mile service yesterday. I walked back, and saw an SN-95 Mustang V-6 5-speed on a lot with a sign asking five grand. Good gas mileage, fun to drive. New enough to probably not need much work to keep it going. Too bad it's on the wrong side of the country for the OP.

__________________
Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 401,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 26,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.
99 Mazda Miata 183,xxx miles.

I've been talking to Tyler a bit about all of this.

I need to really go look and drive the BRZ to see if it's worth it to get one right now. It would be a few years to pay off (hopefully less after college) so I want to make sure it's worth it. I think I'll be in a better position to buy "new" and not really worry about a drawn out car payment in a few years too.

We've been talking about a few other cars as well. Mazdaspeed Miata seems to be a good first choice in the "used" category. I can basically put down 10-11k if I free everything up, and would have the rest to pay off, and the mazdaspeed's are right around 8-12k right now. I loved my Miata when I owned it, which honestly is the main reason I'm thinking of getting something newer and more fun. Wish I could find another cheap one!

I'm not really interested in Mustangs, unfortunately.

I did manage to do my brakes and a few other small items on the E320 today, but it still ate up my entire day. I'll have to see what kind of return in mpg I get off of it, but I still need an alignment badly. I'll probably wait until I do the rear multilinks though before getting one :/

Another thing is I would really love to put time in to the 190E. It needs it badly. It'll never be worth anything to anyone but me, and I'm aware of that. Not now obviously, but in the future it would be my main "tinkerer".

A new car seems cool until you're making huge payments every month....and get bored with the car. I bought a new TDI 6+ months ago, and while a nice/decent car, it is not worth its cost IMHO. I'll be looking to trade it for a 6-10 year old MB next summer most likely. My brother bought a 2002 W210 not long after I got the VW, and his car was less than half the cost and drives better. Only advantage a new car has is warranty, but that goes away quickly. And the TDI is not a car I want to own without warranty. It has some issues that can cost more than an entire used MB to fix.

__________________
-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

Misread, don't ditch the benz unless you're buying the next car outright. You will have a car paymnet, increased insurance, high registration/tax, and you will flip out when a shopping cart hits it.

The benz is paid for, has cheap insurance/registration, can can plow through a parking lot of carts with no regrets

My truck is paid for, cheap to maintain, cheap to insure, and I don't mind when it occasionally gets dinged as long as the doors still close.

__________________
$60 OM617 Blank Exhaust Flanges
$110 OM606 Blank Exhaust Flanges
No merc at the moment

food for thought depending on your local tax structure.

My friend has a 2005 wrangler, and pays about 800 dollars a year in property taxes on it on top of his payments at first, and his complete insurance.

The fiance and I have 5 cars between us, and I pay about 80 a year in tax on them.


That said, to each his own. If you want something new, go for it. Personally I wouldn't buy anything new while in college. Student loans are enough, ill put up with a cracked dash and worn leaky jalopy to save hundreds of dollars in car payments on top of loan payments. While I was in college I kept a ratty volvo wagon going the entire time on a shoestring budget. I completely trusted it. It was just as reliable as many a new car, just dented up and chewed in places

Another option is it sounds like you have a bunch of car commitments with several old cars at the same time. Why not thin the herd? keep one, the 190E it sounds like you appreciate the most, and put your repair budget for all 3 into that one car.

If you aren't repairing 3 old cars at the same time, you suddenly find you have a lot more free time

__________________
This post brought to you by Carl's Jr.

Good point, but absolutely keep at least one other method of transportation on the road. Maybe register the backup car as a leisure/antique/whatever and keep your miles down. I've been the guy riding his motorcycle to town in December for an oil line. It was cold, but beat walking by a long shot

__________________
$60 OM617 Blank Exhaust Flanges
$110 OM606 Blank Exhaust Flanges
No merc at the moment

personally I wouldn't even bother, though you make a good point.

My opinion is if you like to daily an old car, you gotta be married to that old car and committed to working on it a bit every month. Certain point, the thing is ready to go, and might as well be a new car, but you are never gonna stop working on it, so you better enjoy the maintenance.

Another thing I don't do anymore is I don't build up a mountain of parts, and try and do 50 things at the same time on a old car 'while im there'. Makes sense for some stuff, but what that does for me is create a discouraging list of things to repair that grows and grows for a personal car and the typical reaction is "f**k this mess, im gonna sell it" after a certain point.

Much better practice for actually using the thing as a daily is replace the one item, see something else thats pending, order it up, and replace that when it gets there. Make a reasonable maintenance schedule, plan it out, then its easy.

you spend probably more total maintenance time, but less individual repair sessions, and never a daunting task that kills initiative. Plus its way more likely you get much more use out of the car. It never sits for a month as you get around to doing 15 hours of work on it.

For instance, the fiance's car needed rear springs, rear brakes, rear shocks, rear rust repair, and rear axles.

I seperated it into 5 different repair sessions. Graded those from "emergency" to "rainy day", and proceeded on that basis. More likely everything gets done when you do that.

Brakes first, buttoned car up, back to driving.
springs and shocks, buttoned car up, back to driving.

Next will be axles, pretty soon its all done, but I didn't have to work on the car for 5 complete days to install 50 parts. 2-4 hour maintenance sessions only, pre scheduled.


basically, the sum of my endless comments is if you are planning on being your own mechanic, the first thing you have to be is your own service advisor and plan out the jobs you are going to give the mechanic. Then an old car can easily be used as a daily

__________________
This post brought to you by Carl's Jr.

If you're thinking of modding at all, get a standard Miata. Not much out there on the MSM, plus a turbo kit on a stock Miata will cost about the same and deliver higher numbers.

__________________
TC
Current stable:
- 2004 Mazda RALLYWANKEL
- 2007 Saturn sky redline
- 2004 Explorer...under surgery.

Past: 135i, GTI, 300E, 300SD, 300SD, Stealth

Eh.


Bought my GMC a year ago, and never looked back. Only thing I did that wasn't routine maintenance was put a starter in. Covered 30k miles in that year, 10k towing ~8k lbs.

For me (with my lack of free time), there is nothing better than just being able to jump in the truck, and go. Seriously, as much as I love wrenching on cars, the last thing I want to do is be wrenching at 11.30pm on Sunday, to be able to get to work on Monday.

__________________
-Justin

91 560 SEC AMG - other dogs dd
01 Honda S2000 - dogs dd
07 MB ML320 CDI - dd
16 Lexus IS250 - wifes dd

it's automatic.

This is exactly how I feel. I spent my whole day yesterday getting just random crap done on the car, and I was really worried for a minute that I wouldn't be able to make it to school this evening due to an alignment issue. Thank god for string and jack stands...

As far as the 190E goes, there is no way I could make that a daily driver without spending several thousand on it and a few weeks of time. It really needs a lot of love, so fixing that up is out of the question right now.

I talked it over with a few other friends of mine, and it seems like going used but newer now is the easiest option, then trading in/selling in a few years for a new car when I have a real full time job. Not that I don't do decently well right now, but you get the idea.

I owned a 95 M-Edition last year and loved it. I think an NB Miata would be a good candidate, and I do like the MSM. Like I said I need to go drive a few of these cars and see what I feel like after.

Thanks for all the advice guys, I do appreciate it.

Losing too much "time" would be a deal-breaker for me, if that was what I needed more of. Not sure what you mean by "convenience," but if it's something not dependable enough to meet your transportation needs, and taking too much time, I'd probably get rid of it.

__________________
'06 E320 CDI
'17 Corvette Stingray Vert

Is get a good NB Miata to drive.

My favorite was the 2001 LS. Nardi wheel, nice little body kit and wheels, perforated leather seats, and a nice stereo.

__________________
1985 500SL Euro w/ AMG bits 130k
1984 300SD Turbodiesel 192k
1980 240D Stick China 188k
2001 CLK55 AMG 101k
2007 S600 Biturbo 149k Overheated Project, IT'S ALIVE!!!

Others may feel different. With every last new car we have purchased over the years. In a very short time the ideal it was new is gone.