My response was "mmmm riiigggghhhht thanks for your time." and they were like "Wait Mr. Chase I still have the other prices for the other items you inquired about" CLICK! To give them a bit of credit they are a small dealership in a bad location and service is probably the only think that keeps the three pointed star on the roof. They probably won't be seeing my car anytime soon though as we have several dealerships to choose from here. I have had really good luck at a couple of the local MB dealerships for hard to find parts in the past. Im still looking for a "competent" dealer in the Atlanta area to change my transmission fluid.

$1000? I think your being a bit conservative there. $1000 would be the payment most people would have on a car like that not including service costs, fuel and insurance. And of course that would be if you walked up with no balance on your trade in. Of course a hefty downpayment makes the situation a bit better and make the dealership smile as they usually pocket that and the money on your trade in. Why not take that downpayment and apply it to a certified preowned and take advantage of Starmark and have no payments?

If your looking for an idiot proof nice car another option would be a new BMW 3 series. With the recent body change and BMW's legendary leases and the all service paid program you could be driving around in a new BMW for around what you would pay for some disposable japanese iron. No lifetime roadside assistance or timeless design (my 126 still gets stares in traffic) but none the less a cheap comfortable car with reasonable performance and style.

Two things-first as a former BMW owner don't assume that they will be trouble free. I had 3 and all of them had significant problems.

Second- Unless you live in Antartica don't assume that you can go without air conditioning. A black W140 without air conditioning is like a 17 foot long furnace on wheels!

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Old age and treachery will allways overcome youth and skill!

1993 S500
1984 380SL

Unlike many owners I keep my car well maintained. A/C issues are a big issue to me. Good thing for me is they ironed out a number of the problems with the 140 A/C system in late production which is why I bought my car to begin with.

BMW is a great option, my uncle leases two. Oh they are quite trouble free, when something breaks you simply drop it off at the dealer and drive away in the loaner. Cost to you $0, except you have to bring it up there. But from what I have seen they do not break often.

A nicely loaded 3 series can be leased for about $400-$500 a month, and thats it. Your only out of pocket expenses is gas and tires.

Really not a bad way to own a high end car.

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

Yes,

Personally if I "had" to drive new its likely the way I would do it. Although I do think the new S class is quite sexy. I just wish MBUSA would bring the S350 to the US market. They seem to be way behind the rest of the world.

Please be sure to check the evaporator for leaks before you buy the car, I did not, and the A/C was down by a third w/in a couple of weeks with very little use. Haven't used it since. It was hot in Austin this year....

Have you tried a stop leak product?

Additionally the later model cars have the new part and Evaporator failures are not as common.