Well, I am seriously considering the purchase of a 1985 Mercedes 500SEL 4dr sedan, so I hope not. At least with the 500SEL.

See my sig.

Bought the Lexus a couple of weeks ago. Sold the 420SEL just last week.



I would have bought a E420 but ya'll scared me off it in a hurry. Too many hassles...

__________________
Chas

Had a 380SL, 450SL, 380SEL, 420SEL, 500SEL

Got a Euro 500SEC right now.

Well I too became tired of working on my 300E 3.2 every weekend. Even though it was a one owner car maintained by MB on a regular basis it seemed every time I fix one thing another would pop up. Last week I sold my Benz and bought a 02 Lincoln LS V8 and am ery impressed with the car so far. I would like to add this group was very helpful to me keeping my Benz running and very much appreciate everyones help but now maybe I can have my weekends back to do other things.

Kind regards,
Gary Levy

Okay, say after me "I bought an expensive European luxury car" (pause for you to repeat)....now say after me "An expensive car is expensive to maintain" (pause for you to repeat)...okay now say "When cars have complex engineering they are difficult and expensive to repair and maintain"


Imagine this....if you buy a can of soft drink (no names) and you put it in the refrigerator for a year it probably will be okay to drink and will taste like it's suppose to taste. If you put a bottle of Moet et Chandon in the same fridge and leave it for a year you have a 50-50 chance it will be flat and taste bad. Does that mean the Moet is a bad beverage? No it just requires more effort to remain at a certain level of taste. Don't get me wrong, a Toyota Carolla is an extremely dependable car, but I wouldn't want to drive form Kentucky to Chicago and back in one!

__________________
Old age and treachery will allways overcome youth and skill!

1993 S500
1984 380SL

AGREED!

If you can't afford it, sell your MB and get a Toyota.

Well thank you I am glad someone has said that! You buy a $50k car for $10k used and expect it to cost the same to keep going as a $10k Toyota?

A MB will cost much more to keep going then a cheaper car, they are complex, and use expensive non common parts.

Thats why I don't see why people complain about the S600's. They cost over $130K+ new. People who buy those kinds of cars new don't lose sleep over dropping $10k on a repair. If you buy a $100k+ car even if you bought it for $20k 9 years down the road, you are still buying something that was over $100k new. So it will eat parts like a $100k car.

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

isn't the idea behind a 130K dollar car : spend up front so you wont have to worry about breakdown costs later on ?

__________________
Whether you think you can or cannot, Either way you're right!. by Henry Ford.

That is what you would think isn't it?

I guess most people that pay $100K+ for a car- paying $10K for a part is nothing- its like pocket change.

Lexus parts are just as high. Parts for my LS400 was much higher than I expected, however, I never had to buy anything for it, but I was researching parts prices, incase I ever needed them. $200+ for an alternator, $200+ for a starter (plus an additional $1000 in labor, because the manifolds has to be removed), $1000 each for air struts (on cars so equipped), $1000+ for a new guage cluster (instrument cluster lighting units known for going out after 10-15 years). My car was still OK in this area. The guages are nice looking though, especially for that era- no other cars had instrument lighting like that in the late 80s/early 90s- here is the cluster on my 90' LS400.

Other than that- I think Mercedes is similar to Lexus as far as reliability- they do not break down that often, but when they do, you have to pay for it!
That is the joy of owning an expensive Japanese/European luxury car.

Attached Thumbnails

 

[QUOTE=DaimlerChrysler]Okay, say after me "I bought an expensive European luxury car" (pause for you to repeat)....now say after me "An expensive car is expensive to maintain" (pause for you to repeat)...okay now say "When cars have complex engineering they are difficult and expensive to repair and maintain"


Imagine this....if you buy a can of soft drink (no names) and you put it in the refrigerator for a year it probably will be okay to drink and will taste like it's suppose to taste. If you put a bottle of Moet et Chandon in the same fridge and leave it for a year you have a 50-50 chance it will be flat and taste bad. Does that mean the Moet is a bad beverage? No it just requires more effort to remain at a certain level of taste. Don't get me wrong, a Toyota Carolla is an extremely dependable car, but I wouldn't want to drive form Kentucky to Chicago and back in one! [/QUOTE


Does that same rationale apply to the LS430/400?....or does the car have to be European and the japanese high end cars don't count?..the LS430 is not complicated enough?

if the same rationale applies I think you need to take a close look at the statistics...just because a car is complicated doesn't mean it has to be unrealiable



Warren
1992 300SD(sold)
2000 BMW 740i with full sports package and BMW CPO warranty

Well, not necessarily.....it's always easier to take technology that's already been developed and then improve on it. Mercedes-Benz has had the keyless go credit card type system for 4 or 5 years. Lexus brought it out last year. Same with adaptive cruise control...and by the way, I used to drive Bimmers.....good thing you have a warranty!

__________________
Old age and treachery will allways overcome youth and skill!

1993 S500
1984 380SL

What about technology that is not new that fails. I would agree with you that Mercedes is on the forefront of technology...but I think its uncanny how the Japanese can take their ideas,and make the system more reliable...and then the Benz system still falters...ie..on the 220 car....the heated and cool seats,airmatic suspension etc..etc...car has been out for years and the dealer here in town still gets to fix those items all the time

As for BMW warranty...yes I am glad I have it..it has paid about $1000 in the first year...when I had the last Benz(1992 140) it paid about $7000 in the first year I owned the car..$5100 was just an AC job(evap core,climate control push button unit),the rest was for closing assist pump and window regulators etc...all very usual repairs for the car according to my MB dealer
and actually that warranty paid about $20,000 on that after all was said and done...and yes I was very glad I had a warranty on the Mercedes


Warren
1992 300SD(sold)
2000 BMW 740i w/full sports package and BMW CPO warranty

You say you've had good service with your '76 300D. Well you are the happy owner of the last of the "squareline" cars designed by Rudolph Ulenhaut. Those are the bullet proof cars that "made" MB's reputation as dependable. They were ahead of their time (in those days) with modern independent suspensions (trailing arm), all wheel disc brakes, and safety designed into the entire vehicle. Oh, and they drove like crazy because he could drive as well as the factory race drivers.

I had a '72 squareline that I loved (yup, had problems- died for several reasons), but when you "understood" it, i.e. knew the techie tricks, you could get it to run forever.

But after 1989, Katie Bar the Door...all I have heard about is problems.

So as I have posted, after 4 MB's, I have switched to the "big" Buick's (5 now). Current 2000 Parke Ave Ultra with blower, is certainly more reliable than any Benz I had and drives almost as nice, until 9/10's- lousy GM shocks. Very fast (0-60 7.4) , but exellent economy (24.5 all time, 27.5 commute, 29.1 on one trip) but very good handling and brakes!

Just my opinion and limited to the PA ultra's.

No not at all, you are getting the best of everything. That is the point with a $100k+ car. Maintaince costs never factor in.

Is the Enzo a bad car because a brake job costs over $20k?

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

Hello,
I started my dad's 1953 170DS last week after it sat for 8 years.
It needed a bit of preparation, but a little bit of cranking had it firing in under ten seconds. I think it cleared all the bugs for about two blocks and my neighbor threatened to call the DOE
Try that with a Lexus
Have a good weekend

__________________
Nachi11744

I think it's just "smart" mechanics where they built these cars to keep breaking so the company could continue making money years after they were sold !

__________________
Whether you think you can or cannot, Either way you're right!. by Henry Ford.