The only way these cars make financial sense is if you do your own wrenching for most of the repairs and maintenance. I'm actually having a dent taken out of the front fender and some rust repaired on the frame for $600 but its something I can't do myself.

My A/C was also broken. It turned out the wire to the compressor was disconnected, but it was impossible to see from above. The defroster vent staying on all the time was due to a bad switchover valve located to the right of the radio (there are 5 or 6 of them in a row that control the various vents and they eventually burn out).

A lot of things on these cars are more complicated than they ought to be. I guess thats part of the challenge (fun?) of keeping them on the road.

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1985 380SE Blue/Blue - 230,000 miles
2012 Subaru Forester 5-speed
2005 Toyota Sienna
2004 Chrysler Sebring convertible
1999 Toyota Tacoma