There's no such thing as a cheap Mercedes. It all depends on how you want to spend your money. You could spend 4k on a beautiful car and not have to deal with anything for several years, or you could spend less initially but it will more than likely catch up with you in repairs. As long as nothing major like the engine or tranny goes out, most everything else is diy and you may wind up ahead. That wasy you can pick and choose how to fix and spend your money as you go along. You have to really enjoy working on these cars, though. At times it can really get you down with the amount of maintenance it might need. Having the best looking car in the parking lot at work keeps me nice and motivated, though.
