It’s worth it.

If you replace the car with a new one, you would, as already mentioned, have to deal with immediate depreciation losses. Replace it with a pre-owned one and you inherit someone else’s issues and restart the repair cycle.

That being said, the last 4 years have been essentially trouble free for my 95 E320. Only repairs were an air pump bearing and a neutral safety switch. I dodged the dreaded head gasket bullet by using Steel Seal to close a breach. Routine maintenance consisted of oil, ATF and tire changes.

Now, however, it is time to pay the Piper for that (almost) free ride, so I just replaced my water pump, all hoses and expansion tank; am preparing to reseal the upper timing cover; the mid-exhaust is cracked so I need a new one; the steering damper is on its way out; and one of my ball joints is groaning. Cosmetically, the car looks great and in the next couple of weeks I’ll do a proper polishing with an orbiter to restore her mirror-like shine.

While the car’s market value may not seem to justify the repair work, its utility value most definitely does. It is paid for, reliable, has low maintenance and insurance costs, gets 28/22mpg in highway/city driving, I know its issues and behavior, and it is simply a nicer car than many newer ones on the road.

I would only replace it if I encountered a problem that was prohibitively expensive or if it developed a problem that could not be solved.

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2008 E350 4matic / Black/Anthracite

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Gone but not Forgotten:
2001 E430 4matic, 206,xxx miles, Black/Charcoal
1995 E320, 252,xxx miles, Black/Grey
1989 260E, 223,00 miles, Black/Black