Heh, the Porsche he restored was nothing spectacular (at least in the realm of Porsches). It was a 911SC I believe (produced from '77-'83), which would be worth maybe $20-25K tops. But he, like so many others here, got bitten by the old European car bug. I don't think you can place a monetary value on things such as character, style, and individuality that come with a good condition, older MB, BMW, Audi, Porsche, etc. Rationally speaking, it makes no sense to continue putting money into these cars, but when measured in terms of overall satisfaction, I think the situation becomes more complicated. If you are not particularly intruiged by anything else on the market, or feel that no other car can give you the satisfaction of a W124, then the maintenance/repair money can be seen as an alternative to spending more money on a newer (but perhaps less 'satisfying') car, or a cheaper car with no personality.