That model does nothing for me.

Now this is a beautiful car!

I hope that if I make it to 77, I won't have to go to work.;)

I don't want to "have" to go to work, but I certainly don't want to have to retire at any age.

If any of these new fifty-circuits-and-hundreds-of-motors cars make it as long as our "Dirty old planet killing menacing tractor engines" did... well, they might. But here's what I doubt... that they will do it with as pleasing a cost-per-mile ratio. I'm betting it will cost more per mile to keep these newfangled ones going than the old 617s that are just about foolproof... if I'm wrong, so be it. But to people who need their cars and money to stretch as far as they will, the old ones are a far better economy - and, I feel, still will be in ten years.

My $.02

It's highly unlikely anyone driving 25+ year old MBs can write a check paying $50K - $60K cash for a new Mercedes-Benz. Doesn't compute.......it is a "big deal," most can't handle.

Not everyone on this forum is on Skid Row......... Joe.

If you treat one of these older cars like a normal MB owner would,(this forum is a DIY forum, 99% of MB owners don't work on there cars) IE pay someone to fix it and keep it in very good shape...they cost as much as a new MB...so its a wash.

The way I see it, new MB's are expensive because they are new, old MB's are expensive because you need to fix so damn much, 3-10 years old seems to be the sweet spot. You miss the depreciation, and you miss all the rebuilding that they need after 10 years and 150k miles.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Craig View Post
If I'm alive in 2035 (I'll only be 77), I plan on driving a 53 year old benz to work. I can also afford to buy new ones; anyone can write a check, big deal.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ched454 Post
Not everyone on this forum is on Skid Row......... Joe.

No kidding..........?!:) Sayin' it and doin' it are two different things...... :)

I thought the entire reason some of us loved these so much was that this statement tended to be just a little nicer to us than it would be if we were taking our 25 years and 300k miles out of, oh, say, a Chevy Malibu instead of these cars.

I mean, nothing lasts forever with no effort... but if there wasn't SOMETHING a cut above the 10yr/150k then why are we all here? I mean, sure, it's a fun hobby... but for I'd say 60% or 70% of us, the economy/extended life involved is at least something of a factor.

Do it if you want..... yawn..... who cares?

These cars will run forever! All you have to do is rebuild the front end around 200k, as well as the trans. Rebuild the engine sometime after 300k, repaint it as needed, and spend a ton on the interior every 15 years or so.:D Not to mention all the $100-$200 "little" repairs along the way, $60 oil changes, and $20 a gallon super special coolant. Then add in the "Mercedes" factor which makes you spend more on waxes and cleaners!:cool: Oh and how could I forget those $100 floor matts that just look so damn nice they are impossible to resist!

Mercedes are ment to be rebuilt, like aircraft, so in theory they can last forever, and be very enjoyable to drive while doing it.

As for being cheap and low maintenance, MB never promised that, quite the opposite actualy. Thats Honda, wrong company.:D

You can run them very cheap, I did, and this coming winter I will again. However you cannot drive a MB in good shape for a long time and keep it that way for cheap. No that costs a bit, of course there is that ever elusive middle ground that I am currantly trying to find.

My point exactly....yawn......knock yerself out.........nobody cares.

I guess I wasn't necessarily trying to find a way to cheap out... cost per mile is different than added-up-cost-to-repair. I'm saying if I can only afford to rebuild a Malibu two times before it's throwing money into the pig trough... then I think the Mercedes ought to take more miles to get to that point-of-no-more-economical-repair.

You assume a lot. ;)