Depreciation should not be in the formula for this exercise. You have not sold it yet so it is not realized.

One should include all insurance, maintainence, parts, fuel, tires, consumables etc into the calculation. If you do the work yourself then labor costs is excluded. My costs works out to be dirt cheap as I source most parts from JY and consumables from Walmart.

My $0.02.

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Not MBZ nor A/C trained professional but a die-hard DIY and green engineer. Use the info at your own peril. Picked up 2 Infractions because of disagreements. NOW reversed.

W124 Keyless remote, PM for details. http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/mercedes-used-parts-sale-wanted/334620-fs-w124-chasis-keyless-remote-%2450-shipped.html

1 X 2006 CDI
1 x 87 300SDL
1 x 87 300D
1 x 87 300TDT wagon
1 x 83 300D
1 x 84 190D ( 5 sp ) - All R134 converted + keyless entry.

No....didn't think that was relevant. (Sorry for the late reply.)

I think the 92 will ultimately lose out to the Honda.

I'm pinning my hopes on my 91. Won't be competitive for a while...have only owned it for 8,000 miles. But I'm determined to have Otis beat the Odyssey!

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14 E250 Bluetec 4Matic "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 159k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 178k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver on Tan, 145k mi, wastegate conversion, ALDA delete

19 Honda CR-V EX 75k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife

Alright so I bought my 93 190E for $3950... purchased at ~190k, currently at ~220k

I've got about $6,000 in maintenance over a span of 30,000 miles roughly which include:

dropping in a m103 3L
trans reseal
axle shaft replacement
set of tires
water pump
alternator
battery
some other odds and ends

33 cents per mile total cost
20 cents per mile maintenance cost

something like that....

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Cruise Control not working? Send me PM or email (jamesdean59@gmail.com). I might be able to help out.
Check here for compatibility, diagnostics, and availability!

(4/11/2020: Hi Everyone! I am still taking orders and replying to emails/PMs/etc, I appreciate your patience in these crazy times. Stay safe and healthy!)


82 300SD 145k
89 420SEL 210k
89 560SEL 118k
90 300SE 262k RIP 5/25/2010
90 560SEL 154k
91 300D 2.5 Turbo. 241k
93 190E 3.0 235k
93 300E 195k

This is interesting/amusing. It's been over 3-1/2 years since I started this thread, car has been driven an additional 27,000 miles. And, with my recent head gasket repair, cost per mile is EXACTLY the same as it was in the first post: 19.7 cents!

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14 E250 Bluetec 4Matic "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 159k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 178k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver on Tan, 145k mi, wastegate conversion, ALDA delete

19 Honda CR-V EX 75k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife

$5319 in repairs over 27,000 miles is... a lot. Do you do your own work or pay a shop?

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CENSORED due to not family friendly words

Some of my own, mostly a shop. Learning more every year, though. Keep in mind, over $2000 of that was today: head gasket plus some other stuff.

The rest? Trust me, it adds up: tires, header pipe, ignition tumbler, pressure converters, shifter bushings, a fuel leak, new windshield, glow plugs, cruise amp and actuator, plus lots of incidentals.

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14 E250 Bluetec 4Matic "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 159k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 178k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver on Tan, 145k mi, wastegate conversion, ALDA delete

19 Honda CR-V EX 75k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife

Plus, as I approach ten years of ownership, here's how I look at it: I spend just over $2,000 a year on a car that I absolutely love. Not too bad, really.

FWIW, I've spent about $4500 over four years of ownership on my 91 300D with 108,000 miles. Less expensive....but not by a lot. It's at about 15 cents per mile.

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14 E250 Bluetec 4Matic "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 159k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 178k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver on Tan, 145k mi, wastegate conversion, ALDA delete

19 Honda CR-V EX 75k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife

I like to include fuel cost. Because all three of my cars run on WVO. But then I have to include the cost of converting them. My 05 E320 is high my 83 SDL is really low. My wife Jeep Liberty CRD, Is the best vehicle I own, 90k miles in 3 years at about 100-120 Miles per Gallon of fuel purchased and $5200 in repairs and about $3500 in fuel. Conversion was about $1100. The timing belt was $1500 of the $5200. The Jeep is about $.11 cents per mile.

My E320 CDI I changed the engine on. And it is rather a money pit.

My 1983 SDL came converted and all I have done is change the oil and filters and coolant in the last 20k miles and it goes about 200 miles per gallon of fuel purchased. I done about $400 worth of fluid changes. It is around $.04 cents per mile with the fuel cost included.

Agreed!!!

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Did you just pass my 740 at 200 kmh in a 300SD?????

1978 300SD 'Phil' - 1,315,853 Miles And Counting - 1, 317,885 as of 12/27/2012 - 1,333,000 as of 05/10/2013, 1,337,850 as of July 15, 2013, 1,339,000 as of August 13, 2013



100,000 miles since June 2005 Overhaul - Sold January 25th, 2014 After 1,344,246 Miles & 20 Years of Ownership

Older high millage cars just will naturally require more. Using paid service may be somewhere near the depreciation cost on new buggies. This may be one major reason older cars have fallen out of favour generally.

Doing your own work can with the right car leave you with money in your pocket. I just sit back and watch my son in law get fleeced on his newer cars that have acquired substantial milage.

Right now he has a suspected bad valve in his Honda. So he is talking a used engine. I could not talk him into pullling the head himself and getting the valves done if I tried. So I do not bother. I have no doubt it will cost him whatever he decides two thousand or more. Probably a lot more.

Considering how much I had done ($5000 in total) and how few miles I have put on it since then (around 1000) my cost per mile for my ownership is right at $5 a mile

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Current: 1975 450SEL, 83 300D, 88 Yugo GVX, 90 300D OM603 swap, 91 F150 4.6 4v swap, 93 190E Sportline LE 3.0L M104 swap, 93 190E Sportline LE Megasquirt, 03 Sprinter, 06 E500 4Matic wagon.

We trust that figure will go down a bit over time!

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14 E250 Bluetec 4Matic "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 159k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 178k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver on Tan, 145k mi, wastegate conversion, ALDA delete

19 Honda CR-V EX 75k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife

Eliminating:
* Purchase price
* Fuel
* Oil changes

My average MB diesel maintenance cost is between:
$3000 divided by 150000 = 0.02 cent per mile.
$4077 divided by 150000 = 0.02718 cent per mile.

There are many factors that do not impact my cost, due to scrapping corroded vehicles = spare parts on the shelf, engines, transmissions, etc, etc...

.

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ASE Master Mechanic
https://whunter.carrd.co/

Prototype R&D/testing:
Thermal & Aerodynamic System Engineering (TASE) Senior vehicle instrumentation technician.
Noise Vibration and Harshness (NVH).
Dynamometer.
Heat exchanger durability.
HV-A/C Climate Control.
Vehicle build.
Fleet Durability
Technical Quality Auditor.
Automotive Technical Writer

1985 300SD
1983 300D
2003 Volvo V70

https://www.boldegoist.com/

Heres my yearly ,10 Oil filters and oil ,4 tires ,1 brake pad change if needed,2 fuel filters ,1 air filter ,1 trans filter and fluid, misc ,misc,about $700 yearly ,throw in some car washes maybe $750.I travel 19400 miles last year which puts me right around 3.8 cents per mile not including fuel ,thats a number I dont like to think about.Checked my 300cd with 400k plus for blowby ,still zero ,none.Love the diesel mbs.

I got hooked on a 1996 E300D salvage , ran her 200000 miles , cost 9000. I just bought 1996 E300D , $5k , with 123000 miles , and another 1997 E300D with 83000 miles,$8k this is my spare drive. I drive 3 to 4 thousand miles a month , I get paid .57 per mile . I do most all my own work , daily driver is 1997 E300D with 376000 miles . Cost per mile is low , I will run these cars till the wheels fall off , Happy 606 ...