Maintenance Costs: Interesting Contrast - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

shertex · #1 10-29-2017, 08:52 AM

Like many of you, I track my maintenance and repair costs meticulously. While I'm still early in my CDI ownership, I am nonetheless struck by this contrast.

91 300D, well maintained by PO and purchased with 77k miles in 2009. I have spent $7765 over the course of 45k miles or, 17.3 cents per mile.

06 E320 CDI, well maintained by PO and purchased with 146k miles in 2015. I have spent $595 over the course of 22k miles, or 2.7 cents per mile.

I know the gap will close...but I doubt my CDI will ever catch the 91 in terms of cost per mile. We shall see.

lorainfurniture · #2 10-29-2017, 09:05 AM

I’m close to 14k on my 93 300te. I’ve owned it for 4 years/ 30k miles. About .46 cents

My 2010 e63 just got tires and a battery. I think up to date I spent $3k. Only about 8,000 miles so far in 3 years. .37

Damn I got some costly cars compared to you!

oldsinner111 · #3 10-29-2017, 09:08 AM

my 83
sd with converting it to all fuels,for 8 years beside filters,and oil changes, $2000

sixto · #4 10-29-2017, 09:13 AM

Can you break the '91 costs into maintenance, operation repair (e.g., head gasket) and age repair?

Sixto
98 E320s sedan and wagon

sloride · #5 10-29-2017, 09:47 AM

Do you include tires and batteries, bulbs in maintenance? I kind of look at it other than filters, if you need more than one wrench to change it then it is not a maintenance item.

sixto · #6 10-29-2017, 11:52 AM

Is SBC pump replacement if or when in a 211 CDI? I suppose that washes with a 602 head gasket.

Sixto
98 E320s sedan and wagon

engatwork · #7 10-29-2017, 11:53 AM

Get back to us on the CDI in 17 years.

Diseasel300 · #8 10-29-2017, 12:12 PM

Keep in mind the CDI is 15 years newer than the 300D. Once the CDI is old enough and starts needing chassis parts, internal repairs, and electronic gizmos, it'll catch up or thrash the repair bills of the 300D.

It's also worth noting that standard maintenance items such as oil/filters/fluids/tires should be left out of long term accounting charts. They're functions of mileage and not really specific to the car in question. Any car driven for the same mileage should have roughly the same oil/filters/fluids/tires if you're keeping up with maintenance on your vehicles!

Age is a big part of maintenance costs. The older a car gets, the more it costs to keep it going if for no other reason than things just wear out. Deferred maintenance is probably the biggest killer of the pocketbook. Failing to take care of things as they surface usually cost more in the long run.

ROLLGUY · #9 10-29-2017, 12:15 PM

I imagine these comparisons can be skewed by paying someone for labor vs doing your own work. If I do my own work on my 300D over the years, but pay a shop to do work on my CDI, then it would not be a fair comparison. Since I do ALL my own work, I can compare cost per mile with with greater accuracy. I do believe that the gap will close as you say. However, it may be as others have eluded to because of high dollar repairs such as the SBC. I do have the same experience as you though, in that the CDI seems to just be more reliable. Having to play catch-up with age related repairs on the older car can still be the case with even the most well maintained car. Even with not getting any service records with either CDI I have owned, they are and have been very reliable (my niece now owns my first one), and have required very little maintenance.

tjts1 · #10 10-29-2017, 12:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ROLLGUY

I imagine these comparisons can be skewed by paying someone for labor vs doing your own work.

Bingo!

shertex · #11 10-29-2017, 01:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sloride

Do you include tires and batteries, bulbs in maintenance? I kind of look at it other than filters, if you need more than one wrench to change it then it is not a maintenance item.

I include EVERYTHING.

shertex · #12 10-29-2017, 01:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sixto

Is SBC pump replacement if or when in a 211 CDI? I suppose that washes with a 602 head gasket.

Sixto
98 E320s sedan and wagon

It's when...I'm hoping to get 250k before it's needed.

dkr · #13 10-29-2017, 04:41 PM

The other thing I have noticed about wrenching on new cars vs old cars is that the new cars tend to have compound parts that are expensive and difficult to replace whereas the older cars tend to have a lot of smaller things that need adjusting and replacing. I would imagine if you take away all of the rubber replacements I have done on my 1984 300D and the regular "car" stuff like tires, oil changes, brakes, there would be very little left except for the regular vacuum issues that pop up which is a tiny cost when I DIY.

The two obvious differences is the age issue and that if you had something break on the CDI, it *could* cost substantially more than a comparable part on the '91 300D. I would imagine the CDI is much less DIY-friendly and the community and replacement parts are not quite the same.

Dkr.

shertex · #14 10-29-2017, 05:22 PM

In the interests of full disclosure, on a DYI scale of 1-10, I am probably at best a 3. (But I bet Sixto would give me no more than a 2.) So certainly my costs on the 91 reflect the factor that my indie has done a lot of the work.