Why do people dump their benzes?
 

My uncle had a very nice 1991 Mercedes 300te. The car developed a transmission problem and they traded it off. They traded it for a 2003 Mazda 3 I think. They did this because they did not wan't to spend the $3000 that they were quoted to fix the benz. While that might have been a large precentage of the acutal blue book value of the car, it seems that it would have made more since to fix it, since the the head was already done a few years ago. Not to mention, if one really wanted to be cheap, probably similar to me, you could just go to the junk yard and buy another transmission for $200.

This seems very simple to me, one could just spend less and fix the old benz, and drive a better car. Also, I noticed that a lot of well of people in my town seem to continue to drive their old Benzes, Volvos and BMWs and this makes since, buy a car that you like maintain it and drive it for 10- 20 years. To me this is what makes owning one of our cars pencil out, is that they old up twice as long as other cars such as a taurus and such. The japanese cars are good cars, but they are not as safe as ours.

you are a true believer.

most folks arent. they simply tire of fixing it even if it doesnt make sense in the long run.

tom w

We've been down this road at least a dozen times.

Economically, it makes no sense to attempt to maintain and repair a 20 year old vehicle if you pay for the labor. The cost of a brand new Japanese vehicle will be less costly over the long haul.

If, however, you purchase the parts yourself and provide your own labor, the cost of the older M/B will likely be less than the new Japanese vehicle over the long haul.

Yeah, but most of are cars are not depreciationg anymore either, so depreation is another factor the extra cost in drving a new car.

They depreciate every mile that you drive them, unless you're able to maintain them in pristine condition.

The SD was purchased for $4K. with 150K on the clock. It's currently at 195K. When it reaches 300K, you think someone will pay $2K for it? I sincerely doubt it.

And, at 400K, without an engine rebuild, the vehicle is worthless.

So, depreciation is always present. I figure the SD at $500 per year and the SDL at about $800 per year. It's not significant, but, it's not zero either.

For some/many, the first breakdown is a harbinger of trouble to come. My sister had a transmission fail under warranty then the replacement unit started making strange noises. She traded it for a new car of a different make the same day they completed repairs on the second failure.

There's published statistics and there's personal experience. You rely on the one that doesn't let you down as often.

Sixto
93 300SD

Hit the nail on the head.

And you get to drive one of the finest cars ever made, not a stamped out Japanese or Korean car, or an American POS.:D

I drove a Q45 a couple of years ago. I think it was a late 1990's. The seller was asking in the low $20's. I have not driven a comparable S-class. But if the ride is better than that Q-45, the seats have to be made out of nekkid wimmen.

Does that mean that the Q-45 has seats made out of clothed wimmen?

Many people dump cars because of the PITA factor - pain in the a$$.

How true. I've probably put about $1500+ of purchased parts on my older SLC in the last year, maybe more I don't keep track. Suspension, steering, A/C, rotors/pads, ps pump, ect.... Still needs some exhaust, flex disk, timing chain(soon), and then whatever else pops ups.

If I had to pay labor costs that would have amounted to triple or more the parts costs. As long as I can repair myself, I'm willing to foot the bills. Otherwise I'd have to reconsider it's value vs. expenses vs. enjoyment

Pretty much says it all! ;)

Had this discussion with some friends, and many of them use the rule of cost-of-repairs versus cost-of-car-notes. If the cost of repairs exceed what it would cost to hold a note on a newer vehicle, then the old vehicle is ousted.

And when it comes to a daily driver, there is enough to fuss about in our hectic rat-race schedules to add vehicle ailments to the list. SO in those cases, the pride of owning an MB just isn't worth it. A Kia will fit the bill for many folks!

My 300E tranny is beginning to call it quits, and along with the other quirky repairs still left to deal with, I am willing to invest $3-4K over the next couple of years to get it sweet again. To me, that is less trouble than haggling over a new car, losing 20% of it's value after it leaves the lot, and making those mortgage-sized payments just to get the glitzt gee-whiz techno gadgets that I probably won't ever use during the daily grind.

That said, I took home a GL450 and the R500 for a couple of weekend tests. Both nice vehicles, but I REALLY went ga-ga over the GPS system! Took me right to the door of a restaurant I punched in earlier! :D

Maybe they wanted the new features that the car offers. 20 yo car doesn't have as many gadgets that the new car has and that they figure that more things might go wrong after this. Lets say my engine broke. How do I know that the next thing to go won't be the trans or the AC system or something else? It is 20 yrs old.

That depends on how much one's time is worth.