Not to hijack this thread, but here goes:

Sounds like us...4 cars, three paid for, wife and I both have degrees and highly technical positions in the same company...except we have one (really busy) adolescent and a decent home (actually too big for a family of three).

Not sure where you two are age-wise, but the house thing is doable, and will come in time. Our current home is pretty much the "dream" home, and we've custom decorated it for our tastes, but it took years before we got there.

Our first home was a tiny tudor, that while charming, really, really, needed tons of work to make it look decent. We were recently married, and shortly thereafter, had a bouncing baby girl. Little money between us, so we borrowed to the gills to renovate the old house. By the time we sold it, we had three mortgages on it! Even managed to make a small profit on the sale too.

You'll get a house soon enough...there are a lot of financial vehicles out there these days to help you get there...many didn't exist when we acquired our first home.

Thread hijack over.

W124s are at or below $3K these days. I would venture that the Toyotas and Hondas would be a bit more reliable, but consider that they aren't all that robust when they get on in years! And despite the high-dollar illusion the MB commands, I find other import car parts to be just as pricey as the MB ones...

__________________
2009 ML350 (106K) - Family vehicle
2001 CLK430 Cabriolet (80K) - Wife's car
2005 BMW 645CI (138K) - My daily driver
2016 Mustang (32K) - Daughter's car

92 or earlier W124 for under $3000 is stout and easily repaired either by you or a qualified Indy, which keeps maintenance costs down. For longevity it's a tough car to beat.

__________________
08 W251 R350
97 W210 E320
91 W124 300E
86 W126 560SEL
85 W126 380SE Silver
85 W126 380SE Cranberry
79 W123 250
78 W123 280E
75 W114 280

Subaru mid 90's if you want AWD but I would not
get a outback. The 2.5L engine has weak head
gasket. I think the 2.2L is a better engine and comes
in the legacy L and impreza.

If you don't need AWD get a Toyota.

Any Mazda Protege is a great car, and there are very affordable in the used car market relative to Civics and Corolla's.

__________________
Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

For that matter, due to lackluster styling and poor advertising, Ford Escorts are very affordable. Same thing as the Mazda Protege. I had a 94 Escort before my 300E and I loved it. Bulletproof, and along with the GEO Prizm is a Consumer Reports best buy. Very reliable and inexpensive to maintain.

The Prizm is a Corolla in the same way that the Escort is a Protege. Don't overlook either of these cars.

__________________
08 W251 R350
97 W210 E320
91 W124 300E
86 W126 560SEL
85 W126 380SE Silver
85 W126 380SE Cranberry
79 W123 250
78 W123 280E
75 W114 280

Hmm... it's not that I can't affrord a mortgage on a house, but, I've actually been holding out the last 3 years or so, because I felt that prices were too high and I gambled on holding out for the "housing bubble" to burst so I could get a better deal. Well, it's finally bursting, and my friends are not laughing at me anymore. Nevertheless, I'm really tired of Boston and I hope to move out of here in another couple of years, so I probably will not buy. My reasoning for a cheaper car is to put away as much money as possible, as I think that living paycheck to paycheck is a great disease we are facing in this country. Don't mean to sound so serious, but I can't see myself not being prepared for a rainy day... or year... or whatever. I'll drive crap if it guarantees diapers on my baby's a$$.

__________________
----------------------------------

I have made a game of buying usable cars for less than $1000...92 Roadmaster, $875, just passed on a 93 Bonneville $400, runs just fine but didn't have any need for it, 90 Saab 900s $400 but needed battery cables and an alternator. If one is creative it can be interesting what little money it takes to buy a decent car.

__________________
2002 Ford ZX2
2 x 2013 Honda Civics

I like that game...

I passed up a $50 84 buick cutlass... Runs and drives fine, but... so rigged... so dirty... so, broken...

but it runs and drives NICE...

New brakes in frount too............. Decent tires...........

Shoulda bought the little bastard for a spare car...

I bought my toronado for $800, I've got MABEY $1500 into it total
~Nate

__________________
95 Honda Shadow ACE 1100.
1999 Plymouth Neon Expresso. 2.4 swap, 10.5 to 1 comp, big cams. Autocross time attack vehicle!
2012 Escape, 'hunter" (5 sp 4cyl)