There are good Mercedes and bad ones. It really depends on the prior
maintenance. One thing is for sure once a car reaches a critical
threshold
of broken stuff it is junk.
That threshold varies depending on what is wrong, and your DIY
abilities and interests. But even a junk car, such as the Frankenheap,
can be good transportation.
There is nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes...
... IF you try to make it into what it is not.
So long as the paint is good, it isn't rusty and the interior is
in decent shape, and the engine isn't toast these cars can be
brought back, and often for surprisingly little. It's those
former items that are stunningly expensive to put right. Even
the engine needn't be expensive IF you have a source of cheap
engines, and IF you DIY.
I am into that 240D for about $129 in repairs, and more than 40
hours of labor. (Way more, if I were really counting.) It is
shaping up to be a nice little car, but it is limited by being
a slug, and by the scrape on the side. But it is rust-free, the
paint shines up, and the interior is pretty good. Just horribly
lacking in competent maintenance recently, and in TLC.
just had the engine replaced in a 240D. Engine cost me 900 and the
complete
R&R job done by an indy - not me - cost 800 (plus a couple unexpected
Or for me, assuming I waited for a U-Pull to cruise by, it would be
something like $200. Quite a range, only you can tell where you are
in the continuum and what your threshold of pain is. It'll cost you,
one way or another. Money vs time...
Today, I have time. A year ago, I had money. (Didn't spend it,
though. I guess I was in training for this year!)
the general impression that these cars are about as wonderful as tits
and
beer) but I'm getting the general impression lately, when I complain
about
it becoming a money pit, that there is nothing magic about these cars,
they
wear out and break too, it's just that if properly cared for, the
diesel
engines can last quite a long time.
They _are_ about as wonderful as T&B. But to quote any number of
people,
"If it's got tits or tires it's going to give you trouble." It's a car,
get used to it! It's not just that it has a long-lasting engine, the
general fit & finish and engineering of the cars is very good. One
that's
in good shape is a joy to drive, and its smile factor as general
transportation beats anything that's not exotic, IMHO.
I think they hold up much better than about anything else, over the
span of decades. And they're easy to work on, and things tend to
stay fixed if you do it right.
-- Jim
