I have a son who will soon be buying his first car, which, if I have any input, will be a decent W123 or W126 chassis.
Why? A number of reasons: 1.) The acquisition cost. A young person with a few thousand $$ and minimal income can't afford anything remotely late model that isn't a beater and/or will require expensive repairs because there is so little the typical owner can do on newer cars. 2.) Value. Despite the age, these cars hold their value, as little as it might be. 3.) Repair costs. Short of a major catastrophe, such as an engine or transmission, these cars aren't that expensive to repair. 4.) Going back to #1, the ability for most owners to maintain these cars gives them the ability to add to their skill set by learning how to maintain the car. Forums such as this as well as the easy availability of manuals and related materials makes the task that much easier. There are certainly some downsides to this approach, such as the time involved in maintaining the car, and having the resources to do it, but I think in the long run it's a win-win - especially in situations like this. Dan Sent from my iPhone On Nov 14, 2011, at 12:48 PM, Rich Thomas <richthomas79td...@constructivity.net> wrote: > The issue is more reliability I think -- if you have a beater sort of car > that takes a bit of work and parts to keep running, but is essentially > reliable (i.e., won't strand you somewhere due to catastrophic failure), then > throwing a few bucks at it now and again, and some fix-it time, is not > unreasonable. Unless it becomes a train wreck, then keep it going. > > Now your average wife probably has no sense of any of that, but that is just > wifely thing, might as well live with it. > > But keeping the car going is probably cheaper than buying a new(er) one. > > -_R > > On 11/14/11 11:58 AM, Randy Bennell wrote: >> I know that many of you are essentially bottom feeders when it comes to >> vehicles, and I mean no disrespect when I say that as I tend to fall into >> that category to a great extent myself. >> >> The question for you is essentially, when do you call it a lost cause? >> >> There has to be a time when a vehicle ceased to be worth putting money into >> it. How do you decide at what point that happens? >> >> I know that some of you firmly believe that a 123 wagon is the state of the >> art in the auto world etc but beyond that sort of blind devotion, what makes >> you continue or not continue with a vehicle? >> >> My younger son works as a mechanic in a shop that caters to people with more >> money than brains when it comes to "classic" vehicles and maybe that causes >> me to think more about some of this. >> >> I have my 76 115 300D and know that whatever I put into it has to be for my >> enjoyment as I will never "make money" on it. >> The same goes for my 02 F150 Supercrew. I really like it and so far it has >> not cost me a whole lot but it is about 10 years old and has over 150K miles >> on it so cost must mount over time. >> >> I have been thinking about another car but am really reluctant to spend big >> dollars on something new or even "newer" so I have this mental dilemma. Am >> I crazy to get involved in something that will no doubt cause me some >> grief??? >> >> Having re-read what I typed above, I womder if I am getting my point accross? >> >> I guess what I am hoping for is a bit of an ongoing thread with opinions by >> many of you setting forth your own philosophies on this sort of thing. >> >> Randy >> >> _______________________________________ >> http://www.okiebenz.com >> For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com >> To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ >> >> To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: >> http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com >> > > _______________________________________ > http://www.okiebenz.com > For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
