it gets even more disheartening when you see the lack of bill on electrics. I have buddy that has a 2013 volt. He charges at home and at work. 95k miles so far, maybe 1000 total on the gas engine, basically all electric. I put it up on lift and looked it over. Brake pads basically new, amazingly still on the first set of tires ( he does drive like an old man) tie rods and ball joints in good shape. Really the only thing I saw in his future was a new exhaust for the gas engine.

where are the numbers if you add in purchase cost?

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Brian
87 300Dturbo 180K #14 head still running R-12 SOLD 12/2017
02 F350 Powerstroke 180K
05 Chevy Express 1 ton w/Royal Utility box 120K
08 Infiniti FX-35 40K
15 Golf Sportwagen TDI 35K
10 Sprinter 3500 chassis with a Class A Winnebago on it. 56K

I think after rebates car was 36k new. But if you look on autotrader right now there are lots coming off lease certified pre owned. 30k miles for 12 to 15k.

On the 06 remove the plastic covers off the top of the engine and leave them off where you can keep an eye on injector leakage. That way, you can resolve it in a relatively timely manner when it shows up.

I've got the first one in for an injector leak which was just starting to build up the nasty black stuff. A little Kroil and running it to soften up and it came right off.

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Jim

I just performed an oil change on my daughter-in-laws 06 CDI with 282K on the clock. I do always check the injectors for black-death symptoms at every oil change and it was A-OK again. Since the plastic covers can be removed in about 30 seconds I don't see it as a big deal to leave them in-situ. Agree with catching it early and Kroil, I've actually participated in a fairly advanced case of black-death on an 05 CDI and it wasn't really all that difficult/expensive to fix. Just a bit tedious.

At 282K the SBC is original and I continue to be amazed at how leak free the engine is, its actually totally devoid of any leaks at all. The OM648 doesn't have a dipstick but this specimen doesn't seem to consume any oil between 10K interval changes.

The contrast between my experiences with the OM61x and the OM648 is quite stark. From where I'm sitting the OM648 wins hand-down in the long-term reliability test.

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98 Dodge-Cummins pickup (137K)
13 GLK250 (157k)
06 E320CDI (341K)
16 C300 (89K)
82 300GD Gelaendewagen (54K)

Old cars are the cheapest to run, but you have to do your own work. The bulk of the maintenance costs I've spent on my old '72 220D are for tires. Other than tires and oil changes, those old Diesels from the 60s and 70s just don't need much to keep chugging along. I've probably bought over a dozen tires for that car in the miles I've put on it.