True cost of ownership, daily driver - Page 4 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

koooop · #46 03-22-2018, 06:48 PM

I've been driving a 1969 Corvette since I was in in High School (let's say since 1980...), if I totaled the actual cost of ownership I would probably keel over on the spot.

97 SL320 · #47 03-22-2018, 08:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ah-kay

My axioms:

1) 'similes per mile' is good until you need to fork out $$$ on a 30+ years old car. Or roll underneath the car if you DIY.

I think you are envious that our guy in question has enough disposable income to out spend you on toys. You should be glad younger guys are getting into cars rather than playing on their i phone while waiting for a self driving Uber.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ah-kay

2) I would not buy 'comprehensive' insurance on an old 30+ car. It does not make sense.

For a junker no ( or even an easily replaceable generic car over 10 years old ). However, for an older car in near new condition, comp may be a good idea.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ah-kay

3) Restoration and 'daily driver' do not appear in the SAME sentence. Restoration = garage queen, if you really sink big money.

Restoration is too vague of a car quality description. Also consider that people actually bought these cars new back in the day and _drove them_, . .. . long distances in fact.

If a car has parts replaced when they get towards end of expected service life, random breakdowns will be rare. It seems you run cars ragged until something breaks at random leaving you stranded, and think this is normal. . . .

Quote:

Originally Posted by ah-kay

5) You can claim MBZ has 'character' all you want. It is a bad investment, old or new, period.

Our guy never mentioned " investment " and , in all reality , no car short of a very few is a good " investment ".

ah-kay · #48 03-23-2018, 02:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 97 SL320

I think you are envious that our guy in question has enough disposable income to out spend you on toys. You should be glad younger guys are getting into cars rather than playing on their i phone while waiting for a self driving Uber.

Envy? On the contrary, I pity the OP to have sunk so much money to make the car a 'DD'. All my cars are 'DD' and I spend every few $$ on them. One thing I learn in life is never look down on anyone. You will be surprised how much disposable money I have but I won' t go there. One can spend ones money whichever way one wants. I just choose to spend my money differently.

vwnate1 · #49 03-23-2018, 02:08 AM

It sure sounds like you're looking down on everyone else A.K.

ah-kay · #50 03-23-2018, 02:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vwnate1

It sure sounds like you're looking down on everyone else A.K.

Did I? If I had then I apologize. I am just stating the facts that you don't need to spend $$$ to maintain a car. Another member posted $28 per month for his car so I am not alone.

Bengoshi2000 · #51 03-23-2018, 06:44 AM

I think it can be said that generally, a car is a hole in asphalt into which you throw money. I.E. They are a bad investment in that they only depreciate and wear out from the date of purchase onwards. I tend to buy older used cars because of the price, less taxes, less insurance and I'm able to do a lot of maintenance/repair on my own. Since I'm in that category already, an older Benz provides a level of satisfaction that an older Honda simply lacks.

Some of my friends think I'm crazy and tell me I should just buy newer cars. I ask them if their "newer" cars are any more reliable or cheaper to operate? Once the numbers are added up, I win every time. Even Hondas can have major problems that have to be fixed or accounted for (i.e. the Odyssey transmission woes from the early 2000's... later 2000's had radiator failures that contaminated the transmission fluid... etc... and that's assuming these friends aren't driving GMs or Chryslers.)

I got stopped by a State Trooper yesterday who just wanted to tell me that he liked my 300D and that being of 90% German ancestry he was glad to see these cars still on the road. You won't get that with a Honda!

marco5 · #52 03-23-2018, 08:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ah-kay

Envy? On the contrary, I pity the OP to have sunk so much money to make the car a 'DD'. All my cars are 'DD' and I spend every few $$ on them. One thing I learn in life is never look down on anyone. You will be surprised how much disposable money I have but I won' t go there. One can spend ones money whichever way one wants. I just choose to spend my money differently.

There's no need to pity others because they spend more money on maintenance then you ah-kay, my goal is not minimizing maintenance costs. I don't have a budget so, the amount spent on vehicle maintenance is insignificant to me. I know many people my age that probably spend 7x-10x what I do customizing their car from Acuras to Porsche 911's. Will they see it back if they sell? No. Do they care? No. It's their enjoyment and fun.

I have 4 vehicles and I choose to drive the W123 because I enjoy it, not because of the maintenance cost concern. Most of the maintenance I do does not even NEED to be done, I just do it because I want to. I don't need to let my W123 sit in the garage 5 days week because I'm scared of a stone chip or car accident. Another one can be bought! Although it would be difficult to find a completely rust free one and I'd need to go down to the South US.

I will sum up my point however as this is dragging on. It is still much less expensive to buy, maintain and restore an older benz, then it costs to buy a new 1-2 year old Honda, Kia, GM, Ford etc. The depreciation of those cars is more then the entire cost of a restore/maintenance on a W115, W116, W123, W124 etc. I just wanted other younger people to know this so more people from my generation (Millennials) would consider it!

dieselbenz1 · #53 03-23-2018, 10:47 AM

I have seen far to many Millennials purchase diesel trucks for 65k then highly modify it for another 40k only to melt pistons with that crazy Larry computer modification. Yes they would always get new engines under warranty some 4 times in a row. After 3 yrs of ownership they would fetch 12k.

What you are doing with a fine example of great engineering and preserving history is very responsible especially living in the rust belt of Toronto where it is not easy owing a 123. Kudos to you Marco5!

yuke · #54 03-23-2018, 06:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by marco5

Third engine how?!

The 3 big reasons these 617 motors fail.
1. Oil cooler hoses fail loss of oil in seconds.
2. Precamber blows down into piston.
3.Vacuum pump failure which breaks timing chain or timing chain just breaks.

I had the 1st 2 happen to me hope the 3rd does not get me yet and yes the 1st two were my fault I have learned since then. I really do not think the engines need these oil coolers but it is a case of German over engineering. The prechamber blowing down into the piston do not pull the pintel of the injector out while cleaning them my fault.

rmasteller · #55 03-23-2018, 09:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by marco5

..... It is still much less expensive to buy, maintain and restore an older benz, then .....

Marco5,

Great work maintaining and revitalizing (restoring?) your w123 with passion. I understand your point. My wife doesn't. I have a 450SL I need to sell, but she also wants me to sell my w113 230SL and my w210 E300D so I can buy a new(er) M-B that is nice and "dependable". Sure, but it would depreciate like crazy and it would be too complicated to maintain/repair myself. Keep doing whatever makes you happy, regardless of what other people think about it.

If you really want to know what your vehicle(s) cost you, I recommend a phone app called aCar (site is fuelly.com). I bought my E300D in August 2017 and started using the app right away, because I wanted to know my TCO on this car. I don't have any other car to compare it to, but at least this will be a baseline for all future cars. I don't have insurance cost entered, but other wise here is what aCar says about my E300D tonight:

Total Time: 7 month, 1 day
Total Distance: 9,994 miles
Purchase cost, including tax/title/registration: $6,150
Total running costs: $2,420
- $977 fuel
- $1,443 service & repair (Michelin tires were a big one!)
Total cost per day: $40.42
Total running cost per day: $11.41

It will be interesting to see how this charts out over my full ownership time.

BillGrissom · #56 03-24-2018, 04:47 AM

I paid $400 for my 1984 300D, which my son has used for 8 yrs. I had to weld repair a few cracks from crash damaged, as bought. Otherwise just rubber hoses (AC, oil cooler, coolant), a ball joint, brakes (pads, MC, hoses), and rebuilt vac pump. Maybe <$400 parts. Search my posts for ideas. Dealer parts and shop labor would drain you fast. But, my Chrysler minivans are much less to maintain since parts are easy and cheap. Can't say I get a thrill from driving any car, since traffic dampens that.

rmasteller · #57 03-24-2018, 11:48 AM

Bill, that's great economy. The OP's point is not that he's in a competition to spend the least money, but that owning a classic (even somewhat of a "rolling restoration") can be cheaper than the value lost thru depreciation of buying a new or near-new car.

Examle, in my new job, we just went out for drinks after work on Friday. Guys said "we saw you roll up in that nice Mercedes, you shoud buy our drinks". This implies I'm wealthy. I asked, "what did you pay for that new Hyundai SUV? Maybe 25k? I paid 6k for my "wealth person's" car , so how about you buy me a drink!"

Diseasel300 · #58 03-24-2018, 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rmasteller

Bill, that's great economy. The OP's point is not that he's in a competition to spend the least money, but that owning a classic (even somewhat of a "rolling restoration") can be cheaper than the value lost thru depreciation of buying a new or near-new car.

Unless he has special insurance (which comes with mileage and use restrictions) regular car insurance will total the car in even a minor fender bender. Unless he buys the car back with a salvage title and fixes it, that's >100% depreciation over the cost of the car instantly.

Nothing wrong with restoring a car. It gets questionable dropping the kind of money that the OP is dropping in such a short period of time, especially when paying someone else to perform the work.

ah-kay · #59 03-24-2018, 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diseasel300

Unless he has special insurance (which comes with mileage and use restrictions) regular car insurance will total the car in even a minor fender bender. Unless he buys the car back with a salvage title and fixes it, that's >100% depreciation over the cost of the car instantly.

Nothing wrong with restoring a car. It gets questionable dropping the kind of money that the OP is dropping in such a short period of time, especially when paying someone else to perform the work.

X2.

ah-kay · #60 03-24-2018, 04:13 PM

There is nothing more expensive than an old Mbz, more so if you don't wrench or need name brand parts at all time. It is a fallacy to believe an old Mbz will beat a reasonable priced 2nd hand modern car on reliability, safety, maintenance costs, fuel efficiency etc. It is self in denial. OTOH, if you want character, have deep pocket then do what you wanted. It is your money after all. This is definitely not my true costs of ownership, DD or not.