Guess I'm diving into owning a Mercedes... Just a bit of a rant

So, as I suspected, the car (1994 E320, 154k miles) is not QUITE the gem it appears. It needs a valve cover gasket, passengers side motor mount, coolant, oil, and transmission fluid change. The coolant has broken down and looks like muddy water, the transmission fluid is a little dark, oil is dirty. Gonna have my friend swap the belt while he's at it, if it breaks it can take out the fan and / or radiator, and replace the oil pressure sending unit and it's wiring. I think I'm forgetting something, but all told it'll be about $400.

So... I'm going to be getting a real gem of a 1978 Dodge D100 tomorrow for my 1977 Oldsmobile (It's not a gem, not at ALL), but it's a solid runner that I can turn into a rat rod like I've wanted to do for a while. Never really cared what the rat rod was, I just want a rat rod. Who cares about looks? I'll pass you and devalue your car when I park near it. I'm also an environmental disaster considering I've never owned a car that does not leak some sort of fluid in a alarming amount.

Meanwhile, the Mercedes will be going to my friends shop, I'm estimating $400 in repairs, but I traded it for a 1985 Dodge D100 that I had about $1,200 in, the E320 is worth about $2,800, so even with the repairs, and new tires, I'll be in it less than it's worth.

So yeah, I've got a nearly broke down Mercedes, soon I'll have a '78 Dodge D100 that looks like it's on it's way to the shredder, and I haven't learned my lesson yet about these cheap gems.

I guess you'll never see me coming, 'cause you'll never know if I'm still driving the same environmental disaster as last week.

 

The issues you've listed aren't bad. They're just normal issues for any vehicle with that kind of mileage. I had to replace the valve cover gasket on my well maintained '98 Toyota Corolla with right at 150k miles on it. With your description of the fluids, sounds like it wasn't maintained quite the way it should have been.

 

Those kind of issues are what I call "deferred maintenance" items.
A caring owner would take care of that stuff regularly, but it's not very often that you buy an older vehicle that has been well maintained for its entire life.

I just expect to replace fluids, soft lines, hoses, belts and most sensors and sending units on anything that's more than a few years old.

I find that if I go into the deal expecting those repairs, I am usually not totally disgusted when they are needed.

 

As already written those are all normal wear and tear items on any car with that many miles. You should have changed all of that day one before driving it and recycling that crap over and over.
Anyone with basic tools can do that with fluids from any discount auto store under a shade tree in an afternoon while drinking beer or soda at a cost around $200 plus the cost of new or good used tires.

You keep saying you're a car guy yet keep talking about gettin a freindly mechanic to do basic work that a car guy does because..... well because he's a car guy! Now git out there and fix your own car.... guy!

The only reasons to have it done are because you're making so much money and spending so much time at work, you have a handicap that keeps you from it, or you don't know how to open the bonnet, Or hood in the USA:confused:

That is the proper way to rant!

 

He is about to find out why you never buy a German (or most any european) car out of warranty! They don't nickle and dime you, they $500 and $1000 you till you throw in the towel.

 

There are reasons I stick to the big three.

 

Most Mercedes engines, like the rest of the European over head can jobs, have timing belts that HAVD to be done every 60,000 miles. Most of them specify adjusting the valves at the same time, as few of them have hydraulic tappets. The timing belt is easy enough while the drive belts are off, and the valve cover will be off anyway, so you should really do both of those items as well. If that timing belt breaks, you are out an engine immediately. Better safe than sorry. These European cars will go a huge number of miles, but they do need proper, prescribed maintenance at regular intervals, and that can get expensive. I know the prescribed maintenance on Ma's Volvo at 125,000 mile intervals runs about $1,500. That does not count the other things in between.

 

I know the prescribed maintenance on Ma's Volvo at 125,000 mile intervals runs about $1,500. That does not count the other things in between.

Now that would make me do some thinking. :confused: After 125,000 the rest of it would have to be mint. Even then I couldn't spend $1,500 on maintenance. Altho a newer replacement would cost way more and involve monthly payments for most of us.
Those timing belts are typical of all later model vehicles. Son repaced several and did one yesterday at his new job on an Izuzu..... Or however it's spelled.

 

The Mercedes cars can be nice indeed. They are of a good quality and for many a joy to own. However, as I have learned through my in-laws past experiences, that little three pointed star equals $$$.
Money for the price of admission and money for the upkeep.

 

Denny: The list of things covered in that maintenance is huge! It really does take 2 mechanics the full day to perform everything. Basically, one starts at the front bumper, the other at the back, and they meet somewhere the middle of the car. With Arthur being driven so little now, it gets done in pieces, based on time factors. Whetherbit is at the mikeage or not, for instance, the timing BT is done every 5 years plus the valves get adjusted. That only takes a couple hours for the whole thing, taking my time in the back yard. Not difficult, but oh, sl necessary.

 

WOW! Isn't that the truth!? Oi weh! it hurts.:banghead3: ....yeah but I still love the car. We just keep pressing on and keep driving it.

 

Not trying to deny the fact that I possibly could do some of the work, but the valve cover is no easy feat. You must remove several covers, including the spark plug housing cover, move several wires, then use the strange deep socket needed to remove said spark plugs (Which I do not own), you must also be very careful to not over torque the bolts, as they have rubber washers under them which can be damaged by doing so... That's just the gist of it.

I may be selling the E320, got a couple people interested in it, and I found me another project. It isn't a wagon, in fact it has only two doors, but it is an Oldsmobile. We'll see how this pans out, but I'm asking $1,200 for the Benz, it's only $150 more than I have in it, but between it and the truck I've gotten about 2,900 miles out of 'em, most of that was on the truck, but, it's all the same investment really considering it was a square trade.

In short, the reason I am not doing the work to the Mercedes if I keep it is because the car requires several specialized tools, which my friend has, and prior experience working on said Mercedes, which my friend has. Plus he's cheap on labor, and frankly I don't feel like busting my knuckles on a car I don't care much about.

If I can get the $1,200 out of it, I can get my project car, fix the '77 and keep it for the time being (I regret wasting my money on that Craigslist Q-jet), and have two Oldsmobile's at the end of the day.

 

That reasoning makes perfect sense. Tools aren't cheap, especially if only used one time.

 

Shade Trees.

All very good reasons to let the friend work on your wagon. The main thing is it is a friend and will be reasonable.
It seems that every vehicle now needs special tools. Back when I was but a wee lad the same tools that came with a Model A could be used on a Studebaker or a Knight.
But also when it comes to working on cars now days Horrible Fart and similar tool suppiy houses are the place to go for those little used special tools.

On the other hand part of having old cars is the fun and experience gained when working on them. That's also the reason they sell Band-Aids and the ER's stay open 24 hours.

 

Yeah, I can't tell you how many times I helped my dad work on whatever car we had at the time when I was a kid, and pointed out to him "Hey, Dad, you're bleeding.". His reaction? "Ah s%#t!", especially since he's been on blood thinners the past 10 years, makes a mess when he leaks these days. I do the same thing though, someone will point out to me that I have blood running down my arm, I especially don't notice when I am sweating. Don't you just love it when you stop and think "Where is this blood coming from?". Worst thing is finding it while you are washing up afterwards, don't hurt until you hit it with soap and / or grit.

But yeah, I'd like to keep the Mercedes, it's a cool car through and through, but if I can sell it to someone else who will enjoy it, so be it.

Yeah 90% of my tools are scavenged leftovers from the scrap pile at the scrap yard I go too from time to time. They don't care, long as someone uses 'em, at one point they handed me a box of wrenches and old taiwanese 3/4" impact sockets. I was not expecting it to be that heavy, and I almost dropped it. They all cleaned up nicely on my fathers old bench grinder with a wire brush. I have some oddball socket sizes that have come in handy because of that, 18, 19, 20, and 22mm included. Only thing I have that I bought is my screw driver bit set, my cordless impact drill, my 1/4" deepwell metric and standard sockets, my 1/4" and 3/8" dual headed "GM Performance Parts" branded ratchet, and uh, a Kobalt (Lowes house brand) ratcheting screwdriver. Oh and the oddball AWP branded tool bag I carry what I need in. I have an old plastic cheap toolbox that my other assorted stuff goes in, like those oddball sockets I rarely use.

Fact is I really don't have a whole lot of tools, and my friend, well, let's say he could sell off his tools and probably afford a new car or small house. For instance, I have one nice sharp set of wire cutters with two positions for stripping wires. He has more wire cutters than I have tools, hands down.

But it's like they say, a hammer, a few wrenches, a couple of sockets, some duct tape, some more duct tape, and probably yet more duct tape, and you can probably fix anything. Duct tape comes in a ton of colors too, so you can even make it a somewhat "Fashionable" repair.