As you guys know, I sold my Country Squire nearly a year ago, after it was used in filming the new movie "I Can Only Imagine" in Oklahoma. I was at my friend's used car lot on the southside of OKC a couple of weeks ago, and he had a sweet AWD '99 Mercedes C300 wagon with the third seat. Every power option imaginable, sunroof, and even a net to separate the seating area from the cargo area, for my dog to ride in! Silver with dark blue leather. He's damn proud of it, too! The high retail on that (with 170K miles) is $3,850, and he has $5K on the car! He wouldn't come down to the $3,500 I was willing to pay, so he has it. Still. Too bad, too, because this is a damn nice car! Pictured is not the car I drove, but the same car otherwise.
Those are nice.... I do see some reasonably-priced Mercedes wagons quite often. Only downside, they usually have high miles on them.
I love Mercedes & Audi wagons (not as much as Colony Park or Electra's) but VERY close. I have had 2 Audi wagons kept both long after the warrantee was over, what stops me from even looking - Cost to repair - I can't do it myself so I have to pay, and it's ust too damn expensive. Too many parts are specific to the cars, nothing is interchangeable and you are stuck, find the wrong mechanic and its a nightmare to get corrected ( only happened once) Ex 2001 Audi A6 Quattro Wagon, believe 4 Oxygen sensors after market about $95. each AUDI part Est $145.00 Labor usually around $350 - $500 - so to do all 4 and easy $1000 Air Bag Sensor - has to be AUDI - $798 plus labor Timing Belt - recommended at 90,000 miles - about $1300 Transmission replacement - start at $4500 and could go to $6000
I've got the 1999 A6 which is almost due for a timing belt replacement. If I was living at somewhere rural or had a garage, I could change it myself, providing I had the special tool needed to attach to my torque wrench to, for tensioning the belt properly. It's nothing you can't do yourself, if you're mechanically inclined. It takes a long time to do, because the front bumper and radiator have to get first removed, to even gain access to it. While you're in there, it's best to replace the thermostat, even if it's operating correctly. Otherwise, if you don't, replacing it before it's time to replace the second belt will require that you tear the front end down again. Why did you replace all four oxygen sensors, when maybe only one was acting up? Are they really so difficult to get at that they charge you so much time for replacing them? I'm lucky that I have the turbo diesel, in that case. My transaxle whines. I don't know if it would, have I had bought the wagon when new and have conducted the maintenance myself. It seems, it's a worn bearing at the hypoid. Did yours do likewise? I got the car from my ex-wife, under agreement that I would sell it for her. She only wanted the last repair bill up front for it. So, I agreed and when I sell it, I'll give her the difference. In the mean time, I have to deal with all the slipshod service she had done at a shop which was too cosmopolitan for my liking. You know, the kind where the apes doing the service end up with a handfull of fasteners of which they either were too lazy to refasten or were too dumb to know where they belong or both. This is not the Germany it once was. Well, anyway, she now tells me that they replaced the battery, in response to a complaint of the wagon having difficulties starting during colder weather. I suspect that the electronic module responsible is at fault. The shop could have diagnosed it, since the vehicle has a diagnostic socket. But, I think that they saw a woman walking through the door and decided that she needed to be taken to the cleaners. And this was a Bosch franchised shop, even. Instead of a module, she got an expensive diesel battery and an entire alternator which was likely still good (usually, it's the built-in regulator which acts up, when it's defective. Which is doubtful, in this case) at only 110.000 kilometers. So, now they've got this module hidden somewhere, instead of building the car in a manner where the electrical system would be practical to access. Being a Diesel, it is economical, despite being overweight and it's musclecar fast. But, the drivetrain in front of the axle dynamics is impossible to design out, despite the intelligent suspension design. I know you wagon lovers will hate what I'm about to write. But, if I had a choice, I would pull the engine and sound systen and then drop the engine into a Porsche 928 which had a blown engine. Since the V-6 Diesel runs cooler, it wouldn't suffer the thermal problems that the 8 did. It might even do the quarter mile just as fast or better and the drivability couldn't be topped, because the weight distribution would be near 50:50
When my wife got her 1st A6 wagon I also had a 97 Audi Cabriolet - so we had 2 Audi's; my wife drove hers maybe 2 miles a day while I was driving 100 thru Stop/go Chicago traffic - you know 70mph, stop, crawl, 60mph, stop, crawl and repeat Oxygen Sensors - no only had 2 replaced at any 1 time, but there seemed between the 2 cars we were replacing all the time Timing Belt - I never had it done much to the chagrin of the shop Transmission - after 128,000 miles of the Chicago traffic, mine was going, I knew it, the shop knew it, so with 7 year old car with 148,000 miles on it, for ucks and giggles we did a repair estimate - transmission $4500; timing belt (cut me a deal) $700 complete brakes - rotors; calipers $800; replace oxygen sensors - we knew it was only a matter of time $400; seat warmer passenger, power seat driver : 500. you get the jist, to get the car back to 100% just under 9 grand - trade in value high $6000 I loved my little Audi - but in the end traded for a Jag, they gave me a better deal on trade than my Audi dealer My wife's wagon - traded in on a newer A6 wagon - which we kept for another 8 years, 66,000 miles on it when we sold it Professor here at JMU bought it, still has it and loves it, and said it has cost him almost nothing since he bought it. not surprised in 8 years - really didn't cost us a ton, just when it does it really does. My 97 Cabriolet wife's 1st Audi wagon - pearl white Wifes 2nd Audi wagon - navy metallic
I tell you, I'd love to have that '99 M-B for a daily driver, especially since my F250 SD 4x2 gets a whopping 12 in town, but does get 15 on the highway.
Here's some before and after. When she brought it home, it had been previously maintained by a Berlin dealership: http://www.stationwagonforums.com/forums/threads/hi-folks-new-here-from-germany.44784/#post-398960
VERY similar to the one I had.....a 2000 model, same color. I just loved driving it - one of the best-driving cars I've ever owned. It was just VERY expensive to maintain. If I had been a better mechanic, and had some specific tools, perhaps things would have turned out differently..... I basically had to dump it before I lost another $1,000 in maintenance expense. Lost a ton of money on this one.... Traded it in on the Focus wagon I bought in 2005.
Krash, you are right - they were great cars, could drive all day without getting beat up. Wife looked at a new Allroad and said this is just an expensive A4 - I want another A6 wagon, well they don't make one - and if they did the answer is NO you don't need a $70,000 wagon! OMG - help me I like your taste in cars - Audi A6 and your Pontiac, had this 79 fro a short time. e
Patrick perhaps karma or your angels are watching out for you. You and MAK may have a Country Squire in your future. Slow down and keep looking. A $70,000 station wagon should have at least 1/2 acre with a white picket fence around it.
