Why? Brake master cylinders go on most cars over there 100k miles, The Sbc is a Serviceable unit, Its a awesome system and i'm more than happy to replace it when the time comes. Yes its expensive but that is part and parcel of running what was a technological advanced vehicle when new.
Advice welcome on the 'older' Merc. Sell up or keep?
Why? Brake master cylinders go on most cars over there 100k miles, The Sbc is a Serviceable unit, Its a awesome system and i'm more than happy to replace it when the time comes. Yes its expensive but that is part and parcel of running what was a technological advanced vehicle when new.
Charles Morgan
MB Enthusiast
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SBC on a 210?
She's probably right, a newer car will probably go wrong less and cos less to run as a result but it will depreciate. I'd wager your running bills will be less than the depreciation especially if the new car is much newer.
We bought the e55 and a fabia vrs estate 18 months ago. Fabia has cost 0 to run so far, even the service was FOC as the PO had bought a 3 yr service plan. Ok I bought 4 tyres but that was me replacing the rubber bands. But as I don't really like it I checked the ads and I reckon I'd lose around 1500 in depreciation if we sold it now.
So that's 1500 to spend on repairs for a nicer older car. I don't think the e55 has cost me that in the same time (although I wouldn't actualy want to add it up just in case). But there is no question which car I'd rather drive or keep.
Keep it, fix it and use it.
I'm trying to run it on a shoestring unfortunately. All I can afford is a bicycle at the moment.
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Have sympathy with you, still once the SBC brake unit is replaced think about what a great car you will be driving ( PS you can always buy a tent and take your family on a uk camping holiday in the car )
Thanks. And to all who have posted and sent pm's. You're a good bunch.
Going round in a big circle and back to the original question, if the SBC does need doing and costs around £1200 then I would have spent around £2700 in the last few weeks on the car, which now has a value of about...£2700.
So, I have to keep it.
However, her indoors is muting that this could be just the beginning - gearbox next, suspension after that, electrical gremlins after that, can we trust it to go down to France etc with dog and children without being stranded on the motorway at night etc etc.
I do see her point and I know that it can happen with any car.
But do I trust this car with 147,000 miles on her or should I be okay now with new MOT, brakes, re-sealed injectors etc.
Impossible question to answer I know, but full MB History up until a couple of years ago, where every service was at least a grand.
Going round in a big circle and back to the original question, if the SBC does need doing and costs around £1200 then I would have spent around £2700 in the last few weeks on the car, which now has a value of about...£2700.
So, I have to keep it.
However, her indoors is muting that this could be just the beginning - gearbox next, suspension after that, electrical gremlins after that, can we trust it to go down to France etc with dog and children without being stranded on the motorway at night etc etc.
I do see her point and I know that it can happen with any car.
But do I trust this car with 147,000 miles on her or should I be okay now with new MOT, brakes, re-sealed injectors etc.
Impossible question to answer I know, but full MB History up until a couple of years ago, where every service was at least a grand.
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Hi mate
I completely understand what your saying, at the end of the day if it were me I'd be far more comfortable travelling long distances in a car I'd owned for a long time and I knew exactly its condition etc
Gearbox should be solid as long as properly maintained, atf change and the like... suspension etc is normally wear and tear as you rack up the miles but can't see anything failing suddenly that would mean you were stranded... electrics are electrics fairly unpredictable with any car...
Just remember a low mileage/newer car isn't necessary going to be more reliable. I was watching police interceptors last night and the policemans new Audi S3 had the clutch fail just as he was going to pull over a 1980s BMW racing down the a1 at 100mph+, goes to say they are not built how they were used to
The end of the day take care of the car and she'll take care of you is the mentality I take...
Just get some decent breakdown cover for safety and enjoy your drive... no point worrying
I drive a 2003 CLK with 105k on the clock, and can't ever see myself selling it. Of course in a few years I'll be getting an AMG when I can get insured, but the CLK is going no-where.
Love it. Thanks.
wu56Shoozz
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Question: Is the missus mechanically minded at all, know a lot about cars? Does she drive it at all?? I'm just curious...
Trouble is, it's a middle aged Merc rather than an old one.
It's a doddle to keep a car like my 190E on the road. It's strong, simple and virtually everything is DIY. A modern, complex diesel is a different ball game.
Maybe look into doing as much DIY as possible, at least if it's just servicing?Avoid those 3 figure hourly rates!
It's a doddle to keep a car like my 190E on the road. It's strong, simple and virtually everything is DIY. A modern, complex diesel is a different ball game.
Maybe look into doing as much DIY as possible, at least if it's just servicing?Avoid those 3 figure hourly rates!
No, absolutely not and neither am I. She drives it but finds it way too big. We have an old Polo too.
wu56Shoozz
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It IS an impossible question to answer.. but I had a Passat 130 1.9TDi and it made it to 168k before I sold it... I had a friend that had the same car and made it to 450k miles - when the clutch went on it (2nd time) and VW sent a guy out to inspecct the clock/Mileage and as a gesture of good will, picked up the tab for a new clutch/DMF .. now thats service, Volvo on the other hand will give you a Gold plated Volvo badge if you reach 500k miles.. so you see what I'm getting at... maintenance is the key to longevity..
When was it last serviced, what type of service? Shorten the gaps on oil/filter changes for piece of mind but as someone else said prior to this "Look after it and it will look after you.." so France here we come, without a shadow of a doubt..
Here's my final word on the subject.. back in 81 me and a mate went to the South of France, did the Saint Tropez bit, on into Monaco, back out to Montellimar (Nougat) .. had a massive party on the final night with other campers, including Le Gendarme. Left in the morning and headed back home..but we developed a noise from the front of the straight 6 it was a Volvo 164. Peter my mate wasn't happy about this and kept pushing her on.. stoking the fire as it were... so we get just outside the harbour ready to cross into Dover... Peter goes nuts on Duty Free.. we had wine, whiskey, chocolates, ciggies.. I mean any where there was a place to hide the stuff we did.. so we drive off the ferry " Anything to declare we're asked?" Peter points to a rather reduced pile of duty free... the security just nod, and let us go...REMEMBER THE NOISE? ..20 miles outside of Dover and the Water Pump parted company with the block through the radiator...got relayed home by AA! Moral of the story.. get the car checked over before travelling that length of distance - Peter didn't!
My thoughts for what they are worth, put a couple of hundred pounds away each month for repairs, that is at least what it would cost to change. You will probably not spend it all so will end up with money for a surprise holiday for you and hwsbo. That is worth a lot more 
There's loads of ways of looking at things, man maths and all of that. All I would say though is that whatever you've spent so far on repairs/maintenance is probably less than many people lose in depreciation on a newer car. Despite your car's age, it still looks smart and will be more spacious and comfortable than many newer cars of comparable value.
All cars need maintenance, and the typical faults you'd get with a car like yours have now mostly been sorted - SBC and injectors etc.
You'd be unlucky to have loads of big bills from now onwards. Better the devil you know and all that
If you average the current expenditure over the time you've owned the car it's not so bad
All cars need maintenance, and the typical faults you'd get with a car like yours have now mostly been sorted - SBC and injectors etc.
You'd be unlucky to have loads of big bills from now onwards. Better the devil you know and all that
If you average the current expenditure over the time you've owned the car it's not so bad
Nito
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I can empathise entirely with your situation having been in the same boat as you. I ended up spending a significant amount on my 2004 CL500 which has been a great trouble free car for the first ten years at which point it required what I call some 'mid life crisis' expenditure to get it to full fettle. It is now 13 years old and has covered 123,000 miles and in the last couple of years had new tyres, discs, pads, rear hydraulic ram, ps pipe, bodywork spruced up and all alloys refurbed full services etc. One bill from merc was 3.5k which covered new front lower wishbones, brakes all round and the ABC work. That was a blow. The major service before that was about 1.5k and included new battery etc.
It's also had new windscreen and a couple of door handles as the chrome garnish had come off and a new third brake light. I fitted these myself along with fixing an incredibly annoying intermittent electrical problem which saw me losing electric windows, seat controls, door closure, nigh on everything. Turned out to be drivers door wiring in the bellow where the power lead had just fractured from opening and closing too much. Electrical problems are the ones that bother me most, hard to pinpoint and massively irksome. A car like the CL which is fully loaded makes this worse.
The engine and box have been faultless and feel like they'd last forever, it's the electrical stuff that really seems to affect the reliability and the otherwise time enduring nature of these cars.
My amp is currently unplugged as it was draining the battery, otherwise I'm on top of it now. My wife has never been overly keen on the CL, especially the rubberised buttons which have gone all sticky, terrible design. Needs a bit of time spent picking it all off to reveal clean plastic.
I've had my head turned now and just taken the plunge on a new replacement Merc, though I would have happily kept the CL although it seems to make you sit up much more and really grates when you are spending more on maintenance than the residual value of the car which is a point that I'm well past! After 13 years it's time to start the journey again, hopefully the new car will be as good as the outgoing one.
It's an awful lot of vfm for the next owner and still a lot of car. They'll have the same maintenance vs residual issues. The in car technology and connectivity has moved forward a great deal, aside from that the car still feels every bit as expensive and special as it always did.
It's also had new windscreen and a couple of door handles as the chrome garnish had come off and a new third brake light. I fitted these myself along with fixing an incredibly annoying intermittent electrical problem which saw me losing electric windows, seat controls, door closure, nigh on everything. Turned out to be drivers door wiring in the bellow where the power lead had just fractured from opening and closing too much. Electrical problems are the ones that bother me most, hard to pinpoint and massively irksome. A car like the CL which is fully loaded makes this worse.
The engine and box have been faultless and feel like they'd last forever, it's the electrical stuff that really seems to affect the reliability and the otherwise time enduring nature of these cars.
My amp is currently unplugged as it was draining the battery, otherwise I'm on top of it now. My wife has never been overly keen on the CL, especially the rubberised buttons which have gone all sticky, terrible design. Needs a bit of time spent picking it all off to reveal clean plastic.
I've had my head turned now and just taken the plunge on a new replacement Merc, though I would have happily kept the CL although it seems to make you sit up much more and really grates when you are spending more on maintenance than the residual value of the car which is a point that I'm well past! After 13 years it's time to start the journey again, hopefully the new car will be as good as the outgoing one.
It's an awful lot of vfm for the next owner and still a lot of car. They'll have the same maintenance vs residual issues. The in car technology and connectivity has moved forward a great deal, aside from that the car still feels every bit as expensive and special as it always did.
I have just been through this dilemma with my V70. It started to need a few items replacing. I sold it despite the cheapest solution was to keep replacing parts as they were needed as the car was fundamentally a good'un. So why did I sell? Because I didn't love it and resented spending the money on it. Back in a merc now a few quid later lighter but much happier!
After a Malbec on the patio, when I look at the old girl sitting on her own in the drive I couldn't possibly sell her. (Car, not the wife.)
It would be a pitiful amount anyway, an insulting amount for what she is.
After all the family journeys, school runs and the fun that my son has playing with the electric front seats. He reclines his to a ridiculous angle so he's always travelling Business Class. (Fat chance.)
These old birds get under your skin.
It would be a pitiful amount anyway, an insulting amount for what she is.
After all the family journeys, school runs and the fun that my son has playing with the electric front seats. He reclines his to a ridiculous angle so he's always travelling Business Class. (Fat chance.)
These old birds get under your skin.
