What to do?

[saff]

Had my S211 mot'd last week and it went through ok but with a couple of advisories. Lower front arms showing play, both rear flexi brake pipes deteriorating, nsr brake line slight corrosion at union with flexi and osf brake line slight corrosion. MOT garage have replaced both front arms but cannot do brake lines due to SBC. I phoned an MB Indy and they've given me a worst case scenario of £600 for the brakes but could be less depending on what they find. The arms have just cost me £200. Given that the car is worth probably no more than £2k is a further £600 investment worth it? Cost to change would be considerably more I know and the car is well maintained with much work done. I really like the car as well. I know only I can make the decision but I thought I'd have a bleat to you guys.

 

[Jobsworth]

I've just replaced a rear subframe and all four shock absorbers on a customers R171 SLK. I advised her after last years MoT that these items would need doing and that shifting the car on might be a good idea if she didn't want a big bill. She rang me in December to book the car in. She had looked at the price to change, and still enjoying the car she decided the better deal in the long run was to stick rather than twist. If you need any further encouragement, I'm sure it's better for the planet to run your old one for as long as possible.

 

[Mancstar]

If its only 'slight' corrosion I would be tempted to grease the brake pipes to add a protective layer.

 

[WOODYTHEWISE]

If its a good driver, and serves your needs, an investment of a maximum of £800 looks good to me. Cheaper than finding another unknown i would think.

 

[saff]

If its only 'slight' corrosion I would be tempted to grease the brake pipes to add a protective layer.

Yeah thanks, dun that. If I'm gonna keep her then I'd "have" to renew them for my own peace of mind. Over to your fine city on Saturday at the Manchester Arena.

 

[saff]

If its a good driver, and serves your needs, an investment of a maximum of £800 looks good to me. Cheaper than finding another unknown i would think.

Its a lovely drive and ferries our Bullmastiff around perfectly. I can see where this is going

 

[Mancstar]

Yeah thanks, dun that. If I'm gonna keep her then I'd "have" to renew them for my own peace of mind. Over to your fine city on Saturday at the Manchester Arena.

Strictly come dancing live, not my cup of tea but enjoy!
I got rid of my old daily car after being in a similar situation you are in, failed its MOT and used it as an excuse to 'upgrade'.

 

[Scooby_Doo]

My wife had a decision to make over the weekend , she'd seen a demo Toyota Yaris with a few hundred miles on the clock and about £4500 off list. Her W169 is over 8 years old with 85000 on the clock and was offered £2000 for it . Went for a test drive and she really liked the car but the quality and layout of so much of the interior was really low rent and after some deliberation finally decided that at £2000 with nothing currently wrong with it the W169 won hands down.

 

[Teego]

If the advisory says "slight corrosion" it's probably very early stage. I've had these advisories and carried on. Next MOT no mention. At this stage I'd wire brush any visible corrosion, wipe down and cover with something protective like grease or copper lube.
Faced this sort of problem with our 14 year old X-Trail. Didn't mind spending £100 or so a year for MOT items but at last MOT it needed £600 of exhaust repairs, complete system. I might have considered it if the car was going to last another 5 years or so as the family hack and tip runner. So I said, let's get it in the air and have a look underneath. It wasn't pretty and likely to lead to major corrosion problems before too long. Time for the scrapper and £250 in my pocket.
It had served us well for many years but.........

I think you should do the same. If it all looks good get the brake lines done at your leisure and enjoy many more miles. If it's a crock o' shxte move it on.

 

[saff]

My wife had a decision to make over the weekend , she'd seen a demo Toyota Yaris with a few hundred miles on the clock and about £4500 off list. Her W169 is over 8 years old with 85000 on the clock and was offered £2000 for it . Went for a test drive and she really liked the car but the quality and layout of so much of the interior was really low rent and after some deliberation finally decided that at £2000 with nothing currently wrong with it the W169 won hands down.

Your wife would enjoy probably 100% reliability with the Yaris but the MB is far classier. I've been looking at other estate cars, required due to having a huge hound to transport, and nothing other than a 'quality' German brand comes close to fitting the bill. I've decided to go with the repair and carry on enjoying the quality and comfort of the 211.

 

[saff]

If the advisory says "slight corrosion" it's probably very early stage. I've had these advisories and carried on. Next MOT no mention. At this stage I'd wire brush any visible corrosion, wipe down and cover with something protective like grease or copper lube.
Faced this sort of problem with our 14 year old X-Trail. Didn't mind spending £100 or so a year for MOT items but at last MOT it needed £600 of exhaust repairs, complete system. I might have considered it if the car was going to last another 5 years or so as the family hack and tip runner. So I said, let's get it in the air and have a look underneath. It wasn't pretty and likely to lead to major corrosion problems before too long. Time for the scrapper and £250 in my pocket.
It had served us well for many years but.........

I think you should do the same. If it all looks good get the brake lines done at your leisure and enjoy many more miles. If it's a crock o' shxte move it on.

The car is in very good nick so I'm going with the repair, cheers

 

[MCFastybloke]

Dont lose sight of the invisible cost of newer stuff, Depreciation will out strip repairs.

 

[Scooby_Doo]

Your wife would enjoy probably 100% reliability with the Yaris but the MB is far classier. I've been looking at other estate cars, required due to having a huge hound to transport, and nothing other than a 'quality' German brand comes close to fitting the bill. I've decided to go with the repair and carry on enjoying the quality and comfort of the 211.

In praise of the W169 , she's had the car since it was 6 months old and 4000 miles. The only non maintenance items have been a vacuum valve on the fuel system and a new battery last October so nearly 100% over 8 years.

 

[Teego]

Dont lose sight of the invisible cost of newer stuff, Depreciation will out strip repairs.

The Cost to Change is not invisible. It's cash, can be horrendous and is always a major negotiating point when I buy a car. Depreciation is a non-cash cost until you get into another Cost to Change situation.

 

[saff]

As an update, I had all the work completed and I'm glad I did. I also pointed out an intermittent fault where occasionally the osr brake gets a bit hot after a run. I asked the indy to take a look when he was doing the other work. Murphy's law took effect and they could not replicate the fault but cleaned and greased up the caliper slider, pins etc. Anyway the fault happened again today. Indy says new caliper needed and I agree but I'm loathe to pay MB prices. Can anyone suggest/recommend an aftermarket make of caliper please?

 

[Jockcl500]

Eurocarparts do pagid ones if you type the reg in it should (but not always) come up with the correct ones.
remember to put the discount code in aswell when they are in the basket to see the true cost.

 

[DSM10000]

In praise of the W169 , she's had the car since it was 6 months old and 4000 miles. The only non maintenance items have been a vacuum valve on the fuel system and a new battery last October so nearly 100% over 8 years.

After 8 years I think you should count the battery as a maintenance item.