An epic auto moment

[blueboss]

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/03/28/5y2a9y9e.jpg

My 97' E320 still going strong, I was less than a block from my house when it flipped and I immediately pulled over for the photo op


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[Darrell KSR]

Baby. I'm at 267,000. :)

via mobile app

[blueboss]

House money...

[Doc]

My son turn 16 next month. He is getting his grandmothers 2006 E250 for his first car which we hope gets that many miles. It currently have less than 80K on it and truly has "grandmother miles"

[blueboss]

I spent less than $500 on maintenance costs last year including an alternator ($275.00), the others included a courtesy light switch which cost more to find than replace, and an AC drier part $125.00.

I've spent twice that on the Passat w/80,000 mi

[Doc]

I spent less than $500 on maintenance costs last year including an alternator ($275.00), the others included a courtesy light switch which cost more to find than replace, and an AC drier part $125.00.

I've spent twice that on the Passat w/80,000 mi


We bought our daughter a brand new off the lot Scion Xa for her 16th birthday, 7 years ago.....3 sets of tires, a battery and oil changes, thats it. over 100K miles isn't bad for a 16-23 year old college kid. Considered doing the same with my son however couldn't get as good a deal as we are on this. My mother's car who seldom drives, is kept in the garage 100% of the time, driven only when they are in N. Carolina which is summer (they spend 4 months in Hawaii and 4 months travelling every year so the car literally sits unused 8 months a year). And its been maintained to the a T by dealer with no expense spared, and I'm getting it at black book cost (below blue book--the cost it would got into the auction for). Heck, even if I sink a grand or two into it I'm way ahead. Course my son will want to PMB (pimp my benz--LOL) with some bazooka exhaust, massize woofers, neon lights, etc... but its his car and I feel a lot safer him driving that than a tin foil car.

[blueboss]

No complaints here, the 6 cyl engine that is widely used in the E Benz is basically bullet proof or at least that's what the fix the car guy said


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[suncat05]

My Nissan Frontier just turned 187,000+ miles about a month ago. The only real money that I have had to spend on it aside from tires and normal maintenance was to replace the A/C compressor and replace the brakes. But the best part of it is............it's paid off! Maintenance and insurance are basically my only expenses (as I knock on wood!).

[blueboss]

My Nissan Frontier just turned 187,000+ miles about a month ago. The only real money that I have had to spend on it aside from tires and normal maintenance was to replace the A/C compressor and replace the brakes. But the best part of it is............it's paid off! Maintenance and insurance are basically my only expenses (as I knock on wood!).

W/no car payment I don't mind when something breaks...it's still a lot cheaper than a monthly payment w/interest charges.

[suncat05]

Absolutely, bb.......

[Darrell KSR]

I'm not 100% sure, but I think I have spent more money on the 2009 Honda Odyssey van I bought brand new, with an extended warranty and haven't spent a dime on repairs, each year since I owned it than I've spent on that old Volvo. Tires, brakes, oil changes, following the manufacturer's recommended maintenance schedule can get a little pricey.

Volvo's tires are cheap. I don't change oil frequently on it at all; nothing like I "should." Probably once a year I do have some repair on it, although (knocking on wood) I don't remember the last repair I've had done to it, it's been that long.

On a separate note--my wife insisted on buying the extended warranty, which I did not want to buy. Somebody is making money on those things, and I figure it ain't me.

Since our original warranty expired, the following things have been done to the car under the extended warranty, 100% paid for at the dealership:

Left CV boot
Right CV boot (worries me that both were required--EDIT--my wife tells me it was only the left, but apparently two different things were done. Not sure what. Obviously, I know less about cars than I do about even computers, which should tell you all you need to know)
Air conditioner--something. About 2 years ago had an issue and something had to be replaced. Wasn't the compressor, but would've been like $600.
Electric door locks

I think that's it, but I'm sure we've at least broken even. Hate it when my wife is right.

[Darrell KSR]

Blueboss,

I use a two-brother shop that repairs Volvos, BMWs and Mercedes, or used to. His main thing is Volvo, by far, probably 90% of his business. He recently told me he was no longer going to do Mercedes because it was getting too expensive to repair them. My GUESS is that he was talking about newer models.

Do you find your 97 E320 repairs--on the rare occasions when you need them--are pretty reasonable in costs? The "new" car I'm going to buy for myself will, more than likely, be a 10-year old car, BMW/Volvo, but I'd certainly consider a reliable E320 type as well, particularly if the repair costs--when they occurred--were manageable, although I know it would make Russ (my guy) unhappy when I brought it to him and made him fix it, too.


http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/03/28/5y2a9y9e.jpg

My 97' E320 still going strong, I was less than a block from my house when it flipped and I immediately pulled over for the photo op


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[blueboss]

I've got a similar repair guy in Louisville who I've known for 20+ years. He started out fixing VW bugs in his garage, folks in Louisville I'm sure have heard of him, The VolkesDoktor. Anyway he's got like 10 bays now specializing in VW's and German cars but handles all imports. Anyway when the Passat breaks it's more expensive to fix than my E320, and I've got a guy that won't BS about prices plus he still gives me a break (good guy pricing) on labor.

Import work isn't as expensive as it used to be I guess because there are crossover parts that keeps the cost competitive with original OEM parts. As I stated the alternator repair was $275 which included parts and labor, I was unable to use the VWDR and had to go to plan B because when it went out I was across the river in New Albany. Towing would have cost as much as the alternator ($139), my plan B is very similar a guy and his brother specializing in Mercedes, but also works on other imports too.

Anyway, on the Benz basic maintenance, batteries, brakes, oil changes, kind of stuff is very comparable to anything else. Major repairs I suppose could get dicey I suppose (knock on wood) but I don't know as nothing big has broke. I asked plan B about "what if" say the trany went out and he said under $1000. I like the car a lot, it's a very comfortable and roomy, and it's a great cruising down the road car, it's heavy and sound and like most German cars it's what I call stiff. I plan on driving it for several more years, and like you when it comes time to replace it I'll look for another one with a couple/few years and some gentle miles.

I might be thinking about switching out the Passat maybe next year, and seriously thinking about 1) Passat TDI gently used. 2) Buick Lacross, or maybe Regal that's gently used 3) Audi but I still have some research the VWDR told me Audi's are expensive to work on but they don't break often... not necessarily in any order.

If you can find one that you can trust how it was treated getcha an E320 and put 3 or 4 hundred thousand miles on it you won't be disappointed, I haven't been.