Car Advice! Yay...

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Car Advice! Yay...

Post by Lartrak »

Well, my piece of shit Taurus isn't quite dead, but after yet another required repair which would cost $1000 to fix, I've decided to get a new car.

I've been looking at various cars around the area. The leading contender is, oddly enough, a 1991 Mercedes 190e. Didn't expect that at all, but it meets what I want best thus far.

Anyway, my general requirements/rules of thumb are:

20 year age limit (safety and MPG reasons mostly).
$5000 or less
Under 80k miles
High reliability (most important of all)
20 MPG or higher
Relatively safe and comfortable

The Mercedes meets all that (it's the "Baby Benz", smaller than most of their others, but built to the same standards - sold very well, so it is common and cheap), and the one I was looking at only has about 66,000 miles on it... Meaning it has more than 150,000 miles of life left in it, from what I gather. The downside is that it can be difficult to find good and inexpensive mechanics to work on it, as the dealers are apparently outrageously expensive. I'd probably also have to source some parts myself if it requires them later, as "official sources" are expensive, but used parts are actually average in price. Of course, with the way the components are built, and the amount of miles I drive, it might be two or three years (at which point I'll be done with school and hopefully making better money) before I even have to worry about it - one of the more attractive aspects of the car.

That said, I'd still like more ideas. I've been looking at some BMWs and Volkswagens, but they usually can't fit the requirements right (too many miles or too expensive). There was a Toyota that fit, but barely. So, does anyone have any other suggestions? Or general advice for what to look for?
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Re: Car Advice! Yay...

Post by Code-Red »

You're a sucker for shitty cars eh? Ford, Mercedes, BMW, VW. All of them have terrible quality, and are extremely expensive to fix. Buy a Toyota. Or buy my car:

http://forums.vitalmotion.net/cars-sale ... post513799
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Re: Car Advice! Yay...

Post by Lartrak »

Code-Red wrote:You're a sucker for shitty cars eh? Ford, Mercedes, BMW, VW. All of them have terrible quality, and are extremely expensive to fix. Buy a Toyota. Or buy my car:

http://forums.vitalmotion.net/cars-sale ... post513799
I'm not going to disagree with you on Ford, but I've seen too many BMWs and Mercedes past the 200,000 mile marker still on their original engines/many other parts to make me think they're terrible quality. An unqualified opinion won't change my thoughts on that. The repairs on Mercedes can be extremely expensive, but if you stick to an independant mechanic and used parts, they're not much more than average.

And yes, a Camry/Corolla is one of my other leading contenders. Your car is way out of my budget range, on a final note. I did look at several Nissan cars thoughs... Mostly the Maxima, but they were generally out of my price range.
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Re: Car Advice! Yay...

Post by MKE »

For under 5k, you could get a lot newer of a car, that will probably get just as good gas mileage, and not cost as much to fix if something does go wrong.

I'd personally buy another Hyundai for reliability, gas mileage, and comfort. My 01 tiburon, which you can pick up all the time for $4k and under w/ <100,000 miles, got up to 35 MPG w/ the cai installed, and it had the Beta1 engine in it, that is known for lasting beyond 200,000 miles with minimal maintenance. It was also safer then my sister's huge 01 monte carlo, and i thought more comfortable. It handled better then any other car i've driven (currently an 00 Celica GTS) and would have bought another one, but i personally hate buying something that is worth nothing.

Or, as Code-Red said, Toyota also makes some very reliable cars. Thats why i moved up from hyundai to toyota.

If your still looking, i'd suggest seeing if you can find someone that will go to a dealer auction for you, or let you attend with you, And also change the less then 20 year to less then 10. Again, if something does go wrong, part availability, especially on a mercades, will be very low and you'll end up paying as much to fix it as you paid for the car.
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Re: Car Advice! Yay...

Post by Lartrak »

Thanks for the advice. I'm looking a bit at Hyundai's.. I didn't realize their quality had improved so much, as they used to be just about the least reliable pieces of junk sold in the US. But from what I gather now, they're up their with Toyota, which is cool.
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Re: Car Advice! Yay...

Post by Code-Red »

Lartrak wrote:
Code-Red wrote:You're a sucker for shitty cars eh? Ford, Mercedes, BMW, VW. All of them have terrible quality, and are extremely expensive to fix. Buy a Toyota. Or buy my car:

http://forums.vitalmotion.net/cars-sale ... post513799
I'm not going to disagree with you on Ford, but I've seen too many BMWs and Mercedes past the 200,000 mile marker still on their original engines/many other parts to make me think they're terrible quality. An unqualified opinion won't change my thoughts on that. The repairs on Mercedes can be extremely expensive, but if you stick to an independant mechanic and used parts, they're not much more than average.

And yes, a Camry/Corolla is one of my other leading contenders. Your car is way out of my budget range, on a final note. I did look at several Nissan cars thoughs... Mostly the Maxima, but they were generally out of my price range.
Really? You could combine all the automotive knowledge ANYONE in this forum has to offer, and I would still top that exponentially. BMW and Mercedes have major problems with electrical systems, gaskets (head, intake, tb, and exhaust), transmission synchros frying, oil consumption, and so forth. If you really want to argue with me, continue on. If not, take my advise and avoid the European cars.
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Re: Car Advice! Yay...

Post by butters »

Code-Red wrote:
Lartrak wrote:
Code-Red wrote:You're a sucker for shitty cars eh? Ford, Mercedes, BMW, VW. All of them have terrible quality, and are extremely expensive to fix. Buy a Toyota. Or buy my car:

http://forums.vitalmotion.net/cars-sale ... post513799
I'm not going to disagree with you on Ford, but I've seen too many BMWs and Mercedes past the 200,000 mile marker still on their original engines/many other parts to make me think they're terrible quality. An unqualified opinion won't change my thoughts on that. The repairs on Mercedes can be extremely expensive, but if you stick to an independant mechanic and used parts, they're not much more than average.

And yes, a Camry/Corolla is one of my other leading contenders. Your car is way out of my budget range, on a final note. I did look at several Nissan cars thoughs... Mostly the Maxima, but they were generally out of my price range.
Really? You could combine all the automotive knowledge ANYONE in this forum has to offer, and I would still top that exponentially. BMW and Mercedes have major problems with electrical systems, gaskets (head, intake, tb, and exhaust), transmission synchros frying, oil consumption, and so forth. If you really want to argue with me, continue on. If not, take my advise and avoid the European cars.
There's no such thing as a European car, just as there's no such thing as an American car or a Japanese car. The parts are made all over the world and may not even be assembled in that country. Toyota assemble cars in the U.S. Ford use parts made in Mexico.
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Re: Car Advice! Yay...

Post by ace »

I don't think he was making a comment on the quality of parts made in Europe, but rather he was simply classifying BMWs and Mercedes as cars with European heritage. Just as everyone considers a Ford to be American made and a Honda to be Japanese, a BMW, Mercedes, or VW is considered European.
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Re: Car Advice! Yay...

Post by ccb_v2 »

heh my family has pretty much switched to 80's mercedes and have had little to no real issues with them other than the usual expected repairs... i've found them to be quite reliable, even after smacking them into poles, deer, etc. i've got an 85 with over 180000 miles that still runs quite well for its age, just replaced rotors and pads all around for just $150 in parts.
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Re: Car Advice! Yay...

Post by SadisticSaviorX »

Code-Red wrote:Buy a Toyota.
They wont die even if you try to kill them.
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Re: Car Advice! Yay...

Post by Code-Red »

SadisticSaviorX wrote:
Code-Red wrote:Buy a Toyota.
They wont die even if you try to kill them.
True story. The 91-96 Corollas are bulletproof.
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Re: Car Advice! Yay...

Post by CupNoodle »

Code-Red wrote:
SadisticSaviorX wrote:
Code-Red wrote:Buy a Toyota.
They wont die even if you try to kill them.
True story. The 91-96 Corollas are bulletproof.
An old rommate of mine had a Corolla from the the era listed. He let the damned thing sit under a pine tree for about half a year before he could afford car insurance again. Sure it was only running on one cylinder because he hadn't done ANYTHING to it since he bought it, but man, you couldn't even tell. He eventually got it fixed, but I wonder how long it would have lasted...
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Re: Car Advice! Yay...

Post by 404NotFound »

Running on one cylinder? How in the hell...
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Re: Car Advice! Yay...

Post by Code-Red »

CupNoodle wrote:
Code-Red wrote:
SadisticSaviorX wrote:
Code-Red wrote:Buy a Toyota.
They wont die even if you try to kill them.
True story. The 91-96 Corollas are bulletproof.
An old rommate of mine had a Corolla from the the era listed. He let the damned thing sit under a pine tree for about half a year before he could afford car insurance again. Sure it was only running on one cylinder because he hadn't done ANYTHING to it since he bought it, but man, you couldn't even tell. He eventually got it fixed, but I wonder how long it would have lasted...
It would be QUITE obvious it would only be running on one cylinder.... probably the fact that it doesn't go anywhere, the conrod would snap within the first few revolutions, the piston would be fried, and there would be a ton of black/grey smoke and knock would be a good indication. A car cant possibly run on 1 cylinder (snowmobiles, motorcycles, and lawnmowers can). You must have meant he had one cylinder out.
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Re: Car Advice! Yay...

Post by CupNoodle »

Code-Red wrote:
CupNoodle wrote:
Code-Red wrote:
SadisticSaviorX wrote:
Code-Red wrote:Buy a Toyota.
They wont die even if you try to kill them.
True story. The 91-96 Corollas are bulletproof.
An old rommate of mine had a Corolla from the the era listed. He let the damned thing sit under a pine tree for about half a year before he could afford car insurance again. Sure it was only running on one cylinder because he hadn't done ANYTHING to it since he bought it, but man, you couldn't even tell. He eventually got it fixed, but I wonder how long it would have lasted...
It would be QUITE obvious it would only be running on one cylinder.... probably the fact that it doesn't go anywhere, the conrod would snap within the first few revolutions, the piston would be fried, and there would be a ton of black/grey smoke and knock would be a good indication. A car cant possibly run on 1 cylinder (snowmobiles, motorcycles, and lawnmowers can). You must have meant he had one cylinder out.
He told me it was running on one cylinder. I know next to nothing about cars, so I'll just take your word for it.
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Re: Car Advice! Yay...

Post by Lartrak »

http://www.mercedesshop.com/shopforum/a ... 1141763334

Pretty god damn pathetic, isn't it? That's from a 2006 Consumer Reports, BTW.

On a side note, from what I gather, Mercedes-Benz reliability fell dramatically beginning around 1995. By 2005 they had the least reliable new SUV. Numerous initial quality problems and reliability problems across their lines.

Apparently, some of the newer models have seen dramatic improvements, though.

http://www.jdpower.com/corporate/news/r ... ID=2007088
“Mercedes-Benz shows dramatic improvement, particularly with its newly-redesigned S-Class, which improves 63 PP100,” said Oddes. “Overall, Mercedes-Benz improves its nameplate rank by 20 positions—the greatest rank increase of any nameplate in the study. All Mercedes-Benz models in the study improved substantially, and the breadth and speed of these improvements demonstrates the Mercedes-Benz commitment to quality.”
[/quote]

I just thought it was interesting. Based on that article, it sounds like Ford has also been trying to improve their quality, which had slipped even more than Mercedes did.
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Re: Car Advice! Yay...

Post by Code-Red »

Lartrak wrote:
Code-Red wrote:You're a sucker for shitty cars eh? Ford, Mercedes, BMW, VW. All of them have terrible quality, and are extremely expensive to fix. Buy a Toyota. Or buy my car:

http://forums.vitalmotion.net/cars-sale ... post513799
An unqualified opinion won't change my thoughts on that. The repairs on Mercedes can be extremely expensive, but if you stick to an independant mechanic and used parts, they're not much more than average.
So I should expect a retraction shortly, I assume?
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Re: Car Advice! Yay...

Post by Lartrak »

Well, I am still of the opinion that a number of the older models of both BMWs and Mercedes are worthwhile, before their quality went down the tubes.

Older models are the ones I've routinely seen with 250k+ miles on them and still in great shape (diesel MBs well past 500k in some cases, though ironically their odometer's frequently break). So I was definitely at least partly wrong.
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Re: Car Advice! Yay...

Post by Code-Red »

Get a 85-89 BMW E30 if your wanting that sort of drive (3 series here). They come in 2 and 4 door, 5 speed manual or automatic, leather interior, rear wheel drive, decent pep, sexy looks, maintenance leaves a little to be desired. They are nice cars, and if you want fast, it isn't hard to slap a GT37RS turbo on an M20 apparently.
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Re: Car Advice! Yay...

Post by Lartrak »

Code-Red wrote:Get a 85-89 BMW E30 if your wanting that sort of drive (3 series here). They come in 2 and 4 door, 5 speed manual or automatic, leather interior, rear wheel drive, decent pep, sexy looks, maintenance leaves a little to be desired. They are nice cars, and if you want fast, it isn't hard to slap a GT37RS turbo on an M20 apparently.
Thanks for the tip.
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