might sell my baby

[robparker]

well my baby (1990 230ce on LPG) has just failed its MOT and its costing me around about £600 to get through. main ones it failed on were broken spring, steering arm, exhaust and corroded brank pipes. The interiour is mint, there is no rust and its done about 163k and runs beautifully. costs about 7p/mile to run on LPG so its cheap for fuel. i'm just annoyed im spending this much and feel like i want to buy a newer Merc which will not hit my pocket so hard maybe. but then i like having one you dont see on the roads very much. grrr, what to do....!

 

[Sprint'n'Go]

Stick with it pal!

if it is as rust free and cheap to run as you say then it is worth keeping. Weigh the repair costs against the replacement cost and you can almost guarantee it will cost at least 4-5 times more to find a new car and then you may still have to start spending to fix any faults(like exhausts) on the new one. The faults you mention sound like minor wear and tear items to me. Major mechanical faults and serious corrosion should be the things that end a cars life not bits and bobs like yours. It sounds as though you are otherwise happy with the car and that is not common nowadays. KEEP IT.

 

[jberks]

If you are solely changing it because of those bills, then don't. What you are facing is a set of one-off bills that come up at that age. Once fixed, it's as good as new. A newer one will have a different set of expensive repairs, more complex and touchy electronics and you'll lose the LPG benefits.
Buy a newer one and you've already hit your pocket to pay for it.
I have a very new one and I'd happily swap repair bills!!
Stick with it!

 

[Blobcat]

Agree with the above, these are only maintenance issues. You know the car and any new vehicle will A) cost £££ and B) have problems you don't know about. Keep it

 

[robparker]

yea i agree with the above statements about them being one off bills and it will cost me alot to buy a new one.. though right now my car is still worth something, but im thinking in a years time the milage will be over 200k, do you think anyone would buy a petrol/lpg car with that kind of milage? otherwise yes im very happy with the car

 

[jberks]

Its always very hard when you are doing that kind of mileage, I wonder whether I should change in a year or two or just keep the danm thing forever. Bottom line is that someone who balks at 200k will probably balk at 170k anyway. If it's running well, then it's worth more to you than anyone else.

 

[lord westerdale]

if your newer car is to be another merc I Think you might find the newer car will not be as good as the old one as Mercedes don't build cars like they used to I have had old (300sl,190e) then new (C180,C180 sports, slk) the old's are still the best and you will loose more money than the cost of putting old faithful back on the road in depression within weeks.

Keep the old one

Regards Ian

 

[television]

I go along with Jberks and lord westerdale, keep the car, you will miss it for ever if you part with it, plus after those few jobs have been done the car will ride like a new car.

malcolm

 

[Streethawk]

if your newer car is to be another merc I Think you might find the newer car will not be as good as the old one as Mercedes don't build cars like they used to I have had old (300sl,190e) then new (C180,C180 sports, slk) the old's are still the best and you will loose more money than the cost of putting old faithful back on the road in depression within weeks.

Keep the old one

Regards Ian

I'd agree - my Dad's had three new mercs in the time I've had two old ones, and he hasn't really liked any of his.

No, I don't know why he keeps buying them...

How were u driving it with a broken spring?!

 

[Parrot of Doom]

Definitely keep the car. Replacing it with something newer will cost you more money in depreciation alone than any bills with your current car.

The only difference is that somebody present you with a bill for work done. Nobody presents you with a bill for depreciation, thats an 'invisible' bill to most...

Besides, £600 is not a bad price for the work quoted.