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I spotted an (insert obscure car name here) classic car today! (Archived)
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of course, it is a Benz so it's going to nickel and dime you, no getting around that. These are the types of cars where you never ever buy a "fixer-upper". You buy the cleanest, nicest, lowest miled one you can afford to own.
The M103 I6 as seen in most 300E cars is a smooth and durable unit, not too powerful (180hp I think) but it can move the car along as they aren't as heavy as a modern car. The engines can also take a lot of mileage if maintained, but they do seem to like value adjustments or work at maybe 250K miles, even with proper maintenance. It was replaced by a DOHC I6 for a couple years that bumped up the power a bit, but was still durable. There was also a 2.8l 300E that developed less power. Powertrains on these cars are solid, electrical glitches and HVAC issues are the main problem areas, I think. I wouldn't call them unreliable, they just need more TLC than a Corolla. If that is ignored, the cars will fail.
If I was to choose a V8 car it would be a 500E, and those still cost...however a I6 car should be just fine for most people.
The Jag isn't huge, so one can see how tiny a Mini really is.
For large families
As odd as it gets
Sharp Z
The little wide car
Wow
Beast
Homely
Low miles R
Uh-oh, someone restored a fintail...burning the money would be more efficient, but I like those tires
"rare and beautiful"
This is cool
442 of a different era
The 73 Electra is great.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I had entertained the idea of trying to find one really nice R-body and just retiring the two that I have. Only problem with one like this though, is that it's in good enough shape that I'd be afraid to drive it for fear of messing it up. And that interior won't stay in that condition for very long if it started getting used! Heck, I can see a bit of deterioration on my 5th Ave's interior in the time I've had it. I bought it in October 2001, and I think I've only put about 7200 miles on it. Start slamming doors and such, and it won't be long before trim pieces start popping off, cracking, etc.
At least with the two I have now, I'm not afraid to drive them, and I wouldn't cry (too much) if something ended up happening to them.
That '77 Cutlass is a nice looking car, but there should have been a law that you couldn't put 4-4-2 badging on something that wussy! I could see if it was a 403, but c'mon...a 260?
That 1976 Olds Ninety-Eight is a bloated, disgusting wretch of a car that never should have been built in the first place. I don't know why anybody would want something like that. Oh, who am I kidding? I LOVE it!
The '73 Electra is nice too. Too bad it's kind of a poopy color.
That fintail is gorgeous...even if the seller probably took a bigger financial hit than my retirement porfolio did this year.
There was a 160 hp 350, which I guess was a 2-bbl. It was offered only in the Delta 88, with the 170 hp version being optional.
The 260 only had 110 hp back in those early years, and had to have been a dog. CR tested a 1977 Cutlass sedan with the 260, and I want to say it took 21 seconds to do 0-60! In that test, they had a newly downsized Caprice with a 305, an LTD II with a 302, and a Monaco or Fury with a 318, and I think they all made 0-60 in about 12.5-13 seconds. I always suspected they picked the 260 for the Cutlass on purpose to make it look bad. A 350 Cutlass probably would have blown all those other cars away. And CR was really pulling for the Caprice.
I can remember the brochure. The Cutlass I bought was the 1st one on the cover, tan over metallic brown. I wonder if I still have the sales brochures packed in a box along with my AMC pacer sales brochures...
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
'64 Dodge Dart wagon? I thought that was pretty cool.... but, at $28K it hasn't met the reserve? :surprise:
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The reason I'm asking these questions is that, if you subscribe to the notion that to reduce the probability of high cost-of-ownership one should avoid buying new cars and cars that are very old, then the W210 comes closer to the sweet spot than the W124. In fact, maybe all but the newest W210s may be too old to avoid the expenses associated more with age than mileage.
If one can afford it, do first and second year (2003? or 2004) W211s tend to be more reliable than, say, 2001 and 2002 W210s?
"1998 E300 Turbo Diesel. 45,000 miles, mint condition, garage kept. Smoke silver. Parchment leather. CD Changer, Mobile Phone, Rain Sensor, ESP, Headlamp Wiper/Washer, Xenon Headlamps, Michelin tires, glass sunroof, Bose Premium Music System. 3.0 Liter 24 Valve 6 Cylinder Turbo Diesel Fuel Injection. 34 Highway 26 City. One family ownership. Currently have a 2008 E320 Bluetec Diesel. Have the 1998 window sticker and can pdf this document. An absolutely fabulous car and the low mileage is your gain. All service performed by Mercedes of Fredericksburg, Virginia currently Central Euromotors. Same Mercedes mechanic performed all work and shop forman. Please email if interested."
I know certain post-W123 diesels are problematic, but I forgot just which ones.
I think you could only get a manual tranny in a 442 those years if you had the 260.
I would recommend a late W210 over an early W211. Although they have both lost a lot of value, the W210 will still be significantly cheaper even if only a year older, and it is no less reliable.
I own a W210, an E55 from the last few months of W210 production. It's well put together, the upgraded interior is very nice, and of course the tuned V8 is fun.
That diesel you mention sounds like an exceptional car - good colors and options, and the history sounds ideal . The diesels and AMG cars tend to have less issues, in my experience anyway. The diesel engines have less electrical issues I think, and back then the AMG cars were still assembled at a seperate facility.
As for the Peugeot truck, the guy has other cool rides on his site that he ledns out for films and tv, but not for sale. Check them out .
and the rat rod is cool too. I like rat rods, but that one is too much finished for my tastes. I'd like one with flat black paint, or rusty colored metal, unpainted.
2016 Audi A7 3.0T S Line, 2021 Subaru WRX
2001 BMW 330ci/E46, 2008 BMW 335i conv/E93
And hpmctorque - if you buy one of those cars and it turns out to be a headache, don't look at me! :P ...of course, if it turns out to be awesome, I'll be more than happy to take credit.
I know full well that with used cars you win some and you lose some. I know your statements were tongue-in-cheek, at least somewhat, but, again, the info you provided hit the bulls eye, in terms of what I wanted to know. I have confidence in your opinions, and Shifty's. If I bought one and it was disappointing, well, hey, that risk is factored into the depreciation.
My situation is such that I don't NEED another car right now, but if I came across a really nice, well maintained E300 I'd consider it. I prefer to buy one owner cars from private parties who've kept maintenance records. That limits the number of offerings, but it gives me greater confidence about knowing what I'm buying. Dealers throw away all records, including the owners manual, for liability reasons, I guess. If I were in a hurry, I'd check out the dealers, but I'm not. Cars with above average mileage don't scare me, if I have the sense that they've been well maintained and driven with reasonable care.
I checked Craigslist today but there weren't any E300s in my area that I'd seriously consider.
I think the modern cars are becoming a bit overburdened with features too. The W210 is like a W124 compared to the current W211. MB purists will say this is not what MB is supposed to be about, oftentimes pointless technology. The advent of Lexus scared MB into this new role, IMO.
Liked the Peugeot ambulance, an ugly old bus - although not as famous or desirable as it's main rival, the Citroen H, which was a corrugated shed on wheels. You still see those even over here, and they were never sold in UK when new,,,
The Pacer always amuses me. When someone tried to sell that here in the mid seventies, they made the mistake of trying to appeal as a sort of hi-tech car for people who wanted something different - they converted to RHD by some sort of chain arrangement behind the dashboard, I think, so the steering column stayed in the same place, as a sort of stump, and the driver on the passenger side had a wheel with no feel whatsoever... Also the passenger door on the original car was wider to allow safe access for people from the rear seat onto the pavement - but here, of course, that was on the driver's side. No wonder they never sold any - the only ones I can ever recall seeing were LHD, and they would have been rarities even when new.
You do see a lot of inaccurate stuff on TV etc, with cars out of period, on our domestic productions, let alone filmed overseas - yet it's not as bad as with aircraft.
How often do they show an airliner taking off, it's got two engines, and yet suddenly you get a stock shot underneath the fuselage of a 747, with all the wheels folding, and then when it lands again somewhere else, its a completely different aircraft....
Last Sunday I went to an American car show, north of London, which was great - loads of old sedans from the chrome and fins era, at least fifty pre-war ones, and even the only pre-war Jensen to use a Lincoln V-12 engine... There were several prewar Lincoln Zephyrs, and although there were more Cadillacs say than Plymouths, it was a pretty good show, because there was a wide range of models represented - I can't recall seeing more American cars in one place over here...First time I've ever seen an Avanti II, and there were a smattering of cars from France as well as about eight 50's Buicks from Holland and Belgium, who had come over together... I took loads of pictures, and will eventually try to download a few.
Going home, I also noticed how the cruising speed of these leviathans seems to be about 50/55 mph, probably at least in part to conserve fuel..
To me, that 1976 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight is rare and beautiful.
Holy smoke, andre1969! That R-Body is just called out to you! That's got to be one of the nicest R-bodies out there!
It may be calling, but I'm not answering the phone! :shades: Tempting car, even with its shortcomings. I mean, I could replace the power window myself. I guess a new headliner might run $300-400, tops? And I don't think the heater cores are too terribly hard to get to on these cars.
I think if I had one in that kind of shape though, I'd obsess over it too much, and stress out every time it got nicked or scratched, or a piece of interior trim fell off. Plus, I think I'm just getting tired of that color. I mean, I've had my 5th Ave for almost 7 years now. My '79 Newport and '69 Dart were both beige, too. And my '67 Catalina is a pale, creamy yellow, not too radically different in hue.
What I really should have done was bought that midnight blue one we saw at the Mopar show back in 2006. It was an '80, with the weaker 120 hp 318-2bbl (versus the mighty
What I'd really like to do is find a nicely kept R-body in a 2-tone, either light green over dark green, or light blue over dark blue. Here's the second page for the blue spread.
I dunno if the mechanism is designed any different from the body-colored flip-down headlight covers on my two New Yorkers.
Ironically, the day after I bought my '79 5th Ave, a '79 St. Regis in that same 2-tone green color scheme showed up for sale right around the corner from my condo. The body was in good shape except for a big dent in the passenger side front door. It wasn't as well-equipped as the 5th Ave...crank windows, 318-2bbl, cloth interior (which I actually prefer). But the seller only wanted $500 for it. If I had the place to keep it, and the money to waste, I would have bought it. And if I had seen it before I bought my 5th Ave, I would've gotten it instead.
You need to start an R-body conservatory :P
You need to start an R-body conservatory
Yeah, I'm sure the neighbors would just LOVE that! :surprise:
Same here, seems like the 'resto-rod' craze really got people thinking a '68 whatever looks good in 22" wheels. Chip Foose seems like a talented guy, but I just don't go for his wheels.
I think there were 7 or 8 V12 Lincolns including the Jensen at that show, but some of those must have come in later....
Yes, and imagine how bad a car rides where not effort was made to handle those tires? Folks over here love to put them on Suburbans, Tahoe, Escalades - must ride like a dump truck (edit - 'tipper lorry', right?)!
I picture a "normal" tire, say a 75 or 70 series having some give as it scrapes over high and low spots allowing it to maintain grip; I picture the narrow sidewall wheel acting more like hard plastic as the pavement under goes up down and sideways, and not maintaining contact with the road.
Are there any studies?
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I am sure driving something like a Zephyr or Airflow in 1937 Europe was even more of a shock to the passerby than in NA, too. Must have been an interesting time.