Hi Patrick, I well remember that car and the quite magnificent detail job you carried out on it. If we are talking about second hand Mercedes Benz cars on offer, it is a veritable grave yard. When I say graveyard, there are hundreds in the $3k. to $15K. region, and you will buy a hell of a lot of car for those dollars.
The problem nowadays, of course, is the cost of spare parts and the cost of servicing. Unfortunately, labour charges are substantial, and if you have an older model say pre 1990, it is becoming difficult to find garages or service centres that have the knowledge to deal with the older models. If you spend $4K. on a used car, it becomes uneconomical to then turn around and commit yourself to a repair bill of some $2K. to $3K. If dealing with older Mercedes models such as a W126 560SEL, they are still worth money - or say a good condition 6.9 that ay be valued at $20K., it is alright to spend the amounts I am talking about. In other words, it helps to have a car that is likely to appreciate in value, rather than depreciate. I think the percentage of one against the other would probably be close to 95% vs. 5%.
I don't think that too many of us would venture into the new Mercedes market - as you said, if on incomes that warrant leasing and buy-back, it pays to change every two to four years and those buyers are in an entirely different purchasing bracket. In my case, I need to stick to what I have, and what I can service, and what I can afford to spend on purchasing cars. Regards Styria
