I have leased 8 Mercedes C Class vehicles since 1997. I get leases for 45,000, and return them at about 44,000 for a new lease. That way, I always have a car under warranty, and am always driving a new car.

I take my car to the dealer as soon as a service light comes on. So my cars are always perfectly maintained.

Last car was a C300 sedan. All around great car.

I have always wondered about buying one of these cars off lease, and trying to drive it up to 150,000 miles or so. But I am worried about the costs of unexpected (not regular maintenance).When I say "unexpected", I mean things like electrical problems, or the air conditioner breaking, for example.

Does anyone know of any posts, articles, videos, etc. that could help me figure out whether driving an older car would be a good idea? In other words, are there any statistics that show what the average cost of unexpected maintenance is on a C Class after 75,000 miles or so?

My thinking is that it costs a little more to lease, but it is generally worth it if you are driving around 15,000 miles a year. The premium of always having a car under warranty is worth about $100 a month to me. But I'd like to get more information so I could study the question .

Thanks.

I have owned German cars for 30 years and would never keep one beyond the warranty again. Count on an average of $2000-3000 per year in maintenance if you're lucky, even more with high mileage. If you really love the car get a 7 yr/100k warranty and see how it goes.