Well it's taken a lot to get from 250K miles to 260K miles and I have to wonder if I am crazy to keep spending money on such an old car.
The long time #4 coolant leak just gets progessively worse, and I have to wonder what damage it's done over the years to the head and block.
I have steam coming out from under the hood on a standstill, but I just keep filling it and driving it. But as member Rotary Fox found out, eventually it will fail, and
well...I need the engine fixed and likely a timing chain, new motor mounts, most of the suspension need to be replaced and well, major clunking sounds in the rear,
front is pretty much gone too.
That's about it. If have the work done, I see a $5-6K repair bill in my future. OR put that towards a newer car. It's hard to give up on
a car that while it CAN be repaired, and most everything works, becomes financially stupid to continue.
But I can't find anything I would want to buy, that I can afford. Well, if it makes it to 270K there will be another post here

 

Congrats on 260k!
Most of my friends call me crazy for putting in the effort to keep my coupe alive instead of putting the money elsewhere.
It would be smarter, but I love this car and its history with my family.
I think it would be worth putting the money into the car, but I am no accountant
As one of the last few (technically) first owners of this car, I applaud your efforts in making it this far.

 

It is affirming to have other long-term/high mileage W203 owners on the forum. I am about to reach 199,000 miles and I expect to keep my car a few more years. I'm feeling good about the car today, because it is behaving well. The year isn't over, but expenses have been relatively low:

AC Recharge (the only work I had done at a shop) $200
Coolant pipe at the back of the engine & Coolant $100
Hose between SC silencer and SC $40.00
Replace third/high mount brake light $126.00
Replace passenger door handle $22.00
Replace steering angle sensor $205.66
Replace cruise control stalk $115.26

This list doesn't include DIY oil changes and other routine items like wiper blades. I also replaced the power steering fluid.

If the car continues to cost me less than $1000 per year in repairs, I will continue to repair it. One of the big savings associated with owning an older car in Virginia, is avoiding a big personal property tax bill. For example, if I owned a car valued at $50,000, I would pay about $1800 per year in tax. Newer cars depreciate rapidly. While depreciation is not an out-of-pocket expense, it does affect your financial position in the long run. So, while it may seem illogical to some people that I am willing to spend $1000 per year to keep an old car on the road, I am comfortable doing so.

That said, if I were facing $5000 in repairs I would probably begin hunting for a newer car. However, a newer car is not necessarily a panacea. You could be buying someone else's problems.

 

2005 C240 4matic with 265,000

 

Congrats on reaching 260k. Totally worth spending a bit of money on it versus the cost of just servicing newer models. Sadly mine reached 460k km before I recently totalled it. Replaced it with a 2012 w204 C180 with 297k on it. Harsher ride & doesn't feel as 'together' as the w203.

 

I totally get it. There aren't lot of cars I like that are new. My problem is I also like to work on them. While there is peace of mind not having to worry about breaking down, I've amassed a great amount of automotive tools over the years and enjoy being in my garage. Do what makes you happy!

 

I don't enjoy working on cars so much. I think of it was paying myself instead of someone else.
A necessary evil to me. I do (finally!!) have a garage to work and a parking space therein, AND
I bought a very nice toolkit combo with 11 drawers to organiz the disorganized mess of 3-4 seperate toolkits
that needed to be dumped out on the bench to find anything.
I lived with a rudimentary selection tools most of my adult life.
I really wonder how I got as far as I did with the limited tool selection I had.
More recently I bought some additional bits and pieces, replaced missing sockets. purchased swivel stubby rachets, racheting wrenches and such as
well as a decent floor jack, and some new locking jack stands. I was looking at my old jack stands and questioned my sanity for ever getting under a car with
those pieces of crap.
The garage gets damn cold and I HATE laying on my back under the car. I bought a heater but 110V takes forever to warm it up.
I think if i had a lift etc. I'd enjoy it more. I know I would. There was lift rental place near where I lived previously,
doing a trans service was a breeze. I called it the Hilton of DIY auto repair. But $35 an hour not cheap.
I've gotten older ....and fatter. I mean I can hardly believe I'm 64!? Time flies.
Hard to nimbly jump up and down like I used to getting the correct tool or slip under the car in a tight
space. But that being said, I've replaced my front AMG brakes and rotors, repacked the hubs, replaced the starter, alternator, supercharger,
thermostat and shifter in the last 10K miles. The brake parts, shifter and thermostat I already had so I didn't need to buy those.
And I got a great deal on the SC for $250 with 80K miles on t. So I didn't actually spend that much. Plus air filtter, oil, plugs and a couple ignition coils.
I had to replace all 4 tires as well. The tread seperated. POS Sumitomos. I got some Khumos. Not great but lasting much longer than other tires I've had.
All that work would've cost a fortune if I'd paid a mechanic. But still there's engine mounts, head gasket (and I really feel a timing chain a well) likely valve work, and suspension. And with head gasket comes new hoses, etc.
I'm afraid to take it apart, I might not be able to put it back together!

 

Working in the garage gives me an excuse to have a few beers and make the wife think I'm doing something productive! I have a whole regimen I go through with any older/neglected MBZ myself. I bought my coupe as a work commuter and had to get reliability out of the way before I deemed it worthy of 130-mile round trips through the desert. After I bought it, I immediately changed:
-Front & rear brakes, Brembo rotors/Akebono pads, stainless braided hoses. I updated the front to the 330mm rotors, found front calipers from a W209 CLK pretty cheap at a local pick n pull. Also did brake fluid flush.
-Plugs/wires, radiator, radiator hoses, alternator, tensioner, belt, crank pulley, crank sensor, air filters (oil was just done)
-H&R springs, Koni shocks, front control arms
-Trans service was done previously so didn't touch that.
-Discount tires had a sale on Bridgestones so I replaced the mismatched tires on the car and didn't have to go cheap on them. Then had an alignment done.
-For creature comforts I tinted the windows because Las Vegas sun is brutal in the summer and also added an Alpine head unit.
-Valve cover gaskets, breather hoses and motor mounts will be the next thing needing done.

 

I rolled over the 200,000-mile barrier last Saturday. I bought the car in August of 2017 with 112,000 miles on the odometer for $4300. I estimate the car has cost an average of $1000 per year to keep it on the road. From a certain point of view, it might seem wiser to have spent that money on a newer or less complicated car. From my perspective, avoiding depreciation and tax expenses have partially defrayed the maintenance and repair costs.

I'm planning to keep the car a few more years. I like my manual transmission, my C63 seats and the feel of the sports suspension. I have looked at some replacements for the car, but there are not many sedans with manual transmissions available outside of basic transportation. The only upscale manual transmission cars appear to be the Acura Integra and the VW GLI. I looked at both and thought they were decent, but I couldn't get excited by the prospect of paying $30-40,000 for either car.

I think my C230 still looks presentable:


Uless you are prepared to complete routine maintenance and minor repairs yourself, I think the cost of owning a high-mileage/20-year old Mercedes would be challenging.