80 miles a day commutting to school - buy another car or use my W204?
 

This fall I will be commuting to college, I can either take the train or drive. I think I would prefer to drive as long as I can avoid rush hour. its 40 miles each way so I would be doing 80 miles a day on my c300 about 4 days a week. I care for my car a lot and I hate the wear and tear that goes on it, I am so anal about it, I hate driving people around in it, leaving it in the sun, going over rough roads etc. Not to mention I may be leaving it in the train station parking lot if I do take the train sometimes. So I am thinking of buying another car to beat on to get to school and back while keeping my c300 covered in the garage.

However, I plan on having the car for a while, so I have been just thinking about using it for the commute and racking up the miles. I think to myself the c300 isn't gonna be a real collectors car or something I want to take out only on a sunday in 10 years, so I might as well use it, enjoy it, take care of it while making what ever repairs I have to make along the way and test out its longevity. Plus I'd rather the girls at a school see me in it than a w124 300e or a honda crv. I do get to keep it in a covered garage at school, although I still have to worry about dings:wall: It's weird though, I'm so anal about my car, but I like the idea of testing out its longevity while performing all the proper maintenance and keeping it in good condition.

Just wanna get some input on which idea is stupider driving it through the bronx and heavy NY roads for 80 miles a day and sometimes leaving it in the train station parking lot or the school parking garage, or buying a beater car and keeping the c in the garage and enjoying it on the weekends?

I got my C300 for commuting 5 days a week to school, and I racked up 10k miles in 1 semester. Not regretting it one bit. But now I got a place Downtown (5 min away fron school) so no more long commuting for my 300

drive it. it's just a car. a good looking car, but still just a car nonetheless.

I'm from LI as well. The LIRR can be a real PITA. But then again, so can LIE, Grand Central, Meadow-Brook, Cross Island Exp. etc etc etc. The other part is the insurance. State Farm Ins. and a few others limits you to a 10K mile/year average. 200 school days x 80 = 16,000 miles just for school. They love sending you a questionnaire asking for your OD reading every 12 months, with questions like, "Is this car used for work or pleasure?" "Is it your daily commuting vehicle?" etc etc. If you go above the 10K mile limit, or they learn you are using it as a daily commuter car, your rates go UP! Progressive Ins. goes further with their SnapShot". This tells them precisely how many miles you travel, the speed you travel, and how hard you brake etc etc. BIG BROTHER style. Add to that the fact the parking lots at these schools, especially at night, are car ding magnets and accidents from drunk, hungover, sleep deprived students and teachers. I bought a bike for my first two years, then shared an apartment thereafter. Good Luck! :y

I agree with Redux completely... I also live on Long Island and Commuted to Hofstra. Not only is traffic annoying, but he is completely correct about Insurance asking for odometer readings. Between commuting to work and school, I put on about 20k miles per year. Insurance asked me for an odometer reading and good thing I have a good relationship with my insurance broker. She told me that if I reported 20k miles annually, my insurance would have nearly doubled. So I simply purchased a new C250, as funny enough, it saved me money. Lol.

With that said, LIRR does stink. Many cars get broken into, etc. However, I find this more happens with "Cheap" cars as they can steal radios and spoilers, etc, that they can easily sell on the black market. My father drives his SL 500 to the train station and nohting ever gets stolen, because I doubt theives can find a market for stolen mercedes parts.

I would just take the train, at least for the majority of your commuting. Get a monthly train pass, its like $300/mo but a great deal, almost 50% off regular pricing. You can also use this to go into the city with friends on a night out (when/if you are 21). So it sort of saves you money, wear and tear on your car (brakes, mileage depreciation, tires, dings, road chips, scratches) etc. I would just take the train.

If you take the train you will be saving a lot in gas, also you could also declare your car as a leisure vehicle with your insurance company if you use it sparingly thus saving a lot in insurance.

You also have to think about driving that distance everyday in winter where traffic and road conditions could get pretty bad.
On the train you could read, watch videos, do some work on your laptop/iPad, take a nap, etc. where you can't when driving.

Just a few things to think about.

80 miles a day? I hope you're going for your MD, otherwise deprecation and gas will add several thousand to the cost of your degree. Buy a beater, and I mean a beater, for this task.

Take it from a big-name U-educated business owner.......a "plain ol college degree du jour" isn't worth the investment for an increasing number of young people who don't have a grad school in their immediate post-undergrad plan.

Aside from car vs. train economic/convenience discussion, the whole concept of the "beater" car concerns me. One of the reasons you likely (although one cannot be certain) bought the MB was for the excellent engineering of safety features. Every time you leave that behind in the garage for an older, less well-equipped with safety feature, less well-designed vehicle, you add some amount of theoretical risk to your life or health to what we all already face. What's that worth to you? :nix:

I agree. Having driven on the LIE with all the crazy drivers, I'd want something safer than a beater. I see it this way, your car is going to depreciate regardless if you driving it or not. You might as well enjoy it while you have it.

Thanks for all the input everyone. I expected more "it's just car, drive it" responses, but its obvious there are a lot of people on here that care about their car as much as I do and don't like it being abused from everyday driving. All good points made, Redux and jctevere about the insurance and Sportstick about not making use of the C's safety features. Right now I'm thinking the train will be best. I still am reluctant leaving it in the train station parking lot. It's a relatively safe area, so I'm mainly worried about the paint baking the in the sun all day from the UV rays, and dings and scratches. I have tints, rear sunshade and will buy a windshield reflector to protect the interior, but again, the dings and uv rays are tough on the car. Perhaps I'll buy a beater just to take to the train station :nix:

Have you considered a locking car cover to use at the train station while you're away all day?

I am not recommending any particular one, and don't know if MB makes one, but here is just one example.

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/acc...uestid=3542713

Cover it?
 

Car covers are good idea for inside use and I have one for my #2 car.

But, you cannot cover a dirty car because the wind will move the cover around and scuff the paint, no matter what it's made of. And over time the cover will become dirtier and dirtier. The second problem is rain. What do you do with a wet cover? You would have to roll it up and put it into a container of some sort to avoid ruining the trunk "carpet" and you certainly can't put it inside.

:y Covers don't work very well on dirty cars. But mostly they are a thief magnet, and the guy parked next to you almost always believes he can now slam his door into yours without damage, just because it's covered.... Not! It just encourages them...

I bought a small 600 Honda Sport Bike. Strapped my books on back and off I went. But if you can afford another sacrificial car, by all means GO FOR IT! It will give you peace of mind while in class.... that's priceless! :naughty:

Anything will do, but not this.. stay away if they look like this! :rolf:

http://www.diseaseproof.com/uploads/image/OLDCAR.jpg Borat's car !

I actually do have a Mercedes branded cover I bought through the dealer made with NOAH fabric, it was very pricy and I haven't used it once yet. Not a bad idea, but I do agree a covered car would attract thieves and careless parking spot neighbors.

A bike isn't a bad idea, cheap, economical, cool, but I would never (nor would my dad let me) use it to drive all the way to the school considering the roads/bridges I have drive on, using it to get to the train station though might be plausible. I still would have to talk my dad into it, we made a deal when I was maybe 10 that I would never get a motorcycle. Redux, did you drive it in winter/snow?

I'm thinking of something like this for a beater car:D:

http://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/...00e_rfront.jpg

But then again I think it would be stupid buying a W124 just cause I don't want to park my C at the train station, they're both automatic Mercedes sedans. Sometimes I think I should sell my W204, buy a W124 to daily drive, either put the excess money in a mutual fund or save up a little more and buy maybe a Porsche 993, a car that will most likely appreciate in the future, and comes in a manual.

I've never used a car cover, so I defer to those of you who have....just thinking "out loud", I guess.

My son broke a similar deal recently. But at almost 30, a doctor who earns his own way, he felt he was fine with getting his motorcycle. Still, we had some "challenging" moments when he told me about it.

Still don't like that beater idea. I value you more than a car, and that one you showed does not have side air bags or as well developed frontal bags. Just drive what you have, and when the time comes to move on, remember, it's a depreciating asset and it's replaceable. You're not.

I'll second Sportstick. This whole practice has never made sense to me personally. Also I have State Farm insurance and they asked me if I drove more than 7500 miles annually. I said yes and they have never asked again.

Okay, you lay out a lot of money on a Mercedes. The payments, the insurance, the maintenance. But then you want to lay out even more money to buy a crappy car to actually drive. That is like sleeping on the floor so your nice mattress doesn't get any wear on it. Do you buy a nice pair of shoes and then wear flip-flops so they don't wear out?

A C300 is not a yard decoration, it is a car. Cars have 1 purpose. Aside from that fact, though, I still don't understand the punishing yourself with a beater to protect something from doing what it was designed to do.. drive! Sitting all the time isn't even good for the thing.

Buying some older car without modern safety features to prevent driving the C300 is literally -now think about this for a moment- literally taking increased risks with your safety and well-being in order to protect a car from being driven.

I say drive it like it's daily beater. I mean C-class is nice but it's not collectible car like you said and If you gonna keep it for while and not under lease, just drive it like you would on any other normal car.

I have about the same commute as you. And ONE of the reasons why I even bought the C class was cos my old civic si was just too uncomfortable (other reasons were it was time for a new car, got a great offer for it so it was hard to not sell it, etc). I bought the C class in 2009 July. 3 years later, I put 96xxx miles on it. People always tell me I should get a beater. To me, it doesn't really make sense, I bought the car to drive it around. Depreciation or not, I didn't buy a car to worry about how much I'll get when I sell the car. It'd be nice to get a lot when I do sell it, but will I cry if it doesn't? no, because I bought the car for one purpose and it served that purpose well. The only time I'll buy a beater is if I have an AMG, M's, or an exotic car. It's kind of defeats the purpose if you buy a entry level sedan only to buy piece of crap car on the side. Should've just bought something like a Elantra (which are nice cars for the price) to begin with so you don't have to worry about commute, depreciation, and stuff like that. My w204 is a blast and I enjoy every moment of my commute with it, and any oppurtunity I can drive it (ie road trips, going out on weekends with friends where I'll offer to drive).

to OP, I understand your pain. My commute is about 250kms each day (about 150 miles). I dislike public transportation as my work schedule gets me moving around alot at different times of the day and i like the comfort of driving my own car. Anyways, my 2 cents is that you bought the car to enjoy it. There is not a better bonding experience than driving it imo. And for this, I use my car as a DD and dont worry about the number of miles I put onto the vehicle. I bought this car to keep so I dont care too much about resale. Plus, for my over 1hr commute each way.... I cant imagine driving another car. I figured why buy such a nice car for it to be a garage queen right? :D Plus, if you meet people or actually have to drive someone... wouldnt you want to do it with your real car? not some beater lol

btw.. I drive a C63 so if I can DD with this, you can DD with your C300!

AMGs make great DDs... many of us use it for everything like walmart runs or trips with the family :) The exhaust note and the responsiveness of the vehicle makes any commute enjoyable :)

I had a beater, then I realized I always preferred to drive my c63 even just for normal commutting so I sold the beater and bought mods for my c63 lol

I did ride in all weather. You do get use to it, as long as you wear the right protective clothing. Obviously on snowy days I would be forced to drive my car (had a GTI back then) but there weren't may of those, luckily. I happen to agree with your last thought. It sounds to me that maybe it's time to sell your baby and move on to the next phase of your life. There will always be more time (and money after graduation) for a newer and grander baby. Good luck!

I think this is the final point to make:

https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...nz-myself.html

:word:

Now how do you think an old Civic would hold up?

Very true.