fjs138

ive been lurking for a while.

ill keep this concise:

i am a recent college graduate. i will be making $34k this year and most likely $40k within the next two years.

I am in the market to buy a first car. Is it financially irresponsible to purchase a w210?

EVERYONE friends family esp. my dad keep telling me im nuts. that i should get ford focus, civic, something practical. my thought is for around $10k i can get a better car with the w210. It seems to me that the w210 is highly reliable, and insurance is low comperatively to a civic?

I feel that if i DIY minor things, and meticulously maintain it why wouldn't it work out?

here are the top nearby cars ive narrowed it down too. any opinions?
1997 Mercedes-Benz E-Class E420


1999 Mercedes-Benz E-Class E430

2002 Mercedes-Benz E-Class E430

2001 Mercedes-Benz E-Class E320

2006 Volvo S40 T5

2000 Mercedes-Benz E-Class E320 Wagon


im leaning towards 2nd and 3rd, because of looks. others may be better values? and the wagon is a one owner, non smoker, all service records available. seems like the surest bet. volvo has one year of factory warranty left on it, but its turbo i feel insurance would be higher and reliability would be lower.

questions, concerns, comments?

look, i know that a civic/focus/mazda would be cheaper and get better mpg, but ill get a car ill love and a new hobby as opposed to simply a people mover, for going from point A to B. what i want to know is am I going to pay little more gas, little more for parts, repairs etc, or is it a huge difference and something to heaviliy reconsider...know what i mean?

thanks all, this forum ROCKS

Quadcammer

quite frankly, after taxes, 34k doesn't go too far after rent, utilities, food, and entertainment, especially including car insurance (which will be higher). If you are a good DIY person, you may be ok, but otherwise, it may be a better idea to start on a different vehicle like a 124. Less electronics to break and the same driving feel.

paulybagadonuts

I know exactly how you feel. From the list provided, I would go for the '02 E. You can probably get the guy down a bit more. You know it's tough selling cars right now.

Check the Blue Book then chew 'em down from there. Good Luck

bzliteyear

congrats on finishing college.
imho, buy a used honda/acura for $3k and invest as much money as you can in good stocks. if you invest wisely, you can work toward a nice $20-50k nest egg vs. a $3k used MB.
Patrick

fjs138

ok so around the $10k price point you can get a civic, accord, scion, etc but they all have around 50-70k miles on themm and are from like 1999-2005.

scion tc only gets 20/27mpg anyway!

what the hell is so special or smart about buying an economy car used? they dont depreciate AT ALL, there basically what, $5k cheaper than brand new?

i feel like im getting ripped off buying these popular toyota/honda imports used... MB used seems like great value due to huge depreciation.

Figuero

Right now, in this economy, fresh out of college, I would stick to the basics. Spend your 110% effort on making a grand first impression on the job, not trying to figure out the CEL or changing rear brake light sockets.
If you really must enter the MB club at this time.... I would agree with a previous poster, get a solid lower tech W124. Somewhere on these boards I saw a promising Nevada 1995 E420 for around $4,000.
And what ever you do, don't buy a freaking Volvo.

Figuero

....what the hell is so special or smart about buying an economy car used? they dont depreciate AT ALL, there basically what, $5k cheaper than brand new?

I'm not sure if that's true, but if it is, logic says buy a brand new economy car.

socalsounds

Hey, don't listen to those guys! Why don't you get IN the car, my friend? There you go. How's that feel? Yeaaaahhhhhhh. There you go. Imagine when they all see you in THEEES baby. Heh heh heh. Payments? Don't worry about payments- we'll finance you for 9 years, my friend! Repairs? Hah. It's a Benz, my friend. What could go wrong? This is your destiny, my friend! And when you die, they can bury you in it!!!

Oh, yes, let's talk about this great extended warranty we sell, my friend. And a wonderful paint protection plan that even my wife bought! Hey, I just noticed that the wood trim is the SAME color as your hair, my friend!


Oh wait- that's what I listened to. Heh heh.

Get the W210- it's relatively inexpensive, pretty reliable and a '97 almost looks like a late model to the untrained eye! Good luck...

Chris

h0rn3t920

I have a 97 e420 in that same color. Thats exactly how it used to look. I just made it look more modern.

Figuero

HAAAA,
The only thing on my benz that is the same color as my hair is the 9" of snow.

phoung

i bought a clk 500 and LOVE it. put up a decent down payment, and if you have good credit and a good driving record, than your payments will be nomore than 500 a month for both car note and insurance. my clk is very reliable

Figuero

Income $3,000

Car Payment & insurance $500
Rent & insurance & utilities $1,000
Gas/Food/unknown $500
Girls and other livations $500
Income Taxes $250
Savings $250
CEL Priceless

Been there done that ----- Lock in SAVINGS.

Figuero

oops forgot,
Dental, Medical, Optical, golf, vacation, bubble gum

Britrover

fjs138 - I will stick to offering my advise on the car and not putting the whole financial picture together.

The W210 has minor issues ( MAF, bulbs burning out, brake light swith issue....differential leaks etc).....These are not very expensive fixes. I would agree if all you want is a Mercedes and want to save the money the W124 will be a better buy.

Another car you can look into is the C43AMG or the cheaper 99-00 C280.

Cheers

Quadcammer

Lest we not forget 401(k), social security, etc.

$2,833 per month
$2,039 after taxes, social etc (at 28%)
$1900 after car insurance
$800 after food/rent/utilities
$400 after gas/incidentals/entertainment
$100 after car payment

not to mention, in this economy the new folks are likely to be the first to get laid off.

If I was him, I'd buy a cheap beater until I had a year or two on the job, and then look at 210s.

Quadcammer

you forgot the window regulators, the rusty spring perches, rust in general, tires, catalytic converters, etc, which are all not that easy or cheap to fix.

Then we have maintenance: carbon air filter, cabin air filter, engine air filters, engine oil (8.5 quarts of synethtic and filter is near $70), tranny fluid change, etc.

Also, lets not forget the niggling little stuff that tends to add up fast on Mercedes.

For a guy without healthy savings, an established job, and probably with a good amount of student loans (just guessing), a newer model mb out of warranty probably isn't the best choice.

socalsounds

Oh. One other question. Do you like (I mean REALLY like) Noodles Ramen?

01BlackE320

Your logic is totally correct. Used Mercedes (and most luxury cars for that matter) are a great value. I bought mine 2.5 yrs ago.

They're basically the same price as a used Camry or Accord and are safer, better riding, roomy, great gas mileage and so much more fun. Not quite as reliable and a bit pricey to maintain but not difficult to DIY for most things, and this site is lots of help and will save tons on money. Many out there to choose from.

My nephew who is probably close to your age bought a 2003 C class about a year ago and loves it.

ejsheltra

Go for the E320 on your list. It is less expensive to maintain and cheaper to run daily. Buy the newest model year that you can afford of whichever model you decide on. The older a vehicle is the more prone it is to maintenance and the little things add up. Be prepared for the MB mystic as those with other vehicles will point and say...
An MB is a good car, the W124 is better built than the W210. The face lift on the 210 happened on MY2000. These are not expensive to maintain providing you have knowledge and help. My wife, as a physician, just purchased an 08 Prius used that gets her everywhere she needs to go and at 44-53 (high so far is 53 over a 600 mile trip) mpg. Her insurance is less than my 03 wagon by $10/mo and she has the new car warranty. Her Honda Accord 97'(bot new for $17K in 1997) is still alive and well at 240K miles. She does not like the Benz for practicality. The C class is an excellent car as well and there are many fine examples in the used car market and less expensive than the W210. Whatever you decide make your first bill payment to your savings each month and then live on the rest. Best wishes to you for your future. My son who just graduated went with a 2006 Chevy Silverado 4x4 with off road package and 19K miles for about $14K. There are many options out there. Pick your target price and then shop online at places like autotrader.com to see what your dollars will buy before you decide . Good luck and stay safe.

illmeth0d

Buy the car you want , don't listen to anyone but yourself otherwise you will regret it every time you see a nice E driving down the street.

I would stick to the e320 they are very reliable and good cars. If you look hard you can find a 96 or 97 for about 5 grand with some high miles but you will save dramatically on the purchase price and look around. if not spend the 10k on the lower mileage piece. Many driver on this board are well over 100k with general upkeep. Keep in mind most people on forums come here to find out about problems or with problems they have. You never hear from the drivers who don't have problems it just doesnt work that way. Your mileage may vary.

Look for a well maintained car , have a mechanic check it out , carfax and ask around on here for a good indy shop in your area to work on it.

I owned a 97 e420 sport for a number of years , great car, great memories , I would suggest the e320 as they seem to have been cheaper to maintain / less problematic / better resale. Try and get the sport package if you can the car looks alot newer with it.

4matic

look, getting a car that you love is vital, but to a certain extent. you dont want to have to worry about having to take car of the car. yes, if you get the benz and TAKE CARE of it, it will last forever. however, its going to cost to take care of it. if you go with the ford, or the scion, etc. sitting in the drivers seat, you wont be worried about having to pay if something should go wrong. like others have said, your a newbie on the job and job security, especially at these times, are surely uncertain. at the end of the day it is your choice, i dont know if your parents would help you out if something went wrong, nor do i really know what you have saved up in the bank. just remember that yes having a benz is awesome, but your a young kid and you still have time. you can roll in the civic for a little bit and then get a newer MB down the road.

goodluck brother!

e320avangarde

Life is to short so enjoy it .....

if you like MB E320 and make you happy to drive, than go for it

those cars are not braking down like honda garbage or ford or gm or chevy junk.


...been there done that...trust me MB is the way to go .You are young and you will find way to get money for it ,beside that, you will look like rock star...in it ...remember first impression is everything.And you will get more respect than if you are in crappy honda.
YOu will earn street credit just like that.


....go and buy peace of mind e 320 better gas millage(less expensive parts just in case you need them) compared to e430.

MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR.

purplegrog

There's a few other factors to consider. Do you do a lot of driving? By a lot of driving, I mean >15000 miles a year? If so, or if you make a lot of road trips from one city to the next to visit family, etc., that's a point in the MB's favor, especially if it has heated seats. The comfort of a Mercedes goes a long way to how you feel when you get out of the car at the end of a long trip on the highway. Finances is another thing to consider. If you can afford it, my suggestion would be to buy it outright, so if you do get laid off you'll have one less worry. Are you good with a wrench (and a drill, and search engines)? I like how easy Mercedes are to work with. My friends' cars all seem to have no room to maneuver to do things in tight spaces. Are you a good driver? How many cars have you had/been through? If you don't have much driving experience, remember, you'll get into an accident at some point. You may want to consider whether you want your starter accident to be in an expensive mercedes, or another car that won't take as expensive of lumps. In that same vein, if you are a good driver and have experience on the road getting no respect from the other cars, the Mercedes will be a breath of fresh air. I find that I get a lot more respect on the road in terms of cars not crowding me, etc when I'm driving an MB. I also think that you should have some experience driving a vehicle that is part of the herd and doesn't get much respect too, so you know how to cope when someone is in your space.

My general opinion is that if you're good with a wrench, really get to know your car, take care of it, and have solid finances, MB is a good way to go. I also agree with some of the other posters that a W124 may be a good route as well since you'll still have the same feel as a W210, with fewer electronic gremlins. You may save money going with the E320 vs. the E430 in terms of fuel efficiency, and you'll have fewer spark plugs and plug wires to mind when changing the plugs every 100k miles or replacing an errant plug wire every once in a while.

A lot of the other manufacturers have reputations for never breaking down, but I think when they do there's less support in the community than you'll find in the MB community (although VW seems to have pretty good community support). When I've searched for answers for other people's cars, I don't think I've found the kind of detailed support that I find here and at the other MB community sites.

Best of luck, regardless of which car you pick. : )

Quadcammer

sorry mate, but you're a bit delusional. Honda garbage? GM and Ford junk?

While I like the 210, its hardly bulletproof. The list of potential and common problems is long and expensive. spring perches, cats, window regulators, pixels on the dash, broken heated seats, lights burning out, cracking dashes, mafs, etc.

Im not sure where you are from, but most folks who aren't car people perceive a 10 year old 210 E-class to be more of a grandparent snooze mobile more than anything else. Rockstar? extremely doubtful. Rockstars drive SLRs and the like, not 1999 E320s.

What the hell is street credit? I didn't realize this was a scene from the fast and the furious. Anybody who has any clue about cars even casually knows its far from a new car, and furthermore, somebody who has any interest in MBs knows that they only cost like $5k.

To me, if you are looking for street credit, or trying to be a rockstar, this is the wrong car, and just ends up making you look like you couldn't afford a newer vehicle.

Its a solid, good looking, and nice car to drive, but a real attention getter, it is not.

2000c230sport

Honestly, if you're looking to get something reliable and luxurious, get a lexus. A 98-99' LS400 is one of the best cars ever built IMO. That or a 02'-03' es300 for 12k-14k and it'll last you forever. You can even find 02' LS430's below 15k. I'm personally a benz guy but it has been a learning experience. I graduated college in 06' and started at 50k a year and could not afford upkeep on even my W202 that kept breaking down. Lost key-$200, oil changes-$125, wiper motor-$1,000, etc. Add it all up and it was a lot of money just in repairs. I had a 190e in college that was bullet proof so I thought the 202 would be too. It is an 85' that is still running. I got rid of the W202 and got into a new honda accord coupe. Got supppppppppper bored with it really fast and went back to a 1987 190e 2.3-16. It has minimal electronics and is very well put together. I'd hop in a 94'-95' E320/E420 any day over the newer E classes also. My friends dad had a 97' E420 (tires alone were crazy $), 99' E320, and a 2001 E320 4matic. They all had major problems, and he actually got rid of the 01' after only 2 months. He replaced all the family cars with lexus's and the only problem he's ever had was a CD player breaking on his wife's LX470 at 170,000 miles.