Best DD for the money?

[ltz Viper]

Diesel Rabbit, 50 MPG and style but also easy to fix

[Kovs]

Posts like these make me want one of these old Mercedes tanks.

How do the W123/W124/W126's compare to e30s cost of ownership wise?

I have experience with all of them - I've owned a 1978 280CE, 1986 560SEL, and three W124s, 2 diesels and one gasser (current one). They're are all TANKS, although the W124s are not quite as overbuilt as the W123s and W126s. But in terms of size, comfort, and all around driveability, a well sorted W124 is hard to beat. The W124 400e / e420 may be one of the best kept secrets out there... it think of it as 80% of the 500e at 1/3 the cost.

The diesels are different animals than the gassers and have different needs. Bottom line is - on any of these cars - unless you're a DIYer, maintenance and repairs can add up to big $$$ very, very quickly. I would say an E30 is going to be cheaper to run than any older MB... but the W123 / W124 / W126 MBs have a unique combination of qualities that are hard to find in any other car. Of course, in the W123 / W124 / W126 era, MB actually gave two sh*ts about their customers.

PM me if you want more info.

[dnguyen1963]

I drive my '88 325IC through salt and snow...just rinse her down once a week. There are many econoboxes that one can dd as long as one takes good care of the car. Some examples are Ford Festiva, Fiesta, Mazda 323, Civic, Corolla, Jetta, Saturn, or even the dreaded Cavalier (there are some Cavaliers in Madison that are older than a lot of people on this forum).

[Bearmw]

If I lived where the roads weren't covered in salt in the winter I would daily an E30 or E28 all year.

For most of the year I can drive my 325ic on a near daily basis except when I am going into some pretty bad neighborhoods for work...

In winter or when working I daily a 99 Saturn SL2 5 spd. because it was cheap to buy, cheap and easy to fix, cheap to insure, taxes are cheap, has the plastic body panels that don't dent, has a timing chain, is very good on gas, and no one wants to steal it.

[CHIF8008]

anything with a Dorito. obviously

[BlackbirdM3]

Any car can be a reliable daily driver. If it starts as a POS, you need to do some work to make it not a POS. If you buy a solid car to start with, it will remain a solid car as long as you take care of it. Case in point:
My first car, a 1969 Datsun roadster. Its only needed to be towed home 4 times in the 11 years and 80K miles I've driven it. First time it needed a tow, was taken out in a hit and run, hardly its fault. The second time, I broke an axle racing it 25 miles from home, 3 months later I broke the other axle 150 miles from home again racing (remember the axles were last made in 1970...) the last time, I broke a wheel bearing again, 150 miles from home while racing (no warning, just let go on my way home. Took the axle with it when the inner bearing race spun in place.) The second car I owned, a '69 Alfa Romeo 1750 GTV. It lived in a barn for 40 years, and it was back on the road in a month and a half. I had a brake master cylinder fail 100 miles from home, but made it home anyway. The clutch master and slave both died as well, (all the above were installed new as of 2006 when I got the car.) It was still running well when it got punted into a ditch. (game over for the car.) The M3 is now my daily driver, it hasn't missed a beat. Still, I've been going through the car and fixing all the screwed up things from the previous owner (wrong light bulbs all over the place, other neglected hoses, ect.) I have no doubt it will be a very solid driver for many many years once I get through everything.

If anything, daily driving a car will make it more reliable than just using it on the weekends. A weekend car will never be as solid as a car that is driven all the time simply because sitting does no favors for moving parts. Motors, transmissions, cooling systems ect. These things need to be used on a regular basis, so fluids are circulated, and so that you know and recognize any odd noises, rattles and or vibrations. A big part of having a reliable car is taking care of it in the first place. When they are neglected and or not used on a regular basis is when the issues start.

I will happily daily drive either my M3 or my race car anytime, (ok, not the race car in the rain, its flat out not safe) but any other time, no problem. That might also be the reason the Datsun ALWAYS works. Sure, I've broken lots of parts on it, but its only failed to get me home 4 times.

I say daily drive the E30. The parts are cheap, easy to find, and its easy to work on. If you take care of it, it will take car of you.

Will

[streetwaves]

+1 times infinity. Everything that I wanted to say is in this quote.

My grandfather was a diesel mechanic and he had a W123 and a W126 for a long time. Had a white W123 for 500k miles and still sold it for an excellent price. He now has a minivan because my grandmother bitched enough to where he didn't want to hear it anymore. It is the biggest headache known to man and yes, it is a fucking piece of shit Chrysler. Worst car brand to exist, imo.


Back on topic, Mercedes-Benz diesels are indestructible powerhouses, especially the W126 chassis. I have been searching frantically for one because of rising gas prices, not to mention I would love to get my E30 boosted in the near future.

Posts like these make me want one of these old Mercedes tanks. I've been looking at them for months, but a few people told me that while they're indestructible, they aren't "cheap" cars to fix or maintain necessarily. But maybe they were wrong. I'd like to think so, because I've wanted one for a while but keep revisiting the idea of some 95 Civic or Accord or something.

How do the W123/W124/W126's compare to e30s cost of ownership wise?

[eight~deuce]

nothing beats a japanese truck for reliability. just remember to change the oil. Even if you dont it still will keep going

A certain top gear episode comes to mind

http://r2---sn-vgqelnez.googlevideo.com/videoplayback?id=39b068b3b6e70ece&itag=7&source=uploaded_content&begin=0&ratebypass=yes&title=Top+Gear+Trying+to+Destroy+a+Toyota+Pickup+Truck&ip=0.0.0.0&ipbits=0&expire=1353486279&sparams=ip,ipbits,expire,id,itag,source,ratebypass,title&signature=088544CA092061D4C860F32FF207AAF1AA3832BB.58C86327753D395F40CB830C17A6DCD49F07F984&key=ck1&ms=nxu&mv=m&mt=1353464645&cms_redirect=yes&redirect_counter=1

[Wschnitz]

3 cylinder Geo metro.

Unstoppable little bastards...

+1 to that, my friend has one like 200k+ on it and its been in like 4 accidents. It still fine like nothing happened lol.

[markt51]

I DD a 2008 civic si coupe. Just as much fun as a e30, and super reliable if you dont mess with the stock setup. I have a friend that has had one since 2006 as well, all he has ever had to do was change oil :p

Oh and if you dont drive it like an asshole, it can get to 33mpg easily. And it has a good resale value. one of the highest

[Hooffenstein HD]

E30.

[mrcheezle19]

ford aspire

[chappys4life]

I would love an xj for a dd but my 87 325e is my dd and it has been great. Even in a wreck and semi gimped it just keeps going. Its been an on and off driver for like 10 months and only things that broke where fuel relay and tps.

[James Crivellone]

I don't see the point in newer cars for DD's.. If i'm driving something every day I want the drivetrain to be cheap, suspension to be soft, and seats to be comfy.

I drive this thing most of the time, love it, 24mpg city / 30mpg highway

[Morrison]

Stay away from the 7th generation Civic. I had a 2003 EX Coupe for about 5 years and had more problems with it than any previous car. Ball Joints were shot to the point of clunking at 71k. ABS sensors in the seat would randomly glitch out and illuminate the light on the dash requiring a reset. The front rotors warped before 50k. The gas door release cable broke so I had to manually open it by reaching in through the trunk liner everytime it needed gas. Rear wheel bearings were growling by 110k. The shield around the catalytic converter partially rusted away and was rattling. It always suffered from insane torque steer. Snow, wet, or dry traction was non-existent.

And the coup de gras was when the head gasket blew - it overpressurized the whole cooling system and blew one of the end tanks right off the radiator spraying coolant everywhere. @ 123k

Older Honda's I've owned were much more reliable and better built including an '89 Accord and a '92 Prelude. In my opinion they are just relying on their hard earned reputation for quality from years ago but just putting out junk now.