Don't really need a car so thinking something diff

F

Frank

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Got rid of the passat, was sitting in the yard in work most of 7 months since i changed jobs.

Even though it would make no sense I would like something.

Always liked the look of the merc CE,

What do people think of this?
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Can I get classic insurance seeing as I am in the van 98% of the time, company insurance on the van.

Seems like a nice car shouldn't lose any money except for tax and insurance which hopefully classic insurance should help.

Has anyone ever owned a 230CE what shoudl I watch other than obvious crash damage rust and knackered engine and gearbox.
 
In order to qualify for vintage tax the car must be older than 30 years. (Although over 20 qualifies it for vintage insurance) Tax is about 30 Euro. If you car is younger than 30 then the tax is the same as it would be on an everyday car.

Also I wouldn't touch it without a mechanic checking it over first.
 
I was aware of the 20 years for ins and 30 for tax.

If the CE qualified for vintage tax I would go for a 320 like a shot.

Most are going to be 10 years out though, nuissance country.
 
If you dont need a car, why buy one? You could cover an awful lot of taxis and even the odd weekend rental for what you would pay for the car and the other costs.
 
Complainer said:
If you dont need a car, why buy one? You could cover an awful lot of taxis and even the odd weekend rental for what you would pay for the car and the other costs.
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Agreed. I have found business mileage decreasing a lot in recent years. My car is an 01 Mazda MX5. [ Dont start the hairdresser jokes, have heard em all plenty times and yes, it's still the best (per Guinness) selling sports car in the world bar none ]. Have discovered that the number plate is really no longer important and if it drives well then why not keep it. So if you can manage without a car then why bother with one at all ? Look at your needs. The cost of keeping that bucket of rust outside the door per annum versus a few weeks holidays in the sun or wherever.
 
All the arguments against you getting that Merc are all totally logical, but I don't think you're thinking logically about this and if you have the cash - why not?!!

The car looks fine and you'll probably have a lot of fun with it should you get it - my only experience of this sort of motoring is through a friend and my sister - the friend is in the UK and owns a Bristol and my sister had a Merc 300SLC (aka the Bobby Ewing car) for a couple of years in London.

Both cars were (to an extent) cossetted problem children. The Bristol is a motorway stormer but also likes hard-shoulders. Parts are relatively cheap and my friend can do a lot of things himself and with the assistance of a sympathetic mechanic, but it's always (looks fabulous while) in the garage for something.

The Merc was an 88 model and was absolutely unmarked when bought. Normally people shrug their shoulders if they get a few dinges in a car that age, but the bill to get the front radiator and bumper replaced after a supermarket carpark knock by an unidentified driver had to go through the insurance because it was so eye-wateringly expensive.

The need for a family car caused her to change the Merc. She didn't lose a lot of money when trading it in, but it wasn't unmarked any more and the repairs that had been carried out were v.v.expensive. Overall, it was a costly exercise.

Both of the above cars drank petrol like it was going out of fashion and the insurance was also not the cheapest.

If you can afford it, go for it. I think you might find that its not as cheap an exercise as it looks.
 
I drive a 1987 classic saab 900 turbo. Classic car insurance usually requires that you have the classic car as a second car so you need to also hold a policy on your daily driver; the car must over over 20 years old; you must be a member of a club (though not always); must be over 25 with clean licence etc; and your annual mileage is limited (about 6K).

You also need to get the car checked out as quite often, older cars are sold because someone isn't prepared to pay the cost of upcoming imminent repairs, NCT work etc. Also you need to research the car thoroughly for common problems and to find out whether parts are freely available and whether you have a specialist mechanic near you.

Buying an older car is a lot more hassle, risk and potentially expense, and is really only worth doing for a car you really love. That said, if you put in the time, effort and money it can be very rewarding. Boards.ie has a classic car forum with many Merc fans so maybe try posting there also.
 
Thanks for the replies

The holiday argument really tugged on the common sense strings.

It was good some of you realised the notion had nothing to do with common sense though, very much car nut side of me.

Will take all on board and do more research, the point of people selling cars and getting rid of upcoming big bills had occured to me.
 
I drive a 40 year old classic, not everyday but often. It is a money pit, my wife hates it. Every time I drive it I need to wash and have a good look over it afterward. there is always something to be done with it and have invested alot of my time on her.

Logic and good sense don't really come into it, you either love the car or not. I love my car, I love driving it and looking at it, It's a wonderfull peice of motoring history. I wouldn't give it up for the world, my daughter loves it and I plan to give it to her someday.

just do it.
 
get one of those two wheel balancing act yokes,skegways i think their called,saw a couple in the park.
 
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