Forced into one car household

[Sclass]

Hey,

I am going one car. My old Mercedes blew it's transmission with no warning yesterday and I guess I'll be bumming rides off my SO. I decided to drive up to SF for a quick business meet and the tranny just let go at an intersection.

An automatic trans rebuild is beyond my mechanical ability. I'm going to try checking out the valve body and some of the hydraulic servos from under the car but if that stuff is ok I'm looking at a $3000 transmission rebuild on a $2000 car.

I guess I shouldn't be whining. I've spent less during my lifetime on consuming seven cars than people spend on a single car. My all time record was my $100 VW rabbit. at the end of the day I'm cheap and I hate parting with the money.

The economy is roaring back in the Bay Area. I cannot find good deals on beater cars on Craigslist. There is a lot of junk there right now and its selling at stupid prices.

My knee jerk reaction is to drop a couple of grand and get some wheels but I think I'm going to use a combination of my feet, bumming, Uber and Caltrain for the next few days and see how that goes. I'm a long time car and motorcycle junkie (I usually own two to three cars and two motorcycles at all times...but I've recently downsized for a move. For the first time since I was 13 I don't have a personal motor vehicle).

Maybe this personal vehicle ownership thing is overrated. While I was in SF I had a hell of a time parking and I wished I'd been using Uber.

I'm feel I'm potentially at a transformational point in my life. My boomer friends are scolding me that I shouldn't be driving and wrenching on some old beaters when I could have a new Lexus. The millennial friends are asking me why I feel I need a personal car.

Let's see how the oscillations go for a week. Maybe I'll get into this. Engad it came at the wrong time. I donated a running car to the state in the fall, I sold three good motorcycles cheap, I gave my rockhopper to a needy kid. I freaking have sneakers and rollerblades left!

Better get out of bed and start walking!

[jacob]

http://www.amazon.com/How-Live-Well-Wit ... 1580087574

Written before Uber but still the best.

[George the original one]

On the dark side, have you priced swapping transmissions? That's not as tough to do as an actual repair, though transmission cooling lines can be a bear.

[Sclass]

Ohhh guys!

I just rolled out from under the car. It has a cracked servo piston that I was able to remove through a little access door without much fuss. Parts are ordered and en oute via FedEx.

I think I dodged a bullet. New trans is $2000 to $3000. I could easily put one in but it has sensibility issues when the car is only worth $2000. Yeah, so I guess it was totaled...till I found the silly part that had broken.

Okay, my lucky day. Now just gotta make sure I don't get crushed under that thing.

[Gilberto de Piento]

Nice! Hope the part swap works out.

Why a Mercedes? They have a reputation for being not particularly reliable and very expensive to fix.

[Dragline]

Glad you were able to fix it. But perhaps it raises a longer term question whether you would be better off redesigning part of your life so you wouldn't need a car (which might involve moving) or figuring out what the best motorized solution would be, which could be anything from an electric bike to an auto.

On the other hand, I really appreciate the feeling of being able to fix something and "get going again", just on an emotional level, particularly if its something you've had for a long time. There is a certain romanticism about it.

Oh, I see you are moving anyway!

[GandK]

Glad you were able to fix it. But perhaps it raises a longer term question whether you would be better off redesigning part of your life so you wouldn't need a car (which might involve moving) or figuring out what the best motorized solution would be, which could be anything from an electric bike to an auto.

Yes. We've been a one car household for a while now and I love it. I love the savings, and I love the way G and I collaborate now regarding transportation.

[JamesR]

Sclass when your car finally dies, you could upgrade to a http://boostedboards.com/

[Sclass]

Not quite out of the woods yet. Diagnosis is done. Tear down is complete. I have the new parts. Just have to install them.

80s Mercedes cars can be economical. Older ones, especially 1980s are both durable and cheap to buy. They are very expensive to have repaired by professional mechanics but I do my own work. They have lost all their glam long ago and are not classics yet. All this gets discounted into the price and people just want to dump them. That's where I come in. I buy cheap $2000 cars and repair them myself. Once a Mercedes diesel is stabilized, it can be driven for a long time without much maintenance.

The parts are heavier duty and last longer than economy cars. Look at all the North African taxis.

I also burn waste vegetable oil that I get free from a pal that owns a catering company.

So for me, it is a cheap hobby I guess. I insure for $20 a month. Reg is $99 a year. No smog test. Fuel is low cost.

I guess nobody wants an old luxury car. You look about as cool as a guy wearing Members Only jackets.

We will see...I am officially still without a car. I had to bum rides today.

[unno2002]

Isn't California one of the states that wants a tax paid for burning biodiesel in an on road vehicle?

http://www.boe.ca.gov/pdf/pub96.pdf

[Sclass]

Yes it is. But nobody around my parts is set up to enforce this. On big rigs, they'll dip your tank with a stick looking for off road diesel. Old Mercedes Benzes seem to drive under the radar.

I've never been asked. Maybe it's because there are several stations in the Bay Area that sell taxed biodiesel. It used to concern me when a cop would follow me and catch a whiff of the exhaust. But I think they are looking for drunks not biodiesel refiners.

Since we aren't a troublesome bunch it isn't a traffic issue. People with loud stereos, street race cars etc. will get their vehicle inspected first.

[Sclass]

Fixed it. All back together. Now I just have to clean up. Runs and drives great.

I think I'm gonna celebrate by driving out to my favorite pizza parlor.

Guess car free will have to wait.

That sure was an interesting few days.

[henrik]

Once a Mercedes diesel is stabilized, it can be driven for a long time without much maintenance.

There is an 80s S-class in the Mercedes museum in Stuttgart that was driven for 1.9 million km (a taxi from Portugal, I think). It looks almost new.

[Sclass]

Well it may have helped that it was part of the museum. I had a 1982 240D 4speed stick that went 400,000 miles. It didn't look new. It looked tired. Not museum material. The car actually ran and drove well when I donated it to the state. It just looked rough and lost its AC system (SO refused to ride in it without climate control). Seats had patch work fixes. Spills of vegetable oil had made parts sticky. It dripped a lot of motor oil.

Modern MBZ cars are a reliability nightmare. The problems started in the 90s when they tried to design biodegradable electronics. Noble but stupid. The new systems are unnecessarily complex (I'm a hardware engineer by trade) and buggy. The service center has been known to do really childish things like flash customers cars with old versions of FW or versions for other models which inadvertently disables features the car had before servicing. The company's desire to forge ahead faster than its expertise in tech is sad and disastrous. Their technology center in Silicon Valley is a joke. Their main job is following around the Google self drive cars and taking spy photos.

While I got towed 50miles back home after my transmission failure I asked which cars the driver towed most. The first three were BMW, Mercedes, Audi. Why would you pay extra money for this punishment.

[KevinW]

Sorry I missed this saga unfold, but thanks for sharing it!

[TheFrugalFox]

Firstly, have often dabble with the idea of getting a W123 series - I just think they look great, and here in SA you used to be able to get one in very good condition (normally E200 and E240) for under $2000 - looks like the prices have gone up a bit lately - but a few still under the $2000 mark

http://www.gumtree.co.za/s-cars-bakkies ... order=desc

I have taken the first steps in becoming a 1 car family - by advertising my car. Try to get top dollar as I am in no rush to sell. It's a little truck, but a trailer would do for most chores. Have a motorbike in case both of us need to get somewhere, but pedalling a walking can replace 80% of my trips.