In other news, I managed to spend 80? on one tank of petrol, which seems ridiculous and wasteful.
I've decided that instead of spending a ton of money modifying my current car, that I will buy a second sort-of-project car. At the moment, my decision is between a Jaguar XJ6 Series 3 or a W123 or W116 Mercedes. I could also get something like a Citroen CX, which I love, but I fear would be a huge money pit.
The Merc(s) are cheaper and easier to find, and potentially more reliable and therefore less expensive to run, but I adore the Jag and have always wanted one.
The critical thing is that if I buy one of these, it has to be cheap. By cheap I mean that it has to be a price at which I could buy it, run it for a few months, and should I have to, sell it at a profit. Therefore, it's less of a project and more of a nice second car that I can enjoy without having to worry about it burning a hole in my wallet.
I know I'm well covered here for info on Jags, and presumably there are people here who know far more about the Mercs than I do. So any particular things should I look out for? Any other opinions?
In other news, I managed to spend 80? on one tank of petrol, which seems ridiculous and wasteful.
Well polish has to work to some extent, right? Swirl marks aren't supposed to be impossible to get rid of.
I don't have a problem with polish, just don't want to damage my 6 month old paintjob.
Meguiar's makes a swirl remover of some sorts I believe.
The Oz market for Mercs is a bit odd, like the US one.
The car you get will probably not have working A/C and if an automatic, shift poorly. Sun damage in and out is going to be common, also watch for rust, so check under the carpets, the trunk, door sills, etc.
The W116 had a terrible A/C system that Chrysler even rejected in the '70s that's made out of plastic. It will be broken. An aluminum replacement (that will work infinitely longer and better) is around 600USD.
Diesels need valve adjustment every 5k miles, but it just sounds bad and smokes if it's not done.
Petrol versions are another kettle of fish. The best advice I can give is start the motor cold and listen to it, it should sound smooth and quiet, if it sounds like a diesel, the valves are out of whack and you should probably run. Keep in mind the injectors on the FI models are loud and literally just "spray, spray, spray" so your mileage will be poor, especially on the V8s.
The automatic transmissions on the W123 can be jerky and break, this can be a B2 piston issue (vacuum) or poor maintenance. The manuals are mediocre, but not problematic.
The market for both cars is stable. You might be able to get a small profit on the car or more or less what you paid for it, depending on the work you put in and a little luck.
I've been waiting for days for it not to rain, so I can try out my buffing machine - and today looks good. So it'll be a good wash - chamois - claybar - polish/paint reviver - extra gloss polish
you're planning on doing that all in one day? a friend did the same a while ago...i took him a week...
especially the claybar is a bitch!
Whatever, screw it. Just another item I can add to the list of projects I conceived but didn't go through with thanks to my sordid outlook on everything.
I wouldn't call it sordid, I'd say you just value your time differently and would rather do other things than wash your car. I love cars and I'm a lazy bastard when it comes to washing mine. The most it gets is being pulled into one of those "wash your own car" car washes. A gazillion quarters later and it's "good enough."
As much as I'd like to say I'd change when I do get rid of the Saturn, I doubt it.