What are the odds.

"Luke's Dad Sold His 2000TL To Get a Sienna" (lukielauxd)
03/30/2014 at 17:30 • Filed to: None

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! That my parents would agree to getting this as my college car and it won't cost me an arm and a leg to maintain through 4 years of college.

DISCUSSION (23)

awe46m3zcp > Luke's Dad Sold His 2000TL To Get a Sienna
03/30/2014 at 17:33

Keep the TL

Frosted > Luke's Dad Sold His 2000TL To Get a Sienna
03/30/2014 at 17:35

0 odds.

JayZAyEighty thinks C4+3=C7 > Luke's Dad Sold His 2000TL To Get a Sienna
03/30/2014 at 17:42

Safe? Check.
Bulletproof? Check.
Reliable? Check.
Nice looking? Check.

But only if it's a well cared for pre-'92 model. That's when they went biodegradable. A $3000 M103-powered one with a 4G-Tronic is fast enough and will go forever. The key is that it's well cared for. I'd take a pampered one with 300,000 miles over a 75,000 mile beater. If you find a manual-equipped one, then you should buy it immediately. (800 ever imported)

hethoughtofcars > Luke's Dad Sold His 2000TL To Get a Sienna
03/30/2014 at 19:09

Dude you're young. Ignore all these naysayers! Now is the time to make mistakes. Get the mercedes and enjoy it!

bob and john > Luke's Dad Sold His 2000TL To Get a Sienna
03/30/2014 at 19:11

15 grabnd for THAT? crraaacccckkkkk piiipppeeeeee

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > hethoughtofcars
03/30/2014 at 19:53

Until it costs him 5k in repairs and maintenance and leaves him on the side of the road on his way into work.......

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > awe46m3zcp
03/30/2014 at 19:54

This. All of this.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Luke's Dad Sold His 2000TL To Get a Sienna
03/30/2014 at 19:56

You're aware the engine was tuned by Porsche, right? And that anything touched by porsche automatically costs 1000$ just to be looked at? I can guarantee that after your first repair/maintenance bill, your parents will either say "You're 100% on your own" or "Sell the damn car". Show a little respect to them if it's their money and pick something more reasonable, less you lose their trust completely at picking out cars.

Hypothetical situation here - you get the car, and it costs a lot to maintain, and your parents aren't happy. The car ends up in a wreck. For your next car, do you *really* think they'd let you pick it? No. Then you'd end up in an automatic toyota yaris. And do you really want that? No. Think of your parents - get a volvo S60R.

hethoughtofcars > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
03/30/2014 at 19:58

Part of the learning process...

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > hethoughtofcars
03/30/2014 at 20:00

No, no it isn't. Not unless you were born with a chromosome deficiency. Especially if it isn't his money. I LOVE the 500E and I would hate to see one ruined because some broke college student thinks he can take care of such a beast.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Luke's Dad Sold His 2000TL To Get a Sienna
03/30/2014 at 20:03

THIS is the benz you should get for college.

Cheap to insure? Check. Low maintenance? Check. Wagon? Check.

Kinja'd!!!

hethoughtofcars > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
03/30/2014 at 20:06

Fair enough. My first car was a '69 Beetle and I learned the hard way how important reliability can be. If you can own a 20 year old V8 Mercedes in college, though, I say go for it. Even if it fails miserably you'll learn a lot about life, cars and how they work.

Luke's Dad Sold His 2000TL To Get a Sienna > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
03/30/2014 at 20:15

I'm actually still looking at a Legacy GT Wagon (and I can get a damn good one at $15,000 and it'd have like relatively only a tiny allowance) or a Camry, because you know, Camry.

I would never as them for one of these. :P But "hypothetically" wanted to know the running cost and stuff from you guys. My parents love reliability, therefore I love reliability, and in the future I see nothing but Lexus/Toyota.

Luke's Dad Sold His 2000TL To Get a Sienna > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
03/30/2014 at 20:16

Mhmm, after I read all those W124 posts on here today, I went searching for a wagon, and just along the way I decided to check up on how much 500Es were going for currently.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > hethoughtofcars
03/30/2014 at 20:17

As I currently own and am in the process of restoring an old german sedan from that era, he won't learn much unless he knows how a simpler car works. The way MB, Audi, and BMW do things on those flagship sedans is not the same as a simple 4 cylinder econobox. Even MB's own inline-6 powered saloons and wagons of the era are very understandable and easy to service.

If he can own it somehow, I'd still say he should roll up his sleeves and get something more basic and get wrenching in his spare time. I'd go for something like a decent crown vic for a college car, and then buy something like a mustang or camaro or 944 or miata to learn how to modify and drive. The crown vic will be bulletproof and dirt cheap to maintain while being endlessly practical. And cars like the miata or GTI or camaro have so much support behind them that even a newbie can own and repair/upgrade them with ease. THEN you tackle the bigger fish. Modifying and working on a Mk3 Jetta has been so eye opening when I go back to my 1991 Audi 200 20v. I now have a solid reference point of "Oh it's like the jetta's only there is ______"

Luke's Dad Sold His 2000TL To Get a Sienna > awe46m3zcp
03/30/2014 at 20:18

Parents wouldn't even let me take the TL here in case the transmission finally fails (out of everyone I know with that era of TLs, all of them have failed already besides ours, even a 2003 Type-S.) And going back for the breaks in school, my parents said it's too annoying to put me back into the insurance for a short period of time, so it'll probably be sold off before I ever get to drive it again.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Luke's Dad Sold His 2000TL To Get a Sienna
03/30/2014 at 20:39

This is the benz you want to buy for a college car. Trust me. I was literally driving to buy one myself when I got the call that the guy didn't want to sell it after all. I had the 1500$ ready and waiting. The car needed a good clean but was otherwise identical to this one and had a service history that included a 4-year stint as a mercedes benz dealership service/roadside assistance car. They are usually identified by this combination of white exterior w/ blue interior so this one likely had the first 50k miles of its life in the hands of a dealership bored out of its mind with nothing better to do than service the wagons.

Damn good cars. All of them, just damn good cars.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Luke's Dad Sold His 2000TL To Get a Sienna
03/30/2014 at 20:40

Used lexus IS with a stick shift. It is the answer to your problems here.

Luke's Dad Sold His 2000TL To Get a Sienna > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
03/30/2014 at 20:44

We bought a second hand BMW from a family friend and apparently it had an accident and wasn't repaired that well and therefore had a ton of maintenance issues, doesn't matter it wasn't BMW's fault, the damage was done, my dad says he will never buy a German car ever again.

Luke's Dad Sold His 2000TL To Get a Sienna > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
03/30/2014 at 20:47

Mhmm, that's also on my list. Didn't finish it. Legacy Wagon, Outback, Forester, WRX wagon/hatchback, Saabaru, IS Sportwagon, Land Cruiser.

All Automatic though, because my dad only wants me to drive an Automatic.

On the dream list though, is this car, a 1990s 7-series with the M wheels, P1800 Wagon., 850R, V70R. But my parents wouldn't go for any of them cause they're European and therefore have high maintenance, no matter if that's true or not.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Luke's Dad Sold His 2000TL To Get a Sienna
03/30/2014 at 21:09

......Imagine their surprise when the subaru chucks its timing belts at 75k and grenades its motor.

Luke's Dad Sold His 2000TL To Get a Sienna > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles
03/30/2014 at 21:36

Wait what, I thought Subarus were generally reliable? D: I don't want to take off the Legacy Wagon from my list, it's the car I want the most on there. (if I ever find one).

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Luke's Dad Sold His 2000TL To Get a Sienna
03/30/2014 at 21:40

They are.....kinda. It seems random, but lots of turbo motors have suddenly gone kaboom at 75-100k. It's hit a few people on here too. Others will stay together, but it's a bit of a crapshoot on how well yours was maintained.