The Merc

[bkm]

I come from a big family of Toyota. And yes...

If Toyota made every one of their vehicles as good as they did my Corolla, you'd starve.

[fabiodriven]

Bryan get yourself a 7.3. It's like marrying a smokeshow with no voice who wants to blow you and only you constantly (block your eyes Mosh! Oops, too late!) They run forever and any repairs I've had to make thus far have been teet.

[bkm]

Bryan get yourself a 7.3. It's like marrying a smokeshow with no voice who wants to blow you and only you constantly (block your eyes Mosh! Oops, too late!) They run forever and any repairs I've had to make thus far have been teet.

You must have been reading my mind lately. I'm waiting for the right one to pop up and I'm willing to fly across the country to get it. I'm going to be very picky with the one I buy, and since I have a reliable truck, patience, (which is usually not a virtue of mine) will hopefully pay off in the long run. I figure if I find one around 150k miles, it's just starting to break in. I've been looking at Texas trucks because of the pristine body's.

[86T3]

7.3, lol. Didn't Derrick Adams buy a sweet used one?

[83ATC185]

After working for 4 suppliers and at the Mercedes plant, i can tell you, I'd never buy one!

They are made just as cheap as your ford/volkswagen, in fact most suppliers make parts for all three!

Example of build quality: The power windows use the same crappy plastic pulley/cable system like my moms buick had that self destructs in a few years

The whole thing, in its entirety, is put together with torx screws and rivets.

Negative, ghostrider.

[bkm]

I`ve had this discussion with my son ........don`t feck up a wet dream .......either drive the FART now and then to work (it`s bad to let ANY vehicle sit) and get over the remorse (lost wages) or trade em both in for a Porsche boxster and be a metro sexual or tree hugging Prius owner ! The problem is he has a brutal 18 mi. commute that takes over an hour and drives a 5.7 L Tundra so the little gnats on the fwy cut him off and hover around his arse and piss him off ....i`ve driven his truck if you hit that 5.7 you`ll kill someone in traffic it`s a bat out of hell and gets about 16 mpg ........so he thinks he wants an old lexus or rice eater to beat on .....you know .....somebody else's problem ......i told him beat the 5.7 and be happy doing it .....and den buy another one .....fack the fossil fuels anyway ! How much was the Eco Snoot any way ?........are you looking for a kiss after they fack you for it ? ......remember you can only drive one thing at a time thats why i like my 250R cause i know there's nothing better !

The eco stickered for 47k, but was a leftover '14 I bought in '15 for 33k. Trade in is 30k. So if I traded it in or sold it, I basically drove the truck for 2 years for 3k. Because I got such a good deal on it, I could get rid of it and almost be out nothing. That doesn't happen very often in the used vehicle world. I think I owe maybe 13k on it, so the difference would pay cash for an older truck that would sit until needed just like this one and not eat a thing.

[ironchop]

They are made just as cheap as your ford/volkswagen, in fact most suppliers make parts for all three!

Negative, ghostrider.

THIS is spot on. I have a local smelter that makes the front suspension arms for Toyota, Mercedes, Ford, Range Rover, VW, and many others.

Our involvement is to take newly cast/ forged parts and cut them up to machine bars from them that will be pulled apart in a machine used to test tensile strength. They make these components as thin as "safely" possible so testing daily is a necessity. The object is to use as little material as needed to keep it from snapping under normal wear and tear.

Cost trumps quality. Today's cars are piles of afterthought and cheap materials mixed together to make temporary transportation which lasts nearly as long as the auto loan you took out to purchase it

Sent from my Z958 using Tapatalk

[sledcrazyinCT]

You must have been reading my mind lately. I'm waiting for the right one to pop up and I'm willing to fly across the country to get it. I'm going to be very picky with the one I buy, and since I have a reliable truck, patience, (which is usually not a virtue of mine) will hopefully pay off in the long run. I figure if I find one around 150k miles, it's just starting to break in. I've been looking at Texas trucks because of the pristine body's.

YES to finding rot free chassis! My search for a 7.3 netted many nice rot free trucks from Texas, Nevada, Utah, Colorado and Washington state. Amazed how much more $$ a rot free F350 commands over a F250.

I settled on a decent 2003 7.3 F250 crew cab lariat 4x4 I found locally. Minimal rot but I still would like to make a road trip home from a rust free state with a nice superduty.

[sledcrazyinCT]

Good news you cut loose your money pit Mercedes! Sucks that the ML350 was such a turd!

I like German made products, but am convinced if I get another BMW it will be only owned by my family while it still has a factory warranty!

[sledcrazyinCT]

BKM that is a good way to buy a vehicle as a dealer left over and flip it before you start to loose money. Had a very long conversation with a good friend who has always had a car payment, but he managed to upgrade on every trade in and gain equity. He is at the point if it needs a set of tires or brakes he starts to shop around for a new one. His logic convinced me to use our TDI jettawagon that is part of the emissions scandal to upgrade to a real nice new car. I figure based on our mileage and what VW is paying to buy back that we got to use the car for 40,000 miles and put some cash in our pocket even after throwing a big chunk towards a new car. I want to keep my same monthly payment amount, but put enough down to pay the sucker off in 3 or 4 years...just in time to sell privately before warranty expires or dicker with a dealer on another new one off the lot.

[bkm]

I`m glad the #`s work for you ......Ford had the nerve to ask 47K for a V-6 pickup ? ........we bought the Tundra in `13 the asking was 33K he got it for 26K work trim truck ......holy sheet by the time you retire they`ll be paying you a $1000 an hour !

Trust me, I've takin it up the arse many times on used cars in the past. This is the first time I've come close to winning. I'm tired of feeding the machine and it's time bkm starts paying himself first. Priorities in life are changing and needing to constantly have a new ride in the garage is going to be a thing of the past. Fabio will agree with this. I've been researching diesel trucks for probably 5 years now and there isn't a more reliable truck out there for the money than a 7.3. A rust free truck with under 200k miles will virtually lose no money at this point. With all the epa facked diesels running around eating the owners out of house and home, the 7.3 is money in the bank. They've depreciated all they're going to and most still have 250k left in them. I won't put that many miles on a truck in to lifetimes.

[fabiodriven]

Trust me, I've takin it up the arse many times on used cars in the past. This is the first time I've come close to winning. I'm tired of feeding the machine and it's time bkm starts paying himself first. Priorities in life are changing and needing to constantly have a new ride in the garage is going to be a thing of the past. Fabio will agree with this. I've been researching diesel trucks for probably 5 years now and there isn't a more reliable truck out there for the money than a 7.3. A rust free truck with under 200k miles will virtually lose no money at this point. With all the epa facked diesels running around eating the owners out of house and home, the 7.3 is money in the bank. They've depreciated all they're going to and most still have 250k left in them. I won't put that many miles on a truck in to lifetimes.

Now you're reading my mind! I was just about to post how you all are slaves to your vehicles! Before I get caught in a roll that is difficult to stop, I think I should end here, lol. You people are insane paying all that money for a vehicle!

[bkm]

Now you're reading my mind! I was just about to post how you all are slaves to your vehicles! Before I get caught in a roll that is difficult to stop, I think I should end here, lol. You people are insane paying all that money for a vehicle!

Trying to bust free from the shackles brother. My corolla has 150k and honestly don't see why it won't go another 150k? Selling the ecoboost and paying cash for a 99-03 7.3 is what I plan to do. I won't have the latest and greatest, but in turn I'll have reliable vehicles that will pay me while I drive them instead of a bank getting my money. I could set aside just the interest on a 5 year car note, and that would probably pay for the yearly maintenance on both my cars. The best part about this is my wife is totally on board with paying ourselves instead of the banks.

[fabiodriven]

No not the latest, but certainly the greatest.

[Mr. Clean]

My new ride. Truck blew a head gasket.

It's fun.