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Of course they can. Older diesel Mercedes are some of the most reliable cars out there.
Older cars are not indicative of the reliability of newer models from the same manufacturer. TheEuropean Union's End of Life Vehicles Directive forces manufactures to use recycled materials in places where virgin materials last much longer (plastic engine bits, coolant and emissions hoses, etc.). Plus, European cars in general seem to have more than their fair share of electrical issues. I don't hate European cars, but I don't plan on my 2018 BMW M550i to last more than 5 years/50K miles before it starts giving issues. So far, so good, though.
I think any car can go 200K miles or more - if you just keep replacing parts that have worn out or failed. The question to me is, does the original engine and transmission last 200K miles, and are the average annual repair / maintenance bills in the 150K-200K range still reasonable, or are they bad enough that you are questioning if it'd be cheaper to get a new car?
I've owned several Japanese cars over 200k mi and mostly with no engine problems. The question is can VW, Audi, BMW, and Mercs last over 200k mi reliably? I've seen a few E90 3 series and many go for $3k+ with over 175k mi and the interior and exterior looks to be in very good shape compare to Japanese cars. But the real question is. Can these cars last more than 200k mi with just basic DIY maintenance.
German cars and basic maintenance? You want your car to last so long, you need to take care of it. A bit beyond the basics and skilled, authorised car shop.
If you do just oil changes and basic repairs in whatever cheap shop - those people don't know what they are doing - then probably not. German cars are too sophisticated for unskilled car shop workers.
But maintain it right and it will last very long...
Birdy told me, you can't DIY any maintenance on MBs..as dealer has key to drain plug. Donno - as I have ZERO interest in any vehicle made in Europe/GB/Sweden -but a coworker had convertible MG that he had to take to dealer for oil change, to the tune of $1200/every 60K miles.
As I said place else. If you want fun car with gadgetry and lease it and rid of it in 2 years - surely buy German. If you want to keep car, buy Lexus. Or, Toyota hybrid.
I've owned several Japanese cars over 200k mi and mostly with no engine problems. The question is can VW, Audi, BMW, and Mercs last over 200k mi reliably? I've seen a few E90 3 series and many go for $3k+ with over 175k mi and the interior and exterior looks to be in very good shape compare to Japanese cars. But the real question is. Can these cars last more than 200k mi with just basic DIY maintenance.
I have no idea about the newer Mercedes automobiles, but I have known of some older models from the early '70s that have lasted quite a few years. One of my coworkers had a Mercedes sedan that had nearly 300,000 miles, and was still in great shape. Somebody bought it from him a couple of years ago, and it's still going
I do agree with oithers about the newer EU automobiles and the nightmares that can resul from electronic malfunctions.
I've owned several Japanese cars over 200k mi and mostly with no engine problems. The question is can VW, Audi, BMW, and Mercs last over 200k mi reliably? I've seen a few E90 3 series and many go for $3k+ with over 175k mi and the interior and exterior looks to be in very good shape compare to Japanese cars. But the real question is. Can these cars last more than 200k mi with just basic DIY maintenance.
The late 1990's / early 2000's German cars will. Much later and you'll find the electronics will fail much sooner than the mechanical parts will. Occasionally, poor or malfunctioning electronics will cause the metal parts to fail much sooner than they otherwise would.
Don't get caught up in the BMW craze. Get a 10 y/o Mercedes diesel for a steal, tune it, and just ride on without worry.
I gave away my 1980 Mercedes Benz 240D when it had 300,000 miles on the odometer. Felt guilty selling it because it had so many miles on it and I thought it would die anytime. Gave it to a large family in the church and they were grateful to get it. Since he was a diesel mechanic, I wasn't too worried if it would fail. He kept it and used it for several years afterward. Wish I had kept it because manual transmission Mercedes diesels are difficult to find in decent shape.
Had several Volkswagens, but they didn't do quite as well. Gave away my '78 Rabbit diesel two-door when it hit just over 200k miles and sold my '79 Rabbit diesel at also just over 200k. My '80 Dasher diesel also got 200k. The '84 Jetta diesel did a bit better at 250k, but that one had a lot of electrical issues.
Even my '74 Opel Manta got over 200k miles. My "newest" German car was a '89 Mercedes Benz 300CE coupe. That one had 217k miles on it when I sold it. Was in great shape. Only reason for selling it was that I no longer wanted to pay for the routine maintenance, (oil change every 3k miles and other expensive routine maintenance).
Getting 200,000 miles on a German car is not difficult. Then again, all my German cars were older and all had manual transmissions. And, most of the mileage was highway/freeway mileage, which as we know is easier on cars, especially before the horrific SoCal stop-and-go traffic of the past few years.
Any can can, it is just the question of how much money you want to dump into it to keep it going!
This is true....
I've had an Audi TT 01 quattro die at 80k. Two coworkers of mine (BMW) have started to have expensive issues at around 100k and most of their service was at their dealers. We all daily drove our cars as commuters. I've had other vehicles with issues at 100k but at much lower costs. Certainly, their cars could have made 200k, but at what cost?
I've owned older BMWs with manual transmissions in years past with little issues.... I can't help but feel they were more reliable and less complications. I've heard that older MBs (diesels) are also very reliable although I've never owned one.
As the OP mentioned, they are looking at cheaper high mileage examples to purchase. I've bought high mileage vehicles in recent years but always with the assumption that I will need to spend money on some repairs/maintenance; always assuming the previous ownership(s) is suspect with maintenance. So it comes down to cost of parts/labor as a major part of the decision process (in particular electronic related failures)
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