The Insane Reality of It All...

So, yesterday, I'm on my way to have a look at a friend of a friend's totally original, 25-year-old Mercedes coupe. It's for a friend of mine, or me... Do I need such a thing in my life at this time? Hell no, do I want such a thing in my life? Well, for a real car guy, yes- even the one that "gets it," I just had to "have it..."

The 20-minute car ride to go and see it- and I'm running through over a decade of Turbodiesel experience. What to look out for, what to check. There are little nuances, little things that could point to a big (or a bigger) problem- if not today or tomorrow- maybe 10 years down the road.

I better think clearly, I better think fast. Gee, I hope I remembered everything. But how could I forget? Having owned my Turbodiesel sedan for, roughly, 140,000 miles or so (it's hard to tell how many miles really- the odometer sticks in the hot weather) I've seen and lived through the good, the bad and the really ugly. Did I also mention, the expensive? Or, the really expensive?

Driving a car with the better part of a quarter-million miles on the clock does not go without it's snags along the way. But ask any vintage Mercedes-Benz guy- and they'll attest- there's nothing more expensive than an inexpensive Mercedes-Benz.
But really, what am I doing? What am I going to do with three cars? Well, I have the room... I could get away with it- but I have a hard enough time driving two cars in rotation as it sits. Will this coupe simply be- "the Mercedes I drive when I'm not driving my Mercedes sedan?" Maybe.

We pull up to the faded Astrial Silver coupe, and sure as Christmas on the 25th, there were people looking at it. A father/son duo- and the coupe's owner's daughter-in-law. I looked at my friend, "looks like we're gonna have competition..."

After about 30 seconds, I knew this wasn't the car for my friend, nor for me. It was rough, but original. Everything was straight, but old and in need of attention.

The paint was shot, the rubber dry and original. Water leaks, everything leaked... But that's somewhat to be expected.

Original owner, the guy got old but as he got older, so did the car. He kept it outside during the last five years, and gave it to some independent mechanic on Staten Island, after he had stopped going to Ray Catena for 20 years.

At 143,000- this coupe was just at the point where they, most Turbodiesels, if you want to drive and enjoy them- get expensive.

They need motor mounts, head gaskets, maybe timing chains... Bushings, struts, maybe tires too. The water pumps may need replacing, the hoses... the belts... Glowplugs.

Let's not even get into the cosmetics or things that you may want to do.

Everything worked- or tried to work- being the car was sitting- this car needed a shake-out drive to "wake-it-up" a bit. An old man drove it- while that may bode well for the small stuff- these cars need to be driven often and hard.
I didn't bother driving it. This was not a car I'm willing to deal with at this point- and it's not a car for my friend who needs a real car, not a hobby.

I've asked for it and have gotten it... The Car Guy Gets It has gone down this road several times- and it's a road I don't care to go down right now.
They say insane is "doing the same thing over and over again, only to expect a different results..." or something like that.

Although this had two-less doors, and was a lot more desirable, I just knew- the reality of it is- I've scratched this itch before.

The young man and his father, however- they were asking for it. And I was just the man to sell it to them.

More later...