It’s been almost four years since I purchased my awesome Mercedes-Benz 300SD off eBay (yes … I bought a car on eBay).

As a quick recap …

A friend recommended old diesel Mercs because of their reliability and low cost to own.  I didn’t quite know anything about those cars, but he owned a few of his own, and I trusted his opinion.  So before I bid $4,700 on a clean 1984 300SD, I went down to Detroit, met the seller, and test drove the car.

I purchased it straight cash, and put around $2,000 in maintenance and repairs over last 4 years.  The maintenance cost was somewhat reduced by the website I used to maintain (300sd.com), but then it got hacked (a lot) and I shut it down.

Well … It’s four years later, she has a few more dull spots lacking clear-coat, but she’s the same brown bomber I fell in love with :) A few major checks coming up — timing chain, front end, but nothing too critical.

Overall, the car has been a blessing.  Practically nothing to maintain, solid, reliable, comfortable, classy … you give her a little love, she pays back sevenfold.

And more importantly, I am now 29 years old, and I’ve never had a car payment in my life!