Dear Hopefully Knowledgeable Person, or whomever is reading this, my name is Frank, I’m 18 years old and I am going to Montana this summer. Driving from Alabama to Montana. If I told you that I wanted to get a 1996 Mercedes-Benz E320, with 133K miles, for 4500 dollars, what would you say!? Would the cost of maintenance be a deal breaker? Go for it? Or forget it? Please help, thank you so much!
Go for it, you are the right age to do stupid things. You will meet a lot of nice people you would never have had a chance to know when you break down in East Bugtussle OK.
The Mercedes is a great car but not quite right for most 18 year old males. They are extremely expensive to repair when they break. I would buy a pickup truck since you will be in Montana. I would suggest a Ford, Chevy or Dodge since they are fairly easy to work on. Parts will also be a lot easier to get. A Mercedes Benz E320 will be like a fish out of water in Montana.
I will agree that a Mercedes E320 is not the most reliable vehicle and when they do break you will be spending 1/2 the amount you paid for the car to just replace the spark plugs. If you are going to be staying in Montana year round I would recommend an old Subaru. Cheap to maintain and built for Montana like weather.
I lived in Bozeman for eight years and it felt like an eight year vacation. I envy your road trip. Goodluck!
You can’t afford to own and maintain an E-class Mercedes Benz. Forget it. This is a bottomless money pit.
Find a nice used Crown Victoria.