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As a Japanese car owner I'm a fan, but a list of 'cars people keep forever' has a huge amount of selection bias, no? The sort of person who buys a new Merc pro
by esotericn 8y ago
As a Japanese car owner I'm a fan, but a list of 'cars people keep forever' has a huge amount of selection bias, no?
The sort of person who buys a new Merc probably doesn't _want_ to keep the car for 15 years. The interior is going to be shabby regardless of what you do, and the car will be out of date / an old style.
Japanese cars (at least in standard trim) are the stereotypical low TCO keep it until it stops working car; you've already accepted that you want utilitarian transport by buying one.
- tyingq 8y agoThat makes sense, though the Acura MDX is on the list.
- Flavius 8y agoThat still doesn't come close to a Merc or BMW. At least by European standards.
- bdcravens 8y agoIt’s just an upgraded Honda CRV.
- abc_lisper 8y agoYou must be thinking about RDX not MDX. Also latest RDX is not built on the same platform as CRV
- TulliusCicero 8y agoMakes sense for luxury/sports cars, but I doubt there's a huge difference between American and Japanese minivans, there.
- moltar 8y agoHonda Odyssey is way better than anything American made.
- sjg007 8y agoSome of the older mercs are super sweet.
- Caprinicus 8y agoGerman cars, Mercs especially, seem to have a desirability curve that bottoms out and then skyrockets later. Few people are going to hold a car that looks dated long enough for it to start looking awesome
- Spooky23 8y agoNot necessarily. I know people who kept older German cars forever. It’s not very possible anymore. They fall apart and parts aren’t available. My 2003 Pilot was not a utilitarian transport. It was a well equipped car with 80% of the doodads of an equivalent Benz at half the cost. I got rid of it last year, because it had hit 300k miles and key suspension parts were worn out.
- inferiorhuman 8y ago> Not necessarily. I know people who kept older German cars forever. It’s not very possible anymore. They fall apart and parts aren’t available. In what sense? Japanese automakers are notorious for discontinuing model-specific parts after a few years (e.g. look at the Jalopnik blurb about the guy restoring a CRX). Meanwhile you can get nearly any part from nearly any model Mercedes has ever manufactured. More esoteric stuff will cost you, but you can still do it. The other German manufacturers are somewhere in between. I currently have a few twenty year old BMWs and haven't run into any availability issues yet.
- IndrekR 8y ago> Japanese automakers are notorious for discontinuing model-specific parts after a few years (e.g. look at the Jalopnik blurb about the guy restoring a CRX). They stopped making CR-X in 1991. It is not "few years". 3 years ago I retired a 1994 Rover 600 series, which is basically a Honda Accord -- sans few body panels, trim and lights. It was still possible to get the spares for the Honda version, but not the Rover specific ones (got a headlights cracked). Otherwise a solid car after 21 years... Currently happy with Honda Insight.
- bootlooped 8y agoA few decades would be accurate. The model from the Jalopnik story was 1984. The article came out in late 2018.
- inferiorhuman 8y ago
- rmason 8y agoIn Michigan at least a Merc was always short hand for Mercury. Now I realize they no longer make them but this is the first time I've ever heard a Mercedes referred to as a Merc. They will forever be a Mercury to me - and there were some sweet Mercury's as well ;<). I owned a brown LN7 with a moonroof and got more requests for rides from pretty girls than any car I've ever owned. https://www.flickr.com/photos/52345709@N02/10682156066 https://www.flickr.com/photos/52345709@N02/10682156066
- esotericn 8y agoWell, from across the pond, this is the first I've ever heard of Mercury at all. You learn something every day! (and the link you posted is a beauty.)
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- RickJWagner 8y agoMy friend, you've missed out on a lot of early American rock 'n' roll history. Mercuries were the hot-rods of the early 50s. There are quite a few early songs that feature Mercurys.
- chapium 8y agoIts definitely a regional thing. I never heard merc used for anything other than mercedes until i lived in missouri.