kevincheek
Tech Writer in Colorado
kevincheek

There are a lot of interior and trim shops that can repair, replace, or even remanufacture a dash to your particular level of perfectionism. I just had work done by a shop in Denver and I was floored by how well it came out. Look up auto trim shops in your area.

One morning, must’ve been late 99 or early spring of 2000, in the parking lot at work I saw a new TT parked next to a New Beetle parked next to a '67 Bug parked next to a Karmann Ghia. Suddenly, I understood!

Exactly. Great car, Terrible price!

Thank you for posting this remark so I didn’t have to.

This is a classic case of right price - wrong car.

Yes, Why has it had 3 owners in so few miles? Was it such a lemon that the owners shucked it as quickly as possible?

Its an excellent example of this series and era. Its an extremely nice price at $2800. At $3800, it competes with Mercedes E-class and BMW 5-series from the same year in similar condition with better driving dynamics, more advanced technology, and (shockingly) no worse reliability. Regretful ND.

True-enough. Perhaps in 2026 it’ll be 60% off, and I’d be able to afford it.

OK, there is one way in which cars have NOT gotten better--the ability to be worked on by the owner. My 93 Mercedes, I can do damn near everything on. Some of the tasks are arduous, but they’re doable. My 2000 Mercedes I could just about change the oil on. I can’t even change the oil on my 2011 Mercedes--at least not

The problem is that cars _have_ gotten better. My first car was a ‘70 VW Bug Convertible. If those weren’t currently worth vastly more than they’re worth, I’d have one today. But when I was thinking about a first car for my own kids, I wound up getting a cheap, very used Mercedes sedan, because roll cages, crumple

A thousand stars for you, sir, for the photo of the M1!

Ok, folks. I think we can fault this guy's choices, especially not thinking through a better solution for parking. But there's some seriously careful woodworking on this project. Look at the trim around the base of the seat. Those curves are difficult to make. It has sort of an Art Deco aesthetic that, while not my

Yes.

These are terrible cars. They’re weak, poorly constructed, and really not as comfortable as they ought to be.

A black car actually works better for nose candy, because you can see the lines more clearly on the roof.

Exactly! I WANT this car. Anybody got a spare 25K lying around I could use for a while?

Id’ve said that but for the presumed timing chain rattle. 10% of his asking price maybe, if he’d throw in a 5 week paid vacation for my wife while I pulled the engine and tried to fix it.

You win the internet today, sir!

Says to me this guy’s an autocratic “my way or the highway” jerk who believes that whatever he does is right even when it disagrees with the maintenance manual or common sense. He’ll insist the car is perfectly maintained and you don’t need to see no receipts. 

I sold an 89 Mercedes wagon with maybe 400K miles on it through craigslist. I wish I still had the text of the ad, it was a beaut. It went something like this: