Exactly this.  With any old German car, the purchase price is just the price of admission.  If you enjoy wrenching, then it’s a good deal.  If you just enjoy driving, then a car like this will break your heart and wallet.

Agree with the comments. Cables are nice to have but not in the car. One thing I carry is a breaker bar and socket for the lug nuts. The wrench supplied with the car usually won't work for a normal human. I also carry some plastic gloves and carpet squares in the trunk. 

Agree with the comments. Cables are nice to have but not in the car. One thing I carry is a breaker bar and socket…

The automotive equivalent of this are the assholes on vwvortex who answer honest forum questions with: "If you have to ask, you're not qualified to do it."

This is the year I finally buy an RX-8 with blown engine, and have it rebuilt. (not paying $5k for a car with 120k miles about to blow up anyways).   Gee honey, why’d I change the lock on the garage?  Um, it was broken...

I’ve reached a point in my life where I’m done with rewarding morons for being morons, and I don’t answer dumb ads, no matter the deal. Ebay body tack-ons and damp rid in the car definitely are there, along with all the other things from Craigslist/Marketplace bingo.

I never go through the drive thru window, because I'm afraid I won't be able to roll the window up again. Bmw of course (from personal experience)

Came here for this one!

My old Mercedes has the filter in the battery cover.  I wonder about that sometimes, but takes thirty seconds to change

Super long straight and right angle needle nose for getting electrical plugs off.

The reason you don't see them anymore is that they got picked up by high schoolers who slammed them, tore off the bumpers on curbs, then blew the engine with mods and no oil changes.  And what's left just isn't worth the money for an engine.  Sad.

Engineers smarter than you? Sometimes yes, sometimes not at all. In hindsight you make a bad decision that made sense at the time (career design engineer here). As for cars wearing out on ten years, the reliability of German cars out of warranty, a common topic here, shows that ten years is generally the target…

You see a fair number of cars like this where the owner has simply gotten too old for sliding under cars and sticking your nose under the dash (I call that the “dashboard lambada”).  A couple of knee replacements, and suddenly you’re out of the game.

Did anyone besides me start hearing 1970's porn movie music start playing in the background when they saw that interior?

As a current owner of am old c230 with six speed, and past owner of rx-7 and miata, I can concur. The MB manuals are unfulfilling

Exactly my experience. You ask several specific questions and get maybe one or two answers. Run away hard.

$6k?  Try 8-11k.  Anything 6k these days has 200k miles. By comparison Boxsters look like a good deal.  But damn, Europeans got green. All the US got was silver, black, and white.

I’ll go no dice here. Having said that, I’ve noticed that 99-on miatas with standard transmission are pretty rare in decent shape, and asking prices are making boxsters look like a better deal. Everything I find on FB marketplacefor '06-'08 is either destroyed or a 20k garage queen for $13 k or more

clicking on the star isn’t working, so I’ll comment +100, as the former owner of an R56 turbo.  What a complete POS, and as a lifelong owner of old German cars, I have a high pain tolerance.

Nope. Replace the alternator with something US, the carb with a Webber, and add an electronic ignition, and you're good to go

Gtv6 under 5k?  Only if it's sitting under a pile of boxes and mouse droppings and rusted out.