Car appreciation... the aesthetics, the engineering, etc

Yeah but...

1. Annual tax is £0
   
2. Annual service £0
   
3. Congestion charge £0
   
4. ULEZ £0
   
   

Cost per mile is about £0.025p in electricity too.

It does not park itself though - that's part of the full autopilot which is an eye-watering £6k option in the UK. I'll stick with just radar cruise and autosteer in lane which are free.

1. £565
   
2. £600
   
3. £whatever this is, I'm on autopay
   
4. £0
   
   

And ~26mpg on Super Unleaded, which was £1.20 per litre when I last filled up, but I'm lead to believe the tank will get me 400 miles - so:

80*£1.20=£96/400=£0.24/mile.

Needs matching poster

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That’s evidently $500,000 worth of restomod there. Lovely 😊

So 10k miles a year would be:

Tesla - £250 (assuming only charging at home)
E63 - £3,565 (excl congestion charge)

Lol that the E63 is ULEZ compliant.

I'd estimate that I'll do around 8,000 miles per year, if I take the E63 to the Alps, knock a couple of thousand off that if we don't of course. Not cheap, but hopefully fun.

True.

Also, though you've paid £35k+, you own something which will probably only depreciate a little bit more (though the servicing cost will increase over time).

I'm full lease for this car (no option to own) because I think electric cars will be in a totally different place in 3 years and wont want to keep this. That means I'm probably paying around £25k over those three years to own nothing.

But, cost of ownership over that time (excluding the lease) will likely be less than £1,500 including tyres.

I paid £28,000 for the E63, it's quite hard to know what it will be worth in 3 years and ~24,000 miles, I'd hope around the 20k mark. My intention is to move to the 2016-? E63 estate at that point.

I predict I will need a larger estate in ~3 years and ~20k sounds about right to me, so consider this me getting the dibs in early.

No I think that particular car needed a repaint.
It was funny more than anything. And it didn't really matter. It was £1250 and I saw an indicated 140mph out of it.

What happens to the millions of batteries in the impending wave of electric cars one past their usefulness?

Today, around 90% of current battery packs are recyclable. There are several companies (including one founded by JB Straubel) which are developing recycling processes to increase that to nearly 100%.

Even where we are now, recyclability of BEVs plus their lower overall CO2 emissions both at tailpipe and over their lifespan are thousands of tons less than equivalent ICE vehicles.

It’s also only get greener with the proportion of grid energy being generated by renewables increasing.

There really is an inflection point now where there’s very little excuse (if you’re buying a ‘new’ new car), not to go electric.

Re-use as energy storage in buildings, ripped apart for recycling afterwards.

Don’t mind me, I’m just popping to the shops.

Chaley

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The E63 is booked in with MB to have the stop/start looked at tomorrow morning. This will be £120, and the dealer I bought the car from has ok’d it. I did ask about a full inspection but that would add £600 to the bill which felt like a lot. As part of the stop/start they’ll give the car a visual inspection when it’s up in the air- largely to find things to sell me.

DDR, who looked after the C55, will spend two hours inspecting the car for £185. This would be much more thorough and would involve taking things off to take a really good look.

At 5 years and 42,000 miles should I spring for the inspection?

At that age usually you would expect things like perishing rubber items - brake lines, frame bushings, engine hoses, door seals

You's also want to check wheel and suspension components looking in particular for leaking shocks. MB have history with strange active suspension systems that go bang. With the SuperSex Estate I suspect there are more quirks to go wrong.

A list of "known things that will happen in the next 2 years" is really helpful. I had that done on my VW and that has made planning really easy.

Also. Replace the battery. Just do it and never worry about it again. Rule #1 for every second hand car I have ever bought. Never needed a jump. Ever.

And so it begins...

True. The rear end is air-suspension.

I’m just wondering because it has a full MB service history, and the last two services were “B”, which means quite a thorough inspection of the vehicle.

It has been out of warranty since late 2018, however.

I have had a 2009 1.8 since 2017 and love it.

One thing to check will be the aircon, as that is a weak point in these cars. Only other things that went wrong could have gone wrong on any car that old (wheel bearing and a shock and top mount).

Notice Tom getting in good and early for “E63 maintained by man with inability to let things go”.

There’s a thread on my C55 where a guy chimes in with “oh I just let the rockers leak- it’s just an oily smell, and some mess in the engine bay” and I thought “our positions are so far apart we’re never going to agree on what is reasonable here”.

I love the attention to detail, and unwillingness to let things go. I suffer some of the same traits and it’s one of the main reasons I get a new lease car every 3 years...

Well, I’m buggered if my cars aren’t going to work properly- and by properly I mean perfectly.

Did I mention I’ve just spent £1,200 on Carrillo rods, and just waiting for the quote for a triple plate Alcon clutch?

Big 'ol bus the E63 state.

I'd love plastic backs in our Volvo.

Our current plan for cars is to have older but well maintained cars that we don't have to worry about. If the kids makes a mess of the interior, so be it.

We sold the 9-5 the other week and bought a well looked after but silly high milage V70 instead. Curious to see how it pans out, never had a car with this kind of milage before

Just give them your wallet and tell them to hang on to it for the next 25k miles. Probably easier.