Is the interest rate worth the credit history?

[Sigarms]

I don't know the quotes he got on the 100k PM service, but let's say $1800 or so;

It was little more than that on the service side, but it's apparent you've never owned a Mercedes before

 

[paulsharvey]

It was little more than that on the service side, but it's apparent you've never owned a Mercedes before

I havent; but what are we talking; less than $3k? Is there a way he can do say, coils, plugs, tranny flush, whatever, and just have mechanic do timing belt/water pump? Basically do the busy work part himself; and the more complex stuff at mechanic to reduce the total shop hours? Even at $3k; we still below the cost of ownership for a 12 month period on a car with payments.

 

[Sigarms]

I havent; but what are we talking; less than $3k?

Still low but in the ballpark

That said, it was most of the work that really needed to be done.

It was the "replace failed front sway bark links and both front lower thrust arm bushings" that was the killer on 9 service related items done.

Invoice dated 11/04/22 at 97, no trans flush included with 97,346 on the odometer at the time.

This is why when I get called in for complaints on a HVAC system because the homeowner is complaining about labor, I ask to see the invoice and who did the work. Ironically enough, the few homeowners I had to deal with never could remember who installed their system nor did they actually have a invoice on the original system installed.

I generally keep all invoices.

 

[arto98607]

It's best to keep the car if he just recently spent that kind of money on regular scheduled maintenance.

PS.
Transmission fluid change on some of these models (like my W211) is fair bit of work and can not be done by beginner without detailed instructions & couple of specialty tools.
I have done it twice and it's OK once you know how to do it and have the tools.

 

[Sigarms]

It's best to keep the car if he just recently spent that kind of money on regular scheduled maintenance.

That bill was in 2022 about 25,000 miles ago.

After asking my son why he had to take his door completely apart to change his seat motor out, I'm kind of scratching my head over "German engineering". That said, I'll give him credit that he did it all on his own without asking for help.

The issue is his dad never wanted to be an auto mechanic other than oil changes because his dad spends too much time on other things, including bringing home a paycheck.

I never owned a Merceds, never want to. It was the local dealer in NC that made me give up VW's for taking them in for service work.

I'm not a dealer specific mechanic for getting work done, but sometimes with some European brands, it does require more "speciality work" than others.

 

[paulsharvey]

My 18 y/o son just picked up a VW Passat, for dirt cheap, that needs an oil pan and a water pump.
Funny thing is; the oil pan looks to be incredibly simple to replace, 3 or 4 16mm bolts, about 12 10mm bolts, and a gasket, and a dummy low oil sensor cover plate (his isn't equipped with the sensors but there is a hole in the pan for the sensor, with a cover plate).
The water pump on the other hand; involves removing motor mounts, and lifting/lowing the motor with a jack to get at.

 

[Sigarms]

I would caution against some of the 'smart' moves; such as buying a $1000-3000 compact car because it's cheap; if he's the type that is gonna want a nicer vehicle anyways. I know lots of people that will say; I'm just gonna buy this Ford Focus and drive it; then after 3 months of driving it. and parking next to the F250s and Chevy 2500s, and escaldes, they Need to buy something more manly. Then you have 2 vehicles, 2 insurance payments, 2 tags, ect. If you know yourself, and your not gonna be happy driving the Focus, don't buy it just because it's the 'smart' move.

Before anyone wants to attack, I drove the heck out of a Saturn station wagon and later a Toyota Highlander; and parked next to much 'cooler' vehicles, because it was cheap/paid for. I also probably trailered and hauled more with that highland than a lot of F250s.

The car I would suggest is something less than 50K on the odometer and something no more than 8 years old.

The goal is for a car that will last 3 or more years before having to go over the 100K service and something more along the lines of a Honda or Toyota.

I have my own warped equation for age and mileage vs cost whenever I buy used (only thing I along with my wife have ever bought is used).
That said, the only thing I can do is give him advice, which doesn't mean he has to listen...

 

[JasperFrank]

Having and paying off a loan on time, was how I was taught was the way to increase your credit score when I was younger. I don't think this was ever really the case. I think it was a sales pitch to get people stuck on credit. I've never had a loan to payoff in my life. And never carried over a C-card balance with interest: Always paid off every month. And I have a near perfect credit score. So how ever a scoring agency, such as equifax, calculates this score, can't be based on loan repayment since I've never taken out a loan. I think it is based more on personal assets, income, and paying bills on time, than anything else.
Got a cash back C-card last year, 2%, yet every time I try to use it for something big like Prop taxes, the fine print, and I mean very hard to see fine print, says using a Card incurs a transaction fee of 2.9% or so, negating any advantage.

 

[JethroB]

I don't know or care what my credit score is because I also have no loans or intend to get any.
Why do you monitor your credit score if you don't intend to get a loan?

That’s the position I wanted to be in and achieved it about 15 years ago at around age 50. Just a credit card now for convenience which gets paid in full each month. But I did run into a hiccup not long ago when I purchased a new Kubota $45k tractor using their zero down/zero interest offer. Kubota Credit said it was the amount that gave them pause. I let them peek at my retirement account and all good to go .

 

[paulsharvey]

The car I would suggest is something less than 50K on the odometer and something no more than 8 years old.

The goal is for a car that will last 3 or more years before having to go over the 100K service and something more along the lines of a Honda or Toyota.

I have my own warped equation for age and mileage vs cost whenever I buy used (only thing I along with my wife have ever bought is used).
That said, the only thing I can do is give him advice, which doesn't mean he has to listen...

If he will drive it, and be happy with it, yeah, that's sound logic.

Also, I would caution just taking something to any dealer or mechanic, and saying do my 100k PM service. Our work vehicles are on a PM schedule, and yes, they do 7500 oil changes, like 15k tire rotation, refill windshield washer fluid, and check brakes every 30k; but they don't just go replacing coil packs or plugs or anything until failure. I know the German stuff had their timing belts that can explode and destroy the entire engine; but a Lot of PM stuff is a BS money grab. You don't need to preventative replace suspension parts, or vacuum pumps, or even hoses. A worn ball joint isn't going to magically go from good to bad; and although it might have a 100k life span, there isn't any reason to just replace it; unless it's very worn.

 

[Sigarms]

That’s the position I wanted to be in and achieved it about 15 years ago at around age 50. Just a credit card now for convenience which gets paid in full each month. But I did run into a hiccup not long ago when I purchased a new Kubota $45k tractor using their zero down/zero interest offer. Kubota Credit said it was the amount that gave them pause. I let them peek at my retirement account and all good to go .

I have to laugh...

When a land and house payment, no way was I going to add a tractor payment on top of that (after going to numerous auctions).

I ended up buying John Thomas's Kubota F series mower because that's what I could afford cash at the time.

Like most of our cars, that "used" buy has worked out pretty well for me.

I don't live on credit, just trying to understand it...

 

[ultrarunner]

Sadly the retirement system was wrecked when I got out in 2017 so no more 20 and 50% of the top three

Before all the base auto hobby shops were sold/closed around 2014, you could live in the dorms and have a place to go work on stuff. I don't think they ever re opened them

A couple of the career navy old car guys restored cars wherever they were based…

One had his engine rebuilt in Hawaii, body and paint in Japan and Upholstery in New Zealand… he was a transport pilot and there was a glitch/delay with one transfer so he loaded his Model A onto an empty C130 he was piloting… took a few nods along the way but bottom line is no one on the base wanted to be responsible for it waiting for transport.

The Model A Ford was his only vehicle… almost went to Germany and Philippines.

 

[newbury]

A couple of the career navy old car guys restored cars wherever they were based…

One had his engine rebuilt in Hawaii, body and paint in Japan and Upholstery in New Zealand… he was a transport pilot and there was a glitch/delay with one transfer so he loaded his Model A onto an empty C130 he was piloting… took a few nods along the way but bottom line is no one on the base wanted to be responsible for it waiting for transport.

The Model A Ford was his only vehicle… almost went to Germany and Philippines.

Yeah, always helps if you have a spare C130 for transport

 

[hiddentacocatneddih]

couldn't pay me enough to ride in the old 4 fan flying trashcan after catching a ride in a C-17

 

[ultrarunner]

These guys retired in the 70’s and made good use of the base hobby shops… auto repair, etc.

Didn’t know that the shops are no more.

 

[MossRoad]

I have a cousin that is retired from the Army. Back in the 80s he got sent to Germany. He was allowed to take so many pounds of personal belongings. So he took his Ford Maverick and drove it on the Autobahn. Said he got a ticket for too slow and not pulling over soon enough for faster traffic. People would laugh at him, but he had a blast.

 

[hiddentacocatneddih]

These guys retired in the 70’s and made good use of the base hobby shops… auto repair, etc.

Didn’t know that the shops are no more.

Sequestration caused the loss of a lot of things

 

[Torvy]

Having and paying off a loan on time, was how I was taught was the way to increase your credit score when I was younger. I don't think this was ever really the case. I think it was a sales pitch to get people stuck on credit. I've never had a loan to payoff in my life. And never carried over a C-card balance with interest: Always paid off every month. And I have a near perfect credit score. So how ever a scoring agency, such as equifax, calculates this score, can't be based on loan repayment since I've never taken out a loan. I think it is based more on personal assets, income, and paying bills on time, than anything else.
Got a cash back C-card last year, 2%, yet every time I try to use it for something big like Prop taxes, the fine print, and I mean very hard to see fine print, says using a Card incurs a transaction fee of 2.9% or so, negating any advantage.

1) Assets do not calculate at all into credit scores. They do affect loan terms on things like mortgages, but not FICO or Vanguard scores. Auto loans don't even address your assets other than the collateral (car or truck in this case).

2) Income is not part of it at all, either. There is no reporting mechanism for thr bureaus to have your income info. Again, banks will get that info from you directly as part of a loan application. It is used along side credit scores (and in some cases assets) to make loan terms.

3) Most bills are not reported to credit bureaus, though some are. Typically, anything with a monthly balance of $75 or less is not reported. It costs companies money to report, so smaller ones either never report or only do so when there is negative info.

4) Credit cards are loans. They are considered a revolving credit line. Everything you charge on the card is a short term loan. The bank doesn't typically charge interest on that loan unless a balance carries onto the next statement.

Not just my opinion. I worked in 2 major banks for over 20 years and taught Economics and Personal Finance (among other things).

The info that is used for FICO is available online. On general, Investopedia has good info and is politically neutral.

FICO Score

A FICO score is a credit score that many lenders use to assess an applicant’s credit risk. Learn how a FICO score works and how you can raise your credit score.

www.investopedia.com

 

[Torvy]

Sequestration caused the loss of a lot of things

Correction, the knee-jerk response to sequestration caused those losses. They could have saved much more money in other ways. These types of cuts were just intended to make people mad about cost reductions...I guessed it worked.

 

[hiddentacocatneddih]

There was a lot more then just that. The flight line got really quiet.


Parts were hard to get.