Strange thing about Mercedes... they were easy to work on (especially if you could get the dealer to order you the manuals for the car), and parts weren't prohibitively expensive, but the specialized tools were arms and legs (just the 2 wrenches to separate the driveshaft halves were thereabout a hundred of 1980's dollars each) and if you had someone else work on them - because they were, ahem, "Mercedes Mechanics" (later "Technicians"), and knew the factory approved way to get their hands dirty (eg, they had "the books")... but then...

Had to have the radiator in mine rodded out (clear the passages, they were clogged) so I pulled it (about an hour - no huge feat of arms) and took it to the local radiator shop. They were filling out the paperwork, and asked what dealer I came from and the work order number, so they could charge the appropriate service department... when I told them it was for me, not a shop, and I was doing the work - their jaws dropped, and the price was reduced 50%...

Made owning that little diesel sedan affordable, knowing the "secrets of The Book"... grins.

many score years ago a co-worker of mine told how reliable his MB was, though he complained about the expense of 'routine maintenance.' This was back in the '60s... his regular maintenance included the usual oil and filter change plus... new points, plugs, condenser (back in those days,) PLUS new vacuum AND coolant hoses, ignition WIRES, thermostat AND THERMOSTAT COVER (in case the last one was damaged during removal...) All for a mere $750 or so...

I pointed out to him that if he did all those 'routine' maintenance chores to a clapped-out Chevy Impala on the same yearly or two basis, it, too would probably last 'forever.'

But the glitz ... :)

my wife and I have gone on at least 8 cruises, and the memories are glorious! we also like to go on driving adventures -- where we goin'? who knows! then, when we run out of money, we come home and save up some more!
also, I bought a good ham radio which can talk long distance, bringing in memories of the Pittsburgh and Florida conversations, with the attendant learning about other folks and places. delightful and never-ending ,,, become a ham; no code general is not that tough!

yeee-haaa! we bought a Baja and love it!!!

I have to agree on that one.. I really hate travel with much of a schedule. My ex--wife would plan our vacations down to the minute, so like i said.. My ex-wife.. 8^) I have had my best times when I was really not worried about coloring between the lines. A couple of years ago I was driving from Seattle to Milwaukee. I was between contracts so really had no place i needed to be. So, I stopped in Sheridan Wy for a couple of days to hang out with one of the guys in my squadron. I got to be there for Buffalo Bill days, eat amazing BBQ, even more amazing steak and see a 4h rodeo. It was awesome fun.. When I left I noticed that I would be passing pretty close to Devils Tower, so why the heck not stop over there.. Then my GPS pointed out that I would be passing pretty close to the geographic center of the lower 48. So again, why not? Thing that I have noticed is that the more billboards there are for an "attraction" the less its worth stopping to see... Wall Drug was a waste of time.

Hear hear

They need a capitalist economy.

That overseas trip may also help break through the local propaganda that holds so many in its control. Life changer.

People will compete about anything. Whether it's a car or how many places you have visited or how many upgrades you get because you have traveled a lot. Sometimes, it's easier to buy material things than to get the time off to travel, depending on your job. This is just another way to make people feel inadequate. The best way is to take a little time to think about which things do make you happy and stop boasting. Interesting how experiences=travel to a lot of people. I disagree that people buy things merely to create envy in others.

Point for that.

Like cars. Used to drive a Mercedes Diesel. Not for the glitz (and it was a really pretty and well-appointed euro-spec car), but because it was durable, reliable, easy to fix, and drove well. When it needed replacing, people thought (because it was a Mercedes) I'd trade it in on a bigger, glitzier, more cush one... but by then, their quality had fallen through the floor. So I bought (and restored) a used Super Beetle... because it was durable, reliable, easy to fix, and drove well. The poseurs and looks-chasers were shocked. My friends... understood. My current car - isn't a Rover, isn't a Benz, isn't even a Tesla... it's a Subaru Forester. Why? Well... read the above list.

Don't get me wrong - I'll spend good money for good goods... but I'd rather get my moneys worth on quality than tinkle it away on Bling. Seen too many people do that for looks - and to me, that just looks... ugly.

Nice sentiment, but food, water, housing, clothing, transportation, medicine etc are not free. As little as 200 years ago almost everyone lived on the edge of starvation. Almost no-one could afford but one pair of clothing and no cotton under clothing. Many people died from the infections resulting from wearing dirty clothing that scraped their skin. Most people could not afford a candle to light their night except on special occasions, so when it was dark there was little to do. Sanitation was primitive. Even today around half of the world's population faces these issues.

There is a difference between capital goods and consumption goods. The former are the far more impressive to the holder, and include both human (e.g. education) and inanimate (e.g. milling machine); they expand our capacities and are impressive to capitalists. Consumption goods, on the other hand, are wasting or depreciating assets; if they are "impressive," that perception perhaps arises because their purchase demonstrates the destruction of otherwise usefully deployed capital.

I can attest to that. When I found some property to claim, I spent the money traveling. To a country with the richest archaeological history of all the countries of the world.

I've found much the same phenomenon. When we travel, if it doesn't fit in carry-on, it doesn't go with us. We generally don't plan the actual trip except first and last days. Within that time frame we let "the Spirit move us". Some of the best adventures have come as a result of "punting"...especially when the airlines fails to get us to our destination or when we have had a flat tire and couldn't make our flight.

Just look at a typical border. Since 08 I have learned to travel very light. When contracts have me on the road for a year I learned that if it doesn't fit in the golf it doesn't come along. While doing that I have learned that while I might not be able to carry much around. I can pretty easily hope on a plane and meet my wife someplace interesting. The result has been lots of business class flights and getting to see plenty of the country. At the same time, I dont carry much but what I do have needs to meet a pretty high quality standard. Overall I would say that mostly my life is better for it.

I found in my life that I enjoyed travel more than things, and now have great memories and photos of the decades of travel around the world.

I think we accumulate material things to impress others. We get little satisfaction from the "thing" but enjoy the "experience" of the impression of envy it evokes from our peers. This is a short lived gratification and it leaves an emptiness. If we have innate self esteem we could care less about the envy of others and are interested in pleasant experiences whether they are shared or not.

That's odd. I wonder if some primitive part of our brains does not account for depreciation and thinks if we trade something for "things" we could always trade those "things" back for something else.