mazdeuce said:I still think everything that can be autocrossed should be autocrossed, at least once, but the R63 is on the list of vehicles that should be autocrossed once, and only once.
Lol, That made me laugh hard enough that the cat sleeping on my desk gave me a dirty look for disturbing her sleep.
mazdeuce - Seth said:As a family we're uncomfortable with it on long road trips. Not because of reliability, but because if something does happen, fixing it locally and in reasonable time is probably impossible and dealing with that with four kids and a dog isn't on my fun list.
To play devil's advocate for a moment:
I understand and agree with your reluctance to take the Benz on the trip last summer; given that you had just finished major surgery and reassembling the motor yourself, keeping it close to home until that repair had proven itself made sense. That was then, though, and presumably you've now put enough miles on it to be confident that it's fixed properly.
So now you're just concerned about the general risk of major, hard-to-repair failures, right? I would argue that this risk exists with any vehicle you might take on a long road trip, even something as ubiquitous as your Silverado. There are parts on it that are uncommon, that won't be in stock in the middle of nowhere (hell, there have been times I've had a car at a dealership for mutiple days in the city because they were waiting for parts), or that might mean an unplanned week-long stop somewhere while they fix it. It could, in theory, put a rod through the block at any moment, right? In some ways, that's part of the adventure of a road trip. Perhaps the R63 is more likely to put you in a "not fun" situation of dealing with major problems en-route, but shouldn't that risk be balanced against the extra fun of driving it instead of something staid and boring like the truck?
Perhaps one way of looking at it is to do some advance planning for how you might deal with that kind of failure. Do some back-of-the-envelope calculations about what it would cost to have someone tow the van back to your house, and how much more to obtain alternate transportation to complete the trip (rent a minivan, fly home to pick up the truck and drive it back, whatever is appropriate for the distance/time). That changes it from an "I don't know what to do, impending doom" sort of problem into a "it will cost X dollars" problem. I find that the latter are an easier problem to understand -- if you can say "taking the R63 will be more fun, but has a 10% chance of costing us $2000" (to make up a random number), then that puts it in the proper context.
Trade you an '06 Mustang and an 03 Merc Wagon *I mean, you want to keep a Merc in the family right?* ;P
In reply to Thinkkker :
Dude, you 100% need this. I'm not sure about the wagon, but we can totally work the Mustang into a trade. 
I think you’re making the right decision after talking to you in Florida. I’d pursue it a little more actively though, and just move on instead of lingering on it
In reply to codrus :
Nothing you said is wrong. I have a AAA card in my wallet just to deal with this. However, what I'm willing to deal with and what I'm willing to ask other people to deal with because of me is different. I sleep in the back seat when I drive across the country alone, I don't ask anyone else to do that when they're with me.
In reply to Patrick :
Baby steps. I'm ready to let the car go to someone who knows the story and is willing to accept the plusses and minuses that come with it. I drove it this morning. I still like it.
If you like the van, then keep it and drive it.
In reply to mazdeuce - Seth :
FYI, another R63 just hit BaT.
In reply to honda1 :
Thanks for the heads up. It's here for anyone who is dying to buy one. The last one sold for $25k, so now might be the time to bite? I should probably stay away from these actions, but when they say things like "less that 100 imported" I feel the need to step in and mention that they were built here and exported to the lucky rest of the world.
I kind of want to ask if it was made by our friend Guido.
In reply to Mad_Ratel :
I wanted to know whose name was on the plate during GRM live! last night. I was watching on and off so I might have missed it.
I have no words. Pure awesomeness.
And to who do we pay homage for such a glorious work of art?
That's a pegasus (with a horn and tailfeathers).
I got back from vacation and the van told me this.
Near as I can tell, service C is just one of those "it's going to take 3 hours" things, and you need to refer back to the maintenance schedule. It looks like I was probably due for a transmission fluid change, which was done in the fall, and the service computer probably thinks it's been a year since my last oil change. A shade over 2k on my current 10 quarts of very expensive oil, but considering all it's been through, might as well change it. I have to say, it's nice to change oil after a big repair and have it look basically brand new.
The pegacorn on the hood makes me smile. It's making me feel the same sense of whimsy that I felt in that first year. It's awesome, and I'm going to drive it.
The pegacorn is the coolest.
Every time I see that Seth posts to this thread now, I get scared/excited that he's going to announce the R has been sold. It Give me a slight sad even if he's decided it is for the best. Kind of like when Ben Affleck goes to pick up Matt Damon at the end of Good Will Hunting.
conesare2seconds said:The pegacorn is the coolest.
Agreed. I sent a picture of it to my sister. She said I should get it as a full back tattoo. She also said I needed to do it just like the hood and have the Mercedes symbol as a tramp stamp to keep it classy. Apparently nothing says classy like a three pointed star right above your crack.
In reply to ManhattanM (fka NY535iManual) :
I think there is a low likelihood that someone stumbles into this thread, reads the whole thing and then actually wants to buy it.
I'm going to keep driving it until that happens. It's running great. Sounds great. I like it.
mazdeuce - Seth said:conesare2seconds said:The pegacorn is the coolest.
Agreed. I sent a picture of it to my sister. She said I should get it as a full back tattoo. She also said I needed to do it just like the hood and have the Mercedes symbol as a tramp stamp to keep it classy. Apparently nothing says classy like a three pointed star right above your crack.
In reply to ManhattanM (fka NY535iManual) :
I think there is a low likelihood that someone stumbles into this thread, reads the whole thing and then actually wants to buy it.
I'm going to keep driving it until that happens. It's running great. Sounds great. I like it.
dare we call the three point star tramp stamp a rising MOON?
left you some ramblings in your COE post
mazdeuce - Seth said:conesare2seconds said:The pegacorn is the coolest.
Agreed. I sent a picture of it to my sister. She said I should get it as a full back tattoo. She also said I needed to do it just like the hood and have the Mercedes symbol as a tramp stamp to keep it classy. Apparently nothing says classy like a three pointed star right above your crack.
In reply to ManhattanM (fka NY535iManual) :
I think there is a low likelihood that someone stumbles into this thread, reads the whole thing and then actually wants to buy it.
I'm going to keep driving it until that happens. It's running great. Sounds great. I like it.
I have read the entire thread and if I had the money I would totally buy the R and drive the hell out of it.
I love the Phoenix aspect of the Pegacorn's feathers. Very fitting for this R63, up from the ashes......
I can't believe my eyes, I just took some time to catch up the last few months of chat here, I have read every page.
If not for some recent changes in household income I would be talking to you about getting it to Minnesota. It would be a dream to own. And the grosh rebuild makes it all the better, Reminding all that it can be done.
If circumstances change in the coming year I may be talking with you to drive it to Michigan for pick up. Though I would severely miss the cross country road trip you would spend a strong and well deserved farewell in the unicorn. Maybe enough to second guess the sale!
Time will tell. But regardless of your sale or future with the van, enjoy the experience, you have brought such inspiration to people that may have only come from such an odd piece of manufacturing marvelry dubbed unicorn, aka the van.
I will be sure and keep up more frequently, and surely cry inside the day that I see it marked as sold.
It could sit in a barn for a decade, be driven across the country, or just be the local grocery getter/family hauler. Whatever its fate it will still be a remarkable vehicle.
Thank you for bringing us all along on your journey.
Ps, the xm shutoff shattered my dreams. Might have decreased the value by 1,000..... 34k? ;)
In reply to Petrolburner :
Thanks for bringing that to my attention. I'm blown away and how far that story has carried over the internet. Drove the kids to school in the R63 this morning. It's still glorious.
In reply to Nash :
I'm glad you enjoyed the story. The van is still taking the family around and being enjoyed. The last two R63's that sold on BAT sold in the mid-high 20's so it might be a good time to keep your eyes peeled for them. I think fear of the headbolts is WAY overblown (there are a half dozen other major failures that are more likely ) and you can probably get yourself into one for much cheaper than you could two years ago. Keep your eyes peeled, they do come up for sale shockingly regularly considering their rarity.
In reply to Petrolburner :
Mention of Seth begins at 3:55 for those who are curious and want to avoid the lead-in.
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