One Mercedes and 500k Miles Later
If it’s true that most drivers are happy to get 100,000 miles out of their vehicles, then this Mercedes owner was five times as happy.
After driving his 1987 Mercedes-Benz 300 SDL for more than 500,000 miles, Sam Woody decided it was time to upgrade. That’s right, his Benz got more than half a million miles on it before he decided to call it quits.
The West Chester native bought the luxury vehicle while he was still in the Air Force. He’s the only person who owned the vehicle since he bought it new in 1987. At the time, it was a state-of-the-art vehicle, and he paid more than $40,000 for it.
But the memories Woody has with the car are priceless. At the time, he worked in Fairborn and drove the Mercedes to work everyday. A year later, he was transferred to St. Louis, Missouri. His wife stayed in West Chester at the time to continue teaching. Woody drove home every weekend with the Mercedes-Benz to visit his wife. That’s how a big chunk of the miles were accumulated, he says.
“It never let me down,” Woody said about the car. He made sure to perform the scheduled maintenance procedures: oil changes, flush and fill, and so on. If he heard the slightest noise, he’d take it to the mechanic and get it checked out right away. Apart from a few minor repairs and the normal wear and tear, nothing major went wrong with the car in 20 years.
But it was time to trade it in. Mercedes-Benz has made some astonishing improvements in driver comfort and safety since Woody bought the 1987 model. He wanted to experience the new GPS and the other features that he’d been missing out on all these years. Hopefully, he’ll get another 528,696 miles out of this one, too.
It just goes to show that you can get a great deal on a certified Mercedes, and it’ll last you for years to come. Simply take care of it with regularly scheduled maintenance procedures and the car will return the favor.
Filed Under: Certified Mercedes-Benz
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