This, probably just a couple hundred dollars. Maybe less, since it’s possible the pipe doesn’t actually have to be replaced. It’s just that it’s getting to be a very old car and it has other things that need work — minor, in the short term, but a lot of them, and eventually it’s going to need some serious bodywork, and I often wonder whether it’s time to pass it along to somebody who loves tinkering with old Mercedes and either get a newer used car (something with cupholders, say) or join a carsharing service. And having the muffler fall off sort of reinforces that line of thinking.

On the other hand, I love that pocketa-pocketa-pocketa Diesel sound, and I have been reliably assured by genuine babes that it’s a total babe magnet. Rust magnet too, apparently.