What got you into a Mercedes Benz?

[AMGeed]

I may have brought this up before, but thought it might be interesting to hear how you first decided to buy a Mercedes and have you been generally happy with that decision?

I more or less decided I would own one the day I first landed in Abu Dhabi in 1998 to meet up with my sister who has lived there since 1978. My brother in law arrived to pick me up in a W124 Tanzanite Blue S500 with cream leather and the luxury and power of this car was something new to me.
Coming from a noisy, hard riding Sierra Sapphire Cosworth which I thought was the dogs danglies I had my eyes opened to a whole new world of car ownership.
That was when I vowed I'd have one, not necessarily an S class, but a Mercedes and in 2003 I was the owner of my first, a W210 E280 Avantgarde.

A great car, so much so that I bought another newer facelifted one, then decided a quick one was due so moved into my W211 E55K in 2013. After 6 great years with that car I finally got the car I had been after for years, the current E63 Biturbo. Zero regrets with this one too, and although I have been tempted by a couple of the offerings of Audi, I'm happy to be in the car I now have.
How about you?

 

[Blobcat]

I came out of the company car scheme in 2002 and wanted something comfortable and reliable.

I went from a Vectra to a W210 E320CDI. I kept it for 4 years and to 139k miles. Loved it so much I replaced it with a W211 E320CDI. Kept that for 4 years and 100k miles.
With 5 kids it wasn’t getting the usage out of work so I replaced it with a 911 and a Smart car (along with a VW Caravelle and a 110 Landy...)
Followed by a company car 5 series BM (new job and Mercedes not allowed ) Had that 18 months and whilst perfectly capable I never liked it, nor the uncomfortable seats.
New job lead to a W213 E220d, 18 months of that and 48k miles lead to another job. Decided to take the cash option and bought my current R171 SLK280. Didn’t exactly fit the age rules but the plate is “68” so close enough...
Kept it through redundancy - the benefits of not having a company car... you’re no walking when it goes pear shaped...
New job and no car option so keeping this SLK as it’s just so good and it’s not like being at work when I’m driving it.

 

[Gazwould]

Had a drive of a 190e donkeys ago , loved the granite build quality and styling but not the hard bench park like seat .

Loved the look of the W124 300ce with AMG wheels but was a little mature for me at the time .

Decades later started looking for an automatic diesel and saw Saab 93 1.9 ttid was biturbo like the BMW Alpina D3 .

The rest is history .

 

[LostKiwi]

Had a drive of a mate's bosses car - w124 E200. Hardly the most exciting car to drive but it felt solid. Really solid. Opportunity came up to get one so I got a Saab 900 Turbo SE. Wtf was I thinking???
Opportunity came up again so this time I got a new C240 W202. Picked it up from the factory and did the tour. That was the first. Sold it a few years later and replaced with an S3 but it only took another few years before I had another C240 W202... This was followed by an A8 (the C class went to the other half to use). Drifted into the wilderness of 4x4s for a while then bought another Saab - a 9-3 2.0t which I modified to 260hp. WTF was I thinking?
That quickly departed in favour of an R129, then (additional) a W203 C180, then (still with the 129) an E240 W210 and finally Malcolm's r230 joined the team.

 

[oigle]

In 2003, needed a tow vehicle for a 2 ton caravan. Wanted a liftup tailgate, a 5 speed auto, a good diesel engine and didn't want a large vehicle. Went through all the "normal" vehicles from Toyota, Nissan, Mitsui etc. and nothing matched the criteria. Found the ML270 and it all clicked. Towball weight was an issue and bouncy suspension wasn't good but new Bilsteins and weight distribution hitch fixed that. Was only about AUS$7K dearer than the Jap offerings so went with it. 17 years later, still have it and it is still purring along (with various mods along the way).

 

[Kev555]

A van advertised close to home at the right money and a fecking con man

 

[A.J.]

It was a 190E. It felt like it was made of stone. I loved that car even though it was sluggish. I was just the feeling of being in a good solid car. The feeling is the same in my current car. I wouldn’t buy anything else

 

[Ron240]

I am very likely in a tiny minority here where 2020 is my first car from the Mercedes brand.
I currently had an Audi Saloon and hatchbacks weren't doing it for me anymore, so when I seen pictures of the brand new CLA in 2019 I immediately thought it was a very stylish looking car.
I made enquiries at the time and found out it was not an easy car to get, but I eventually got one this year.
I do not have any particular brand loyalty, so may or may not get another Mercedes.

 

[Flyinspanner]

The keys

 

[Flyinspanner]

Actually I just fell in love with the shape (W215)

The W168 had been the wife’s since 2003 - great car, only sold it last month!

The A209 was bought in early Feb..... for a planned European road trip......

 

[davidsl500]

The keys

and the door...

 

[sl500amgsport]

Fancied a 13 year old W115 when I was 17, could just about afford it but my Father told me they were incredibly expensive to insure and run so ended up with mini cooper. Always admired their luxury but avoided "the perceived expense" until in 1997 when I was offered a brand new E220 W124 after the W210 was out. This was a new import at £10k off the new list price (almost half price) with all the extras such as leather etc. It was a bargain and being new with warranty reliability was not an issue so took the plunge. Sold it 3 years later for the same money!

After that became a brand tart but amongst other brands bought a CLK320 and now the SL R231.

The only car I am now remotely interested in is a Ferrari California but the house upgrade has put paid to that idea and I am now destined to remain poor until my next downgrade to a coffin!

Mercedes SL500 R231

 

[00slk]

Had to drive a 450SEL 6.9 in 1982 to bring into the workshop..........Holly Moly

 

[Wearsafoxhat]

My boss at the time let me drive his new CLS (219). 320 ?
Thought that it was really nice inside and to drive, wasn’t sure about the outside.

Went out and bought our Clk cabriolet (W208, 320).
Bought my current R129, as my wife had taken control of the Clk, bar the cleaning and anything that was money related !!

Bought a few more since.


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[SmartAmg]

Always fancied a Mercedes, particularly the Coupe's, so about 30months ago thought sod it, I'm having one, was looking for a C class coupe originally, but found out they didn't do it with a V6 diesel, so turned to an E class coupe I found the one with the exact spec I wanted, and bought it, despite a few niggling faults recently, I've loved it and don't regret it one bit. It's fast, smooth, reasonably economical, and is a lovely place to sit, and looks stunning.

 

[Phillip Butler]

Never had one before so thought it was about time. My German friends say that Mercedes is still perceived as number one in the world with Porsche second.

Had the car for four and a half years. Solid as a rock and reliable.

 

[V6Matty]

Dad test drove a S202 250TD when he was looking for a new company car in the late 90’s, loved it at that point as well as drooling over a 215, he didn’t go for a Mercedes in the end and got a Rover 75 instead, that was a great car, never anything wrong with it and went back for a second after 3 years and 120k miles, that one did the same. Anyway I digress, when my dad got ill I said to him about that Mercedes (he had dementia at 62), he did and I said I was going to have one as my next car, his face lit up, so I searched and looked at a few 202’s then a couple of 203’s and by accident looked at a 211 in a place I was looking at an S-Type, the ride was brilliant, the 270 was quick enough and the insurance was surprisingly good, so tried a 220 just to keep the then GF happy (now my wife so must have done something right), the 220 just wasn’t going to cut it so gave a 320 a try, nice but too thirsty, so back to looking for 270’s. found one after about 3 weeks with the mileage and history I wanted and some toys (not all) I wanted and made the deal. That weekend I took it to my parents and brought my dad out to see it, beaming from ear to ear and immediately got in the drivers seat and smiled at me some more, I knew I’d done the right thing at that time and keep it for 6 years.

 

[brandwooddixon]

A local Saab dealer wouldn't let me test drive a 9000 Griffon that I was seriously looking to buy. Stopped at the Mercedes dealers on the way home to be offered coffee, sandwiches and an hour long test drive on mixed motorway and country roads in an E320, which I then bought!

 

[John Laidlaw]

An odd turn of events really.
I always thought Merecedes were a bit well....boring... to look at in the past, not well equipped and all. I had drifted in and out of Volvos (mainly), VW's and some other random stuff (lots of company cars which of course were Cortinas, Escorts, Sierras, Cavaliers...
So fast forward to 2006, I had a Volvo S60 D5 which some herbert ran into the back of. Insurance company said they should provide me with a 'similar' car which would be delivered to my company car park. On the day one of my guys came into my office to tell me a brand new Mercedes was being offloaded from a transporter for me. Turned out to be a W203 C270 Cdi Avantgarde, Obsidian black. It was brand spanking indeed.
This necessitated of course in me arranging to have a week off work to go visit my sister in the highlands and an extra tour involved...
Bealach na ba in a car I wasn't familiar with was 'fun' , being winter and RWD too.
Anyway I was hooked, when I could change and afford it I got my first W203 and progressed from there.
No regrets, only regrets currently are not in my control, last 2 cars MB haven't had the right machine for me, it seems the pickings of the modern bunch are very limited to standard colours or trims, probably due to the lease market I guess...
still, as Arnie said, "I'll be back" (Allegedly)

 

[s5tuart]

I picked up a used 190 Ponton when I lived in Germany. Very impressive and fast too ( for 1963!)
I wish I still had it!!