how old are Mercedes buyers ?

[M Paul Lloyd]

Fifty something and still learning.

I wanted a Mercedes Benz ever since I saw them In Bond movies back in the 60's, but the road to true love is never easy.

First car was a Fiat 500 then a series of Mini's including a Cooper, a Vauxhall Viva then a Firenza and a DTV tuned VX-4/90 followed by an Austin Allegro (1750HL) before getting a Ford Cortina, various even sadder Vauxhalls, a Ford Orion! all 'practical' enough but nothing ever seemed quite right...... must I go on?
After so many years yearning for a Mercedes and never quite being able to take the plunge I got fed up with the way VW Golf's were going (only the Mk.1 is worthy in my opinion) and did the right thing.
Now me and My Mercedes are very happy together, if only I had realised sooner.

 

[johnmc]

Right in the middle of the 41-45 group. According to my kids Mercs are for old ladies with bad legs, and they count me in that group. You can always count on teenagers for their moral support!

John

 

[Richard Moakes]

41, mind you I have had Mercs since my 25th birthday when I treated myself to a C124 300E-24V, ah that was nice, metallic black, mushroom leather....

No matter what I try, I always come back to Mercedes, and I seem to be getting older cars as well, seems to be in proportion to my skepticism increasing about computers and electronics in cars.

Hmmm, I can look forward to owning an Adenauer when I get older perhaps?

 

[Splatt]

I am surprised that only 2.48% of the Merc`s are owned by the over 65`s. Around here all us coffin dodgers own em. Perhaps the poll should be what is the demography of the Forum membership?

P.S. I have just voted and changed the statistics.

 

[Daeths]

I am surprised that only 2.48% of the Merc`s are owned by the over 65`s. Around here all us coffin dodgers own em. Perhaps the poll should be what is the demography of the Forum membership?

P.S. I have just voted and changed the statistics.

How many over 65's are as computer literate/would read a forum like this, compared to, say, under 45's. Not sure an internet poll is entirely representative, but it's fun anyway (I'm a spritely 39 btw)

 

[television]

How many over 65's are as computer literate/would read a forum like this, compared to, say, under 45's. Not sure an internet poll is entirely representative, but it's fun anyway (I'm a spritely 39 btw)

And I will soon be a sprightly 73 I do not use the fanagled computers

 

[Daeths]

And I will soon be a sprightly 73 I do not use the fanagled computers

Don't worry Malcolm, I'm not convinced these pc thingys are going to catch on anyway.

I knew when I was typing this today it would get a response , clearly sir you are on of the exceptions. Ona mserious note, I think you will agree that whilst an increasing no of the over 65's are using the internet very few would be using forums such as this or similar.

Anyway....gonna get me coat now....taxi for Daeths

 

[television]

Don't worry Malcolm, I'm not convinced these pc thingys are going to catch on anyway.

I knew when I was typing this today it would get a response , clearly sir you are on of the exceptions. Ona mserious note, I think you will agree that whilst an increasing no of the over 65's are using the internet very few would be using forums such as this or similar.

Anyway....gonna get me coat now....taxi for Daeths

Yes I do agree that the max average age if there is such a thing is 50 years old in the older sector from what I see of the post here

 

[hawk20]

Don't worry Malcolm, I'm not convinced these pc thingys are going to catch on anyway.

I knew when I was typing this today it would get a response , clearly sir you are on of the exceptions. Ona mserious note, I think you will agree that whilst an increasing no of the over 65's are using the internet very few would be using forums such as this or similar.

Anyway....gonna get me coat now....taxi for Daeths

It is much more to do with income IMO. Sixty per cent of pensioners don't have enough income to pay income tax. Forty thousand for a nicely specced E class is a real bundle out of retirement income. And three years later its worth under £20k. That is a rate for the destruction of capital that few pensioners will countenance.

 

[Daeths]

Hawk20 - accepting that, but how many on this forum boughtnew ??

An interesting poll would be what did you pay for your current Merc. If the silver surfers buy, for example their new Daiewoo thing for say £10k, you get a lot of 2nd hand c and e class for that. Interestingly I think they fall into two camps. 1 -the pensioners who religiuosly change their cars every 3 or 4 years to ensure 'reliability' and lose a small fortune and 2 - those that know motoring depreication haemmorages cash and buy something decent and run it thru.

Just had an idea...all pensioners should buy 4 year old e class estates and then when they pop their clogs 20 years later in can be used as a hearse and then handed down as part of their estate. Whadyathink ???????????

 

[hawk20]

Hawk20 - accepting that, but how many on this forum boughtnew ??

An interesting poll would be what did you pay for your current Merc. If the silver surfers buy, for example their new Daiewoo thing for say £10k, you get a lot of 2nd hand c and e class for that. Interestingly I think they fall into two camps. 1 -the pensioners who religiuosly change their cars every 3 or 4 years to ensure 'reliability' and lose a small fortune and 2 - those that know motoring depreication haemmorages cash and buy something decent and run it thru.

Just had an idea...all pensioners should buy 4 year old e class estates and then when they pop their clogs 20 years later in can be used as a hearse and then handed down as part of their estate. Whadyathink ???????????

What do I think? Well, first there are a lot of good cars in between a Mercedes and the Daewoo and, looking around, it seems to me that retired people buy a wide range of different cars -as do most other age groups. But, inevitably, for most retired people income is much reduced compared with when working. And the opportunity to earn money to fund frivolous spending has gone -so careful husbanding of capital is necessary and sensible. Chucking £20k away every 3 years on a new E class is fine while at the peak of one's career (especially since companies pay for two thirds of new cars in Britain), but makes no sense when you are retired unless you happen to have lots of capital either from savings or from inheritance. Some are lucky enough to have both and can push the boat out in grand style (and extol the joys of living for today and doing what they like etc). Some are less fortunate and have neither; they have to budget carefully and remember that living too much for today may leave you with too little for tomorrow.

But these differences apply in all age groups. Just that retired people cannot look forward to earning themselves out of any financial problems, so they tend to be more careful, I guess. I remember one wise man saying to me that his biggest shock when he retired was the slow realisation that he now had all the money he was ever going to have and that it had to last for the rest of his life.

 

[chipper]

hi i'm 55 and at last can indulge my passion 1984 ce, 1991 300ce 24v, 2001 clk 320 ohh how i love to play, only problem can't drive them all at the same time.

 

[hawk20]

hi i'm 55 and at last can indulge my passion 1984 ce, 1991 300ce 24v, 2001 clk 320 ohh how i love to play, only problem can't drive them all at the same time.

Wow that is quite a collection. Any pics?

 

[southy39]

my first merc was when i was 17 going on 18...
it was a w124 E300 that i bought from my dad....
but i had quite a few problems... mostly arising from a pretty serious crash ...which took quite a while to repair.... so for about a year i was driving a ford orion... switching back to a 50/50 between the merc and my transit.

i think most merc drivers do tend to be in the above 25 groups... but i think as people get paid more for jobs... and as older mercs come down in price we are seeing more young people buying late model w124s and maller c class mercs as they are good reliable cars.... that have a proven heritage


anyway lets be honest the past 10 years have opened up the MB ownership... as they brought in the A class which to my mind isnt really a merc.... as its too small IMO to actually offer any proper sort of comfort. and comfort is one of the main reasons i drive a merc.
with the A class and the newer c class merc has become more mainstream and so more people of ages that previously wouldnt have driven a merc are...

 

[hawk20]

anyway lets be honest the past 10 years have opened up the MB ownership... as they brought in the A class which to my mind isnt really a merc.... as its too small IMO to actually offer any proper sort of comfort. and comfort is one of the main reasons i drive a merc.
with the A class and the newer c class merc has become more mainstream and so more people of ages that previously wouldnt have driven a merc are...

Well I've owned a C class and now have two A's (one for wife and one for me) and believe it or not I find the new model A class more comfortable. It is also roomier. If you like to measure the seats they are bigger (even than the ML seats) and excellently shaped and upholstered. It has more legroom in the front than the SWB R class and more in the back. With the comfort seats option (only £80) the A class has recline, tilt and height adjustment and an adjustable lumbar support. As AutoExpress noted in their review the new model has as much room as an E class. And as Autocar said in their's: -
"But the new A-class is everything the old one should have been: an individual, practical, prestige-badged small car. And it’s a real Mercedes."

 

[WALTJONES]

Age does it matter!

I am 79 this year and have owned 7 SL's in the past. Currently drive a W124 Coupe soft top. Very sedate and classy.
WALTJONES

 

[Mercutio]

I'm definitely younger than most on this site.

The fact that I know exactly what it feels like to cower with my mum in an Anderson shelter as the bombs rain down, must only be due to my over-active imagination.

(Must have been the first Mercedes engines I ever heard! Er...imagined I heard.)

 

[Speedmaster]

what is an anderson shelter? (is that me showing my relative youth? )

 

[hawk20]

what is an anderson shelter? (is that me showing my relative youth? )

Not really. Many schoolkids know
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2children/warhome/warhome_anderson_01.shtml

 

[hawk20]

But for a serious answer: -
The Anderson Shelter is an example of clever engineering fulfilling an important function at amazingly low cost. Like the bouncing bombs, Bailey bridges and many other British ideas, it deserves its place in our wartime history.

The development of the Anderson Shelter is usually attributed to the Home Secretary of the time John Anderson, later Sir John Anderson. He had the idea of producing a cheap domestic shelter, to protect families from bombing. It had to be cheap, simple to erect and easy to transport.

On the 10th of November, 1938 John Anderson put his problem to the engineer William Paterson who, along with his co-director Oscar Carl Kerrison, came up with the first model within a fortnight. By the end of February 1939 the first 'Anderson' shelters had been tested and delivered to householders in London.

Consisting of fourteen sheets of corrugated iron, the shelter formed a shell 6 feet (1.8m) high, 4½ feet (1.4m) wide and 6½ feet (2m) long. It was buried to a depth of 4 feet (1.2m) and then covered with at least 15 inches (0.4m) of soil.

The Anderson shelter was issued free to all earning less than £250 a year and at a charge of £7 for those with higher incomes. Eventually over two million of them were erected. Although the Anderson shelter was liable to flooding, it proved itself to be remarkably effective during the blitz and saved many lives.