What other vehicles did you own before owning a Mercedes?

[PlugsnPoints]

Hi, I have not long owned my Merc and so far so good!

I am just curious what vehicles people owned before buying their Mercedes.

my old man had quite a few Mercs, including a 1959 diesel dating from 1959 back in 1970/71. I wonder if that car is still alive?! I was only 7 when he had it-the reg. number was TXT 19.

I had several motorcycles, including a Royal Enfield 250 Continental, a Tiger 90, Beeza A10 Golden Flash, Triumph T110 pre unit, V50 Guzzi, a Moto Guzzi 850 T3, then a Guzzi V1000 G5

My first 'car' was a very battered ex GPO Bedford HA van, after many years of riding motorbikes. I sold it soon after to buy the Guzzi 850-it was quicker and much more fun! I had the V1000 for 18 years.

I had four Triumph 2000s/2500s (22 to the gallon of 4 star!), a Golf Diesel 1500, (what a pile of poo!), an Astra 1200, two Cavaliers (one burning a gallon of oil per week!) two diesel Fiat Fiorinos-one I bought brand new. I will never buy a new Fiat ever again due to appalling after care. Having said that I drove 150,000 miles in them, no wonder I have a back back!

So after two more Astras, I fancied the Merc, and so far it's comfortable and behaved itself- a happy bunny.

Have you ever owned what would be deemed a classic these days?

 

[Vintage Racer]

over 100 vehicles, so far too many to list..................and many 'classics' amongst them!

 

[00slk]

Over 160 and still going.
Went from Triumph's, Holden, Rambler, Ford's, Hillman, Oldsmobile, BMW, and Daimler in that order to Mercedes 450SE all within 4 years......

 

[L John]

No idea if the car is still alive but the reg number is.
Currently on a 1987 Opel petrol coupe but not taxed or tested.
Tax due: 15 July 2011
No MOT Expired: 07 October 2014

I think the plate may die if the car isn't resurrected and if it hasn't been put on a retention.

 

[harrye500]

In order of ownership (from passing test at 19 in 1992)!

Triumph Dolomite 1500 1980 - from 1992 to 1996 (my first car and great fun), took me across France and all over!
Ford Sierra 1.6 1989 from 1996 to 1997 (blew up)!
volvo 340 1982 from 1997 - 1998
Ford Fiesta XR2i (impulse buy, always fancied one) from 1998 to 2000
Rover 820 2.0 Si 1997 from 2000 to 2003 (starting to 'car mature)!
Rover 825 2.5 V6 Sterling Coupe 1999 (very last few built) from 2003 - 2012 (a lovely car and a rare sight even back then)
Rover 75 2.0 diesel 2003 from 2010 - 2012 (owned with the Rover Coupe which by then was a weekender show car). Excellent car and strong engine. BMW engine I recall.
Landrover Freelander 3.2 2006 from 2012 - 2013 (awful, awful car)!
Volvo C70 Cabriolet 2.4 from 2013 - 2016 (very nice car) though a bit underpowered
Mercedes SL350 R230, from August 16 - November 16 (written off by texting youth), a very nasty affair.
Mercedes E500 Cabriolet from November 2016 - current (what a lovely, lovely car - definitely a 'keeper' as was the old Rover Coupe)!

In addition, from 2004 - 2008, Triumph Stag 1972 which I restored. A very special car which I bitterly regret selling (house purchase at the time)!

Thank you - you have just made me smile remembering all my cars over the years and passed a half hour on the daily train commute!

 

[Craiglxviii]

Opel MANTA no less for TX T19. In bronze. What a car!

In order:

Ford Orion 1400 L.
VW Golf 1600 CL.
Vauxhall Astra 1600 GL.
Vauxhall Vectra 1600 GL.
Ford Mustang 5.0 GT.
VW Golf 1.9 GT TDi.
Audi A3 2.0 TDi Sport.
Nissan X Trail 2.2 DCi N-Tek.
MB CL500 (W215).
MB E220 (W212).
MB E320 (W211).

 

[Bugbarf]

Started with a 1973 MG midget chrome bumper with round wheel arches when I passed my test at 17, followed by Manta GTE Coupe, Black Peugeot 306 Dturbo, China Blue Peugeot 306 Dturbo with full SP kit, Black Peugeot 307 Dturbo, Renault Clio sport, Daihatsu F20 jeep, Peugeot 107, Porsche 911 Targa, BMW 330 m sport, Peugeot 207 Dturbo, Peugeot 307cc, Volvo V70 T5, Currently have Volvo C70 cabriolet and Mercedes ML280 (W164) as every day transport

 

[John Laidlaw]

Also in order (and hopefully I havent missed any?)
Austin Princess 1750HL
Ford Cortina 1600L
Ford Cortina 2.0Ghia
Ford Escort 1.6L
Ford Escort 1.6 Ghia
Ford Escort 1.6 Ghia
Vauxhall Cavalier 1.6L
Ford Sierra 1.6L
Volvo 340GLE 1.7
Volvo 360GLT
Volvo 480ES
VW Golf Gti 16V
Vauxhall Calibra 2.0 8V
Vauxhall Frontera
Land Rover Discovery
Volvo 850T5
BMW 840Ci
Honda Prelude 2.2 Vti Motegi
VW Passat 1.9 SE Tdi
VW Golf 1.9 GT Tdi
Volvo C70 T5
Volvo S60 D5 SE
Peugot 407SW 2.0d
Mercedes C180K Evo Coupe
Ford Galaxy 2.0 TDCI Ghia
Mercedes E300 (AMG look alike) Hybrid
Audi A6 Avant S Line Black Edition (soon to be gone!)
Mercedes SL500
Mercedes E63 AMG 5.5 Bi Turbo (just got)
Volvo XC90 D5 (on order.....due May)

 

[Craiglxviii]

Also in order (and hopefully I havent missed any?)
Austin Princess 1750HL
Ford Cortina 1600L
Ford Cortina 2.0Ghia
Ford Escort 1.6L
Ford Escort 1.6 Ghia
Ford Escort 1.6 Ghia
Vauxhall Cavalier 1.6L
Ford Sierra 1.6L
Volvo 340GLE 1.7
Volvo 360GLT
Volvo 480ES
VW Golf Gti 16V
Vauxhall Calibra 2.0 8V
Vauxhall Frontera
Land Rover Discovery
Volvo 850T5
BMW 840Ci
Honda Prelude 2.2 Vti Motegi
VW Passat 1.9 SE Tdi
VW Golf 1.9 GT Tdi
Volvo C70 T5
Volvo S60 D5 SE
Peugot 407SW 2.0d
Mercedes C180K Evo Coupe
Ford Galaxy 2.0 TDCI Ghia
Mercedes E300 (AMG look alike) Hybrid
Audi A6 Avant S Line Black Edition (soon to be gone!)
Mercedes SL500
Mercedes E63 AMG 5.5 Bi Turbo (just got)
Volvo XC90 D5 (on order.....due May)

From a Princess to an E63!!!!!! Now that's a journey!!!

 

[EmilysDad]

From a Princess to an E63!!!!!! Now that's a journey!!!

better than the journey in the Princess

 

[Craiglxviii]

better than the journey in the Princess

Depends what day it was built

 

[Iain L]

Not in any real order;

Austin Mini
Vauxhall Nova
Vauxhall Cavalier
Ford Mondeo
Nissan 200sx
Mitsubishi 3000gt
Mitsubishi Gallant VR4
Mitsubishi Evo 6
Mitsubishi Evo 6 Tommi Mak
Peugeot 306 GTi-6
Honda Civic
Subaru Legacy
Ford S-Max
Range Rover P38 (two of them)
Land Rover Discovery 4

I think thats all of them!

 

[Craiglxviii]

Not in any real order;

Austin Mini
Vauxhall Nova
Vauxhall Cavalier
Ford Mondeo
Nissan 200sx
Mitsubishi 3000gt
Mitsubishi Gallant VR4
Mitsubishi Evo 6
Mitsubishi Evo 6 Tommi Mak
Peugeot 306 GTi-6
Honda Civic
Subaru Legacy
Ford S-Max
Range Rover P38 (two of them)
Land Rover Discovery 4

I think thats all of them!

And the Panzer!

 

[harrye500]

But a Princess 1750 HL no less! Luxury indeed! Pleased we all moved on to 'Star' quality!

 

[John Laidlaw]

better than the journey in the Princess

Yeah it didnt start well, first journey the gear stick came out in my hand!
Quite a journey indeed- you can see I've liked to play with fire with weird and wonderful suspension systems!

 

[John Laidlaw]

But a Princess 1750 HL no less! Luxury indeed! Pleased we all moved on to 'Star' quality!

Don't knock it- that brown velour - mmmmmm

 

[John Laidlaw]

Depends what day it was built

Wasn't really built so much as evolved Craig!

 

[Naraic]

Renault12
Morris Minor
Fiat Mirafiori
Vauxhall Cavalier
Alfa Romeo 33
Citroen BX
Xr3i
Sierra
Sierra
Volvo 760
BMW 318 coupe
BMW 520
Porsche Carrera
Mercedes E300td
Saab 900
Mercedes C180
Mercedes E320cdi
Mercedes CL500

 

[John Laidlaw]

From a Princess to an E63!!!!!! Now that's a journey!!!

Both scare the Sh1t out of me Craig!

 

[LostKiwi]

In order more or less.... (the year in brackets is year of ownership)

1962 Morris Mini 850 Traveller (1978)
1965 Austin Mini Cooper S 1275 (1979 - 1983)
1972 Morris 1300 (1980)
1972 Mini 1000 van (1981 - 1982)
1981 Datsun Cherry 1200 (1982)
1982 Nissan Sunny 1.5 ZX (1982 - 1983)
1983 Daihatsu Charade Turbo (1983-84)
1983 Mitsubishi Mirage (Colt in UK) Turbo II (1984 - 1985)
1972 Valiant Pacer VH E37 spec (1985-1986)
1974 Capri 3.0 GT Mk2 (1986 - 1987)
1986 Holden Barina GS (Suzuki swift rebadged) (1986-1988)
1981 Rover SD1 2.6 (1988-89)
1988 Vauxhall Astra 1.3 Merit (1988 - 1990)
1990 Citroen BX 14RE (1990 - 1991)
1990 Vauxhall Cavalier 1.4 L (1992)
1992 Rover 214 Si (1992 - 1994)
1990 Mazda 323F GT (1994-1995)
1995 Saab 900 Turbo SE (1995 - 1998)
1998 Mercedes C240 Esprit (1998 - 2001)
2001 Audi S3 (2001)
1996 Mazda Xedos 6 2.0SE (2001-2002)
2002 Fiat Punto 1.2 16V Sporting Mk2 (2002 - 2003)
1999 Volvo S70 T5 SE (2003 - 2007)
1995 Ford Escort 1.3 (2006)
1999 Mercedes C240 Elegance (2006 - 2012)
1995 Audi A8 4.2 Quattro Sport (2007- 2010)
1992 Range Rover Vogue 3.9i (2007 - 2010)
1992 Defender 110 300TDi (2008 - 2015)
2005 Volvo S4 2.0d (2010 - 2012)
1981 Land Rover FC101 Ambulance (2011 - 2014)
1976 Land Rover FC101 GS (2011 - 2012)
2002 Toyota Land Cruiser Colorado 3.4 V6 (2012 - 2014)
2004 Smart Roadster Coupe (2014 - current)
2005 Saab 9-3 2.0i (2015)
2014 MINI Cooper S (2014 - current)*
1993 Mercedes 500SL-32 (2015 - current)
2002 Mercedes C180 (W203) - 2015 - 2016
2001 Mercedes E240 Avantgarde Estate (2016 - current)

* - technically this belongs to the current Mrs LostKiwi but I've included it as I use it as well from time to time just as she uses the E240 and SL.

Had some great fun with some of these - the original Cooper S in particular which became my Rally car for a number of years.

The Fiat was the only new car I had that didn't need to go back to the dealer to have things put right. It was a cracking little car but seriously underpowered. Also the only bright yellow car I've ever owned. It sadly met its demise at an 'Ahead at T' moment near Enstone....

The Valiant Pacer was a behemoth of a car. In its day it was a seriously fast bit of kit as was evidenced when I took it as the tow car to a track day with some mates (who had full rally specced Minis and Escorts). I was egged on the night before into giving it a go round the track 'just for a bit of fun as it wouldn't get anywhere'... It beat them all and was second fastest on the day behind a 289 Mustang powered Capri!

The 3.0GT Capri was another quick car (it had been modified in some way by the previous owner and was much quicker than it should have been). I bought it as the girl I was keen on at the time loved them.... I kept the car longer than the girl in the end!

The Charade Turbo was also a lot of fun - even if it redefined the term 'Bump Steer' for the rest of my life! In the Coromandel ranges I was being hassled by a 5L Commodore so put my foot down.. He was struggling to keep up going down the hill towards Thames and asked what it was when we stopped at the bottom. He was gobsmacked it was only a three cylinder 993cc turbo! I didn't mention the boost was about double what it should have been....

The Saabs were both memorable for different reasons. The first because it was so blisteringly fast in a straight line and my first experience of a car capable of crossing continents with no effort (as long as there were no bends and as long as the rattles didn't drive you mad). The second because although even quicker than the first (it was remapped to 250hp) it handled well too, but was without doubt the least reliable car I've ever owned (and given the early BL days thats saying something!).

I'll always have a soft spot for the Volvo T5. Easily the best all rounder I've owned.