- Jul 31, 2006
- 1,202
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I'm surprised more people don't know about old Mercs - pre-merger (1995) Mercedes Benz drive and feel like nothing else on the road, and IMO they are undervalued.
I'm fascinated by 'golden era' German automobiles, especially Mercedes, which seem to have been built and engineered to a higher standard than any other vehicle. The doors feel like a single piece of metal and close with a solid clunk. The switchgear feels like it will last for 100 years. Before Mercedes merged with Chrysler to cut costs, an "engineering first" design philosophy permeated their products. Small details like the side mirrors being asymmetrical because Mercedes engineers studied the ideal shape for the mirrors and found passenger side should be more square, the driver side more rectangular. The windshield wiper is a single blade, with an articulating hinge in the middle to cover maximum windshield era. The switches are hand-assembled with springs and contacts so they can be rebuilt when the contacts wear out, instead of thrown away and replaced. It's amazing Mercedes was building cars like this all the way through '95, and it's obvious why they had to cut costs. A standard trim E class from 1990 cost the equivalent of $100,000 today. Now you can pick one up in almost like-new condition if you're patient for $5000. The interior materials are high quality and do not wear out. The seats are sprung, not foam, and infinitely more comfortable than modern seats.
Cars before 1996 are relatively easy to work on. German-made parts are cheap and good quality thanks to a large aftermarket. The one caveat is that like all highly engineered German automobiles, they do require a bit more upkeep than the equivalent Lexus. An example is that the driveshaft which gives that nice vibration-free ride has 2 vibration dampers on it which eventually wear out and need to be replaced. A Japanese cars may have none or 1, which is one less thing that may break.
This one was purchased somewhat on a whim after finally getting tired of commuting in a loud, stiffly sprung sports car. Can't say enough good things about the baby Benz, trying to put the word out there in hopes that so many won't languish in classifieds and eventually be junked as way too many are! Everything about them, from the interior materials to the rust-proofing on the body were designed to maximize longevity, and they should be repaired, not thrown away.
I encourage anyone with the garage space and passion to learn a little car maintenance to browse for one. They are not sports cars, but in my opinion there is arguably no better luxury automobile.
Anyway, what y'all want to see!
I'm fascinated by 'golden era' German automobiles, especially Mercedes, which seem to have been built and engineered to a higher standard than any other vehicle. The doors feel like a single piece of metal and close with a solid clunk. The switchgear feels like it will last for 100 years. Before Mercedes merged with Chrysler to cut costs, an "engineering first" design philosophy permeated their products. Small details like the side mirrors being asymmetrical because Mercedes engineers studied the ideal shape for the mirrors and found passenger side should be more square, the driver side more rectangular. The windshield wiper is a single blade, with an articulating hinge in the middle to cover maximum windshield era. The switches are hand-assembled with springs and contacts so they can be rebuilt when the contacts wear out, instead of thrown away and replaced. It's amazing Mercedes was building cars like this all the way through '95, and it's obvious why they had to cut costs. A standard trim E class from 1990 cost the equivalent of $100,000 today. Now you can pick one up in almost like-new condition if you're patient for $5000. The interior materials are high quality and do not wear out. The seats are sprung, not foam, and infinitely more comfortable than modern seats.
Cars before 1996 are relatively easy to work on. German-made parts are cheap and good quality thanks to a large aftermarket. The one caveat is that like all highly engineered German automobiles, they do require a bit more upkeep than the equivalent Lexus. An example is that the driveshaft which gives that nice vibration-free ride has 2 vibration dampers on it which eventually wear out and need to be replaced. A Japanese cars may have none or 1, which is one less thing that may break.
This one was purchased somewhat on a whim after finally getting tired of commuting in a loud, stiffly sprung sports car. Can't say enough good things about the baby Benz, trying to put the word out there in hopes that so many won't languish in classifieds and eventually be junked as way too many are! Everything about them, from the interior materials to the rust-proofing on the body were designed to maximize longevity, and they should be repaired, not thrown away.
I encourage anyone with the garage space and passion to learn a little car maintenance to browse for one. They are not sports cars, but in my opinion there is arguably no better luxury automobile.
Anyway, what y'all want to see!
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