TA-9FF

Yeah but add kids into the factor, and it's even MORE expensive. Add some pets, and forget about it, you're in huge debt.

patrick_y

Lions, Tigers, Bears, Oh My.

Well, since having a real wife would prboably cost you about a good arm and a leg for the first few years.

I think it wouldn't be a bad thing to just go our and buy a very expensive Ferrari, something that is more expensive than your current 911 Turbo.

If I ever got a 911, I'd take it in Speed Yellow exterior, with the cocoa interior, with the yellow seatbelts. That'll be an interesting colour combination.

fasteddie

A quote from a friend of mine:

I'm never getting married again. From now on, every 10 years, I'm going to find someone I really hate, and buy them a house. It's less aggravating, end result is the same.

Sorry if I have offended anyone. just thought that was kind of funny, and I would share it.

Ed.

fasteddie

Another thought;

'States laws may be different, but here in Canada, a divorce requires to split 50-50 all assets gained during the marriage. Well, that must really kill Porsche and Ferrari sales. Can you imagine having her claim part of your most valued treasures, .......

Yes I'm happily married, but sometimes I think they know that they have your N*ts, in a bag, from the day you get married until you die. Then they auction the whole lot, and party.

patrick_y

In the US, we have something called the prenuptial. I hear it's rather convenient.

iceburns288

As owner of a C-class, and driver of a relative's Honda Accord, I can tell you that an Accord is a better car than a C-class. A TL is a MUCH better car than a C-class. Why can I tell you this? Because, unlike most of you, I have what one might call an 'unbiased opinion' on the matter. Difficult for you to comprehend, eh?

The Hondas are simply made with better quality in mind. You know what the Benz has? A badge (well, several, really).

Ferraris are such divine cars because when you drive one, it is better than what it should be. An F430 is slower than a Z06, but driving the two is completely different, like drinking vodka and milk. The Ferrari defines synergy; it is more than what its parts add up to be, more than what it really should be if it were any other car. That is why Ferraris are so special.

What does a Benz have that makes it special (nowadays)? A badge on the front, and a badge on the rear.

mick1

If that is your opinion about Hondas, Lexus must be God

vraa

Haha. Are we supposed to take this seriously?

You are basing all Benzo's on a W203 (I assume that, you just said C-Class) and all Honda's on a Honda Accord which isn't even yours (but I'll give you credit, you've probably driven it often which can sometimes give you more insightful information because you aren't blinded by the loyalty that comes with ownership).

I don't mean for this to be a personal attack, I'm just saying stick to comparing the TL to the W203 in this thread, not Mercedes vs. Honda because it just doesn't work that way. It's too broad, too vauge, too inspecific.

patrick_y

Well, my personal assessment is that Rear wheel drive is better.

Honda's quality is faultless, nothing really breaks, the electronics last a bit better than Mercedes.

However, Hondas are... well, they have even less soul than Mercedes does.

While a Ferrari has so much personality, a Mercedes/BMW isn't too far behind, Japanese cars are a bit more numb, and American cars in my opinion pretend to have a personality they don't have.

I think that's a fair assessment.

I think Mercedes and Honda is a bad comparison. However, Mercedes and Lexus, that's a bit better. Especially the IS350 in sport mode (sharper throttle response), that car seems to have a bit more personality and warmth there.

Speaking of throttle response, any way to make the throttle response in Mercedes a tad bit more sharp without doing an ECU upgrade or anything aftermarket? I'm currently in S mode (never in the Comfort/Winter mode).

TA-9FF

Not really, I've owned 2 Accords previously.
1997 Accord EX V6
2001 Accord EX V6

Both had huge transmission problems. The 2001 in particular, had a recall on its transmission. The 1997, had retarded brakes, and a cheap interior IMHO. And to compare an Accord to a Benz.....well I guess to each his own.

This is more of an opinion, not so much a fact. The 94-98 gen. Accord was atrocious in terms of quality in materials for a Honda. Same goes for the 98-02 generation.
The 90-94, IMO was the best iteration of the Accord in terms of build quality and materials. So yeah, Honda's can cut corners too when they feel like it.

If you paid $180k for a car, it better be "better than what it should be" I love Ferrari's, however, if you want tank like construction and wood-burning stove reliability, a 911 Turbo is the way to go. And what a bargain. $130k for a 997TT. Not to mention it'll snack on Z06's.

When I owned an Accord, I drove an invisible car. It's a daily driver at best, but one with no soul or prescense. And I modded the Accords I had, so it wasn't a boring stock one. Having a Benz is more about just having a fancy hood ornament and star badges. If I debadged my car entirely, people would still know it's a Mercedes and give me compliments on it. And I have a C230, which is a very common (if not the most common) model in the Benz line. When I first test drove the C, it just felt completely different. There really is something about that "German solidity" that no Japanese manufacturer can ever really understand of duplicate, at best.

Just my $0.02.

patrick_y

My thoughts exactly. My two cents are the same as his $0.02.

I have to say, the Porsche 911 Turbo is just... disgusting. And a STEAL FOR THE MONEY.

fasteddie

A true case of Pearls before Swine. So who is the swine...is it me? Maybe I just don't appreciate the simple well engineered vehicle designed to take to and from work in obscurity.

Front wheel drive, tinney, sparce, death-trap - If you want to run around in a real proletariat-wagon...go ahead. You can probably trade your C off on a New Honda... Good work, a decision to be proud of!!!!!

Ed.

Ed

patrick_y

Seriously, you get what you pay for.

And considering what I paid for, for my C with options, with the extended warranty, with the tax (34 and change, not even rounded to 35), I'd say that it's simply fantastic.

I have blk/blk (basic leather), entertainment, sunroof, lighting packages, and automatic transmission. sticker was 35

If I were buying a car in this segment today, there are three cars that I would look at; BMW 325i, Mercedes C230, Lexus IS250.

Out of all of these, something that most people will agree; the Mercedes simply looks the best on the outside, nobody can deny that.

iceburns288

No, not basing all Mercs on the C-class. I hate the C-class. I'm interested in buying an E55, actually. I think the E55 is much better than any Honda, Lexus, Toyota, Subaru, whatever else is Japanese that you can name. I don't think the C-class is. I know the E and C share some parts but overall, the E is a much, much, MUCH better car than any C. That's why it costs more, and in my opinion it's worth that. A C-class, in my opinion, is not worth what it costs compared to what you can get from Japan.

I know. That's why there's a 360 Spider in the garage next to a 996TT Cab (well, when it comes ). Best of both worlds

I found literally no driving personality in the Honda. It's completely absent. But what did I expect? Not much of anything, really. The C-class was more fun to drive and it's an auto, which annoys me some, but I can imagine the C being more fun to drive with a 6MT. I just didn't think there was anything special in the Merc except RWD, which lets me squeal some tires a little bit!

BTW, in my first post, by 'the Hondas' I meant the ones I had previously mentioned (Accord and TL) not ALL Hondas

Enjoy your Mercs, fellas.

dozier08

I agree. Those are the top three for me. My decision came down to looks since with all things considered, there weren't glaring deficiencies of any.

The Honda's seem to have had issues over the last 6-8 years. I guess since they started to be put together in America. You will still see the old 91-95 Accords/Civics running around today. That maybe the best car ever made in terms of longevity. I know several people who have early 90's Hondas, but the people I know that had ones made in the 99 throught at least 03, those had problems Honda's never had when they got to the 60K+ range.

patrick_y

I knew a person who wanted to replace her Toyota Corolla. Unfortunately, that thing just never had a single problem so she had no excuse to replace it.

patrick_y

While everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion, think of it like a wristwatch. My favorite wristwatch company is Jaeger LeCoultre, so we're going to use that example.

Each wristwatch company makes the same model in steel and in gold. While the inside of the watch case is the same, the case itself is in a different material.

The C Class owners, they're buying the steel model. The E Class, the gold model. However, still, similiar movements within the case.

So, if you want the performance, the thrill, the handling, the safety, etc but don't require the gold, get the steel model or the C Class.

If you want it all, get a gold watch, or the E Class. However, it doesn't mean that one is worst than the other.

One more thing, yea, duh, the E55 is better than any Japanese car, there's no comparison in the Japanese car market. That's not a very fair comparison.

mick1

Some people would judge cars the same way consumer reports judges cars. By that standard, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi will never measure up to the Japanese brands. The irony is in Japan, the German luxury brands outsell the Japanese luxury brands.

patrick_y

The Japanese are extremely brand conscious.

eckc21

That might true, but the question is, is Mercedes-Benz luxury in Germany as well?
A luxury brand in other countries tends to be less luxury in its own country. Foreign cars always add a little "mysterious" accent in thm.

A friend of mine said many Taxi in Germany are Mercedes. Is that true?

TA-9FF

It's true. Just like in Japan they use "Infiniti" and "Acura" taxi's. Cept they're still badged Nissan and Honda.

In Taiwan, the police use BMW's and Alfa Romeo's. And in Germany, they have a TechArt Porsche 911 Carrera S in one of their patrol cars.

06C230

Have you been to Germany? I have more times than I can count and yes they do use mercedes as some taxi's but for the most part they are older and beat up. However if you think they are not luxury over there because of that you are very wrong. To bad they don't use mercedes for taxi's here also.

patrick_y

I always knew that they had Mercedes vehicles as taxis in Germany (also as their police cars as well).

However, I was unaware that they had BMWs as the police cars in Taiwan.

They have a few Lamborghini Gallardo Polizia cars in Rome.

TA-9FF

I have a lot of family there, so when I visit, I always see 5-Series and Alfa 166's for their patrol cars. Kinda cool actually....

Sometimes I think the Taiwanese have natural obssessions with Porsche's. (like myself) I've never seen more modded 911's and modded 928GTS' in a country before. They race those things like crazy.....

patrick_y

Very intersting.

I've been told that the mafia also drives BMWs in many Asian countries.

I think Porsches are just attractive to anyone. If you look at the 911, especially the Twin Turbo, you'd actually realize taht it's a better car than the Ferrari. And although I consider myself to be a greater Ferrari fan than a Porsche fan, I have to admit, the 911 is a far beter car, for an actually affordable price. Additionally, the local Ferrari dealership I prefer is over a one hour drive from me. The Porsche dealership is right in my town about 5 miles away.