delbomber

In London for the week and one thing has become strikingly clear...Britons love their Benz's! Last time I was in London was before I even considered buying a Benz so I didn't notice, but now that I have one, they're everywhere! Starting at the equiv. of ~$38k, why are they so common here, seemingly more so than everywhere else?

I counted over 60 C-class today in about 10 min of walking and 20 min of taxis. Dozens of E's and CLK's as well. And of those, probably 1/4 were debadged...could it be they wage the same debate between the 240 and 180?? KIDDING!!

I grew up in NY and never noticed this. Then again, last time there I wasn't looking. ct, you seem to be in NY a lot more than me lately, does there seem to be an inordinate amount of c-class?

Anyone have any insight?

carhunter

Don't confuse London with Britain. London is so expensive that the only people who live there are the old money, the vulgar nuveau riche or poorly paid service employees who probably live 20 miles out of the city in a shared bedsit. It's the second bunch driving the Mercs. When I was there last summer 3-series were as common as dirt. They are the Chevys of London. The high dollar German iron isn't nearly as prominent outside the city. There, you see the small and mid-size Renaults, Peugeots, Citroens, etc. in great numbers.

Buellwinkle

That's funny, 3-series are the common car in "The O.C.", they call it the Newport Beach Chevy.

gaiex

You guys never been in Portugal!?

In my city, a little one compared to Lisbon or London, there are more MB than VW
All taxis are MB and the only dealer here, last year was the one that sold more MB in Europe in one month

They received a little prize to show to the costumers too, an SLR, also available to test drive

zishan03

The funny thing about Britain is, the rich people get taxed so much that the government has enough to give every immigrant, bum and lazy ******* a house which then allows them to spend all their money on a fancy car. If you go council estates here in London you will see an unbelievable amount of Audi TT's and BMW X5's.


Zishan

delbomber

Interesting...I'm still perplexed by my friends/colleagues getting taxed at 48% with 17% VAT , driving E+ MB's, 911's, and 7-series', buying £400k homes, paying the equivalent of $6+ per gallon, and traveling to Vietnam or Tahiti every summer, all with an exchange adjusted salary of less than mine!! Mind-boggling!

Capt Nemo o2

Is it just me or does that seem like borderline communism?

delbomber

Lol, it is -- Socialism.

NOT to get into a heated debate or impugn ANY race of people...but it's not that much different in the US. 40% of my paycheck is gone before I even get a sniff.

Philly is a pocketed city of nice areas and not-so-nice areas. Not too far from my neighborhood is a low-income community...or 'The Projects"...subsidized housing. Driving through there on occasion and seeing all the rims and cars, I'm left wondering if it's a Tire Rack-sponsored community or secret Country Club.

The kicker is they just built an expansive new community. Beautiful homes, with parking (drool), nice yards, etc...homes that would sell for $500k in one of the established nice neighborhoods. Of course I make too much money to buy one at the subsidized price, otherwise with a $250/mo mortgage payment, I'd be driving an CL65 too!

These Brits, though, they amaze me. Of course there are people in the States I know who live beyond their means via credit card and other types of debt, but it doesn't seem to be such a stretch for these guys. I don't know how they do it.

TheBossman

No we dont... But everyone does have a bimmer, however the amount of ferrari's here are as common as Toyota Corolla's practically. Not to mention the Mercedes, Porsche, Audi and the Bentley GT coupe

hobie

Are you still in London? If your in an MB store please stop in the parts dept. and ask about a "towbar" (trailer hitch) for an '02 C coupe. see the recent tow thread. thanks

delbomber

A dealership right up the street...will be boozing with the Brass the next few nights, but will try in earnest to get there before I fly back on Friday.

Cheers.

C320 UK

Yep there sure are a lot of C classes around, plus just about any other luxury car you can think of! The S class (W220) is extremely common as a limo / taxi. I saw about 5 CLS's when I was out in London at the weekend. Caddy have just opened one of their first new UK dealerships on Park Lane in London (one of the most expensive areas in London).

I'm based in the UK and have the MB Accessory brochure at my desk. The part no's for the 203 Coupe tow bar (detachable trailer coupling) is: B6 685 0034 and costs GBP 558.

They also list Electircal harness for trailer coupling B6 685 0035 cost GBP 208.

delbomber

In Marble Arch....9 out of 13 cars parked outside my room are benzos. There just seems to be disproprtionate number of MB's vs. Audi, bmw, Jaguar...then again, Infiniti and Lexus effectively don't exist here, so I guess MB wins by default. Audi is way over-priced and nervy selling blatantly rebadged VW's in the US, I can imagine the prices over here. A6's are ok, S4's are beautiful, and A8s are just too damn big for these streets. Surprised by the lack of Jags...I guess Bimmers are everywhere too, but not looking for them

ctC230K

haha I drive to NYC almost every weekend if i can. I almost went yesterday but the rain made me change my mind.
The most common MB in NYC is definatly the S-Class driven mostly by African Americans, they outnumber everything and they are not taxis, taxis are all Ford Crown Victoria's and Honda Oddyssey's - the 99 and earlier model with 4 swing out doors. Also the G-Class is a common sight in the city. Then after the S-class the AMG models are all fairly common, E55, C55, CL65, S55 are the ones I see alot.
And then you have the standard assortment of Hummers, Escalades, Denalis, Yukons, Expeditions, all rolling on Dubs or larger of course. Plus the 300C, Magnums, lots of BMW e34 5 series cars for some reason, also many 3 Series'.

Outland

I love London. Make sure you get down to Black Friars for a pint before leave. Oh, and mind the gap

Outland

He's exaggerating.

zishan03

I wish I was mate.

delbomber

I know you're not, although thankfully not from first-hand experience. I save EVERY receipt to get my VAT back...

Although I did forget to mention everyone in my co. gets a vehicle-stipend each month that they must use or lose, thus explaining some of these cars my colleagues drive...is this a standard/common part of compensation in the UK/England/London...?

Capt Nemo o2

It is to my understanding that there is no income tax but rather a VAT tax which is essentially a hefty sales tax right? I would think that would help cut down tax evasion for undeclared cash if you get taxed when you purchase something.

delbomber

There's VAT of 17% on every (even food and clothing, no?) purchase PLUS income tax rates that make our's look voluntary! My guys over here get taxed at a marginal rate of 40%, which is less than highest marginal rate in the US of 50, but overall I think they pay a higher effective rate (which in the US is 35% at the top).

I would love a VAT tax in the States in lue of an income tax (consumption based taxation), but not on top of an income tax!! Bonkos. It's socialism near its finest (worst). Of course free "University" (college) and healthcare don't hurt. Then again, TV tax does...tax for each TV in the home....

Capt Nemo o2

Wow! Thanks for clearing that up! Ill stick to my 8.75% Sales Tax and the lowest tax bracket that I am currently in...

ctC230K

so why don't they purchase expensive things in other countries and bring it back home with them? or have it shipped somehow? smuggle it in?

delbomber

They have to declare it...kind of like declaring all income to the US government ...plus the EU is a very complex economic animal, I believe Customs is extremely diligent about imports......this is all second-hand info I'm supplying, but you can be confident in the basics...17% VAT + equivalent or higher income tax. Hopefully I'll be corrected about anything else if wrong...I can tell you all the prices for things are pretty much ridiculous too. Same numerical amount in pounds as in dollars, e.g. a $6 burger costs £6 here, or about $10.80. Gas, or 'Petro' is over $5 per gallon. A colleague of mine asked me to ship him a Dell laptop through interoffice mail (thus clearing customs) because it cost $1100...on the Dell UK site it cost £1150, or nearly $2000 for the same EXACT computer.

Lol, listen to me, I sound like a kid here for the first time. Although I have to admit I continue to be fascinated by these differences every time I come here or the UK guys come to the US and ***** about them.

C320 UK

Just thouhght I'd clear things up, I live in the UK and we do have to pay income tax. As stated the top / highest rate is currently 40%.

We then have 17.5% VAT (Value Added Tax) on almost all good purchased, plus fuel duty & VAT on fuel (Petrol / Gas & Diesel) Almost 80% of our 'gas' price is made up of some form of tax

We have local Tax (called Council Tax) that is a variable amount (not a percentage) roughly based on the value of you home. The more expensive your home the more you pay! This covers for local policing, fire service, libraries and waste collection.

University education is no longer free here (although it's certainly cheaper than in the States). Although education up to high school is generally 'free' and healthcare.

Many organisations do offer company cars and private health insurance. In fact for many jobs it's expected that you get a car (irresepctive of whether it's really essential for the role) It's to do with creating a flexible benefits package to attract / retain employees. Guess what - if you have a comoany car we also have a company car tax! Because of this many firms now offer a car allowance allowing people to lease whatever they want without Company Car Tax (but the allowance is subject to Income Tax!). This is why you see so many 'decent' cars around, I think I recall reading that over 30% of new cars here are company cars.

Tax on almost everything in the UK & it keeps rising! Rant over

C320 UK

That's why we love coming to the states for laptops, ipods and Armani Jeans!