How to say NO!! when somebody asks to drive your C63?
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Nov 2016
Posts: 93
Likes: 5
2017 C63S Coupe
There's a nice write up on the Alcantara site about the cleaning procedure for the material. I have seen badly neglected steering wheels brought back to life. I don't know if i'd go so far as to wear gloves, but I am also OCD about washing my hands and would be severely bothered if I had a steering wheel getting caked up as I see in some customer cars.
There was a 2014 SL63 I had the other day that I really didn't want to touch the wheel, it looked disgusting all matted down in the areas the guy held all the time. 30k mile car.
There was a 2014 SL63 I had the other day that I really didn't want to touch the wheel, it looked disgusting all matted down in the areas the guy held all the time. 30k mile car.
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Joined: Dec 2016
Posts: 85
Likes: 6
From: Canada
2014 CLA250, 2017 C43 Sedan(Arriving in March/April)
It's pretty normal to be care about the car you paid so much for. I've always worn gloves when I'm driving.
I had a pair of rather expensive pair of reddish brown leather driving gloves when I first got my CLA, but what I didn't realize that was that the red/brown color slowly wore off on the white contrast stitching which MB thought was such a good idea to put on the steering wheel, I eventually adopted the off-road thumb position for all my driving to avoid further contaminating the white stitching.
I actually got a pair of Mechanix tactical mpact covert glove in grey for other purposes and realized that they are wonderful for driving. They have a full suede palm and a small rubber contact patch for the best grip I've ever had on a wheel, and I haven't noticed any of the color rubbing off so far. Plus they are quite cheap. The only possible downside I can imagine is that there's a lot of rubber on it so it's not exactly no melt/no drip, if I ever get into a fiery crash the back of my hands would be rubberized fairly quickly.
I had a pair of rather expensive pair of reddish brown leather driving gloves when I first got my CLA, but what I didn't realize that was that the red/brown color slowly wore off on the white contrast stitching which MB thought was such a good idea to put on the steering wheel, I eventually adopted the off-road thumb position for all my driving to avoid further contaminating the white stitching.
I actually got a pair of Mechanix tactical mpact covert glove in grey for other purposes and realized that they are wonderful for driving. They have a full suede palm and a small rubber contact patch for the best grip I've ever had on a wheel, and I haven't noticed any of the color rubbing off so far. Plus they are quite cheap. The only possible downside I can imagine is that there's a lot of rubber on it so it's not exactly no melt/no drip, if I ever get into a fiery crash the back of my hands would be rubberized fairly quickly.
Junior Member
Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 68
Likes: 3
From: Portland, OR
Edition 507 Coupe, M278 powered E550 Coupe, S211 E500
Thanks for the advice. I hate some acquaintances just outrightly ask you to drive your car. I mean, we put so much hard work into buying and to maintain the car and they don't even appreciate and ALWAYS ruin it someway or another.
I love your gloves man. Where can you buy those? I'm very interested in gloves for driving. Please tell us more about why you selected that pair of gloves.
Thanks!
I love your gloves man. Where can you buy those? I'm very interested in gloves for driving. Please tell us more about why you selected that pair of gloves.
Thanks!
As for the gloves, I bought them from a store called John Helmer Haberdasher, a high end clothing and fineries store in Portland. I imagine they could be found online, but they are made by a pretty small manufacturer so the search might not be easy. I picked them because they are one of the few gloves that have a significant amount of venting without any of the venting being on a surface that touches the wheel. The leather is also one of the softest if not THE softest I had ever touched on a glove. They were available in a light color; I found that dark or black gloves can stain your skin or whatever surface they touch when they become damp. The zipper holds them securely on your hands and is located in a place where it will not accidentally contact other interior surfaces on the car and potentially scratch them. And finally, they look good! Price was not a factor at all; initially I was prepared to spend $200 or more on a set of gloves, but I thought these were the best despite the reasonable price.
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Nov 2016
Posts: 93
Likes: 5
2017 C63S Coupe
Exactly. Andyroo pretty accurately summarized the kind of person I don't want in, or anywhere near my car. I learned that lesson about people with previous cars thankfully; when I got the 507 I didn't even tell most of my acquaintances that I had it in order to avoid the inevitable requests for rides.
As for the gloves, I bought them from a store called John Helmer Haberdasher, a high end clothing and fineries store in Portland. I imagine they could be found online, but they are made by a pretty small manufacturer so the search might not be easy. I picked them because they are one of the few gloves that have a significant amount of venting without any of the venting being on a surface that touches the wheel. The leather is also one of the softest if not THE softest I had ever touched on a glove. They were available in a light color; I found that dark or black gloves can stain your skin or whatever surface they touch when they become damp. The zipper holds them securely on your hands and is located in a place where it will not accidentally contact other interior surfaces on the car and potentially scratch them. And finally, they look good! Price was not a factor at all; initially I was prepared to spend $200 or more on a set of gloves, but I thought these were the best despite the reasonable price.
As for the gloves, I bought them from a store called John Helmer Haberdasher, a high end clothing and fineries store in Portland. I imagine they could be found online, but they are made by a pretty small manufacturer so the search might not be easy. I picked them because they are one of the few gloves that have a significant amount of venting without any of the venting being on a surface that touches the wheel. The leather is also one of the softest if not THE softest I had ever touched on a glove. They were available in a light color; I found that dark or black gloves can stain your skin or whatever surface they touch when they become damp. The zipper holds them securely on your hands and is located in a place where it will not accidentally contact other interior surfaces on the car and potentially scratch them. And finally, they look good! Price was not a factor at all; initially I was prepared to spend $200 or more on a set of gloves, but I thought these were the best despite the reasonable price.
