I just bought a Silver E320 '03 Wagon. Low milage, good condition. So far I am very satisfied.

Now the coming question is how to keep its good shape. I saw some old model mercedes on the road are _very_ shinny. But some are not that good and I could tell immediately the age of the car by its looking. What makes them so different?

I think one of the factor would be the way to wash the car. How do you guys work on your car to keep the car shinny? Do you wash the car yourself, in car wash station or in the automatic car wash available in some gas station?

Also, how often do you guys wax the car? Is there anything to concern about before bring the car for waxing?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

well, my car is still shiney as hell. its now 11 years old and its still a pritty car. all you have to do it wash at least once every two weeks and put a coat of wax on it once a month. if you park the car out on the street you have to use leather polish to keep the interior shining so that it doesn't fade.

 

stay out or the touchless automatic carwash if you want it to look good. the chemicals will kill your shine. wax often if you let it stay outside

 

Garages.

Garages protect the car from sun, heat, rain, show, sleet, hail, ice, bird poop...etc...

It's stands to reason that a lot of people that can afford a new benz may also be able to afford a place with a garage.

Given that there are 168 hours in a week, if a car owner takes the car out for work 9 hours a day (8 hours for work + 1 hour travel time) which would leave 123 hours. Let's give a generous 10 hours per day for activities on Saturday and Sunday, that would *still* leave the car in the garage for 103 hours (61%) of time...and that's assuming that it's the only car in the household, that they don't park in a garage at work, or take public transportation. All three of those factors would significantly lower the car's exposure to the elements if it were kept in a garage.

 

Thanks for all of your suggestions. I did wash my car often, but didn't wax it often. The car wash liquid I use says that it includes wax. Is that the same thing? If not, is there any good car wash liquid and car wax you guys can recommend?

Please bear with me if these questions are too easy. Just want to make sure I don't do anything wrong from the very beginning.

 

I NEVER take it to an automated car wash and always wash my car by hand. My old W124 200D looked fantastic when I got it, but once I took it to a car wash it had developed all these circular glare spots in the sunlight...

 

Use paste wax.

Any wax that's easy to apply doesn't do anything.

 

Also, be careful when letting your dealer wash it as well. Thanks MB walnut creek for all of the swirlmarks.

 

Besides the E320, I have a show Corvette and consider myself somewhat of an expert on this.

You need to claybar your car, then start over with either wax or polish. Meguires claybar is sold at most good auto supply shops. It is very easy to do, but takes proper care. It will remove all contaminants from your paint without hurting the paint or clearcoat. I suggest polish over wax, Zaino is the best IMO. zainobros.com I think is their site.

BL

 

Same situation - Bought '03 E320 4Matic Wagon, Capris Blue, lots of swirls, etc. Needed intensive care...

1) Wash the car
2) Clay the paint (I like Griots clay)
3) Touch up dings and chips. Deblob with Langka (http://www.langka.com/)
4) Start buffing with a Porter-Cable 7424, and the correct pads. (http://store.yahoo.com/classic-motor...popadfor.html). I use three stages: 1) Intensive Polish, 2) Final Polish, and then (most important to remove light swirls): 3) Glaze. Ensure you use the right pads
5) Wax with you favorite wax.

The paint will look like new, even under bright sunlight or flourescents.

Good luck!