I am sure that we all have different reasons for driveling the car that we do but I am interested in what made you choose the car that you did.

Let me start out be telling you what I have an MB and not a...say Toyota! Well, as you might know E class cars are used as cabs in many countries in Europe. When I went to collage I had a side job as a cab driver (much, much different than driveling a cab in the US) and the cab owner had 3 E class cars (W124) and I had the opportunity two drive all of them. They were all diesel and over the time I worked for him he had 250D, 250TD, 300D and 300TD models. What always struck me was how fast the 300 was compared to other gas cars.

Now, cabs in Europe, or at least where I grew up, can be bought without sales tax - a significant chunk of money - if you had the car for at least 2 years and 250000 kilometers. After that you could sell it without having to pay sales tax to a private party or as part of a trade. The thing to keep in mind here is that the owner could sell the car privately for what he paid for it (without tax). That is how good MBs reputation is. That would never happen here.....of course our sales tax is somewhat lower.

One of the other cabs at the time was an older model (W123 200D) and it had at the time 600000 kilometers on it and the only thing was that it had the transmission rebuilt. Trust me when I say that the cars were not driven gently... !

The sheer quality of MB or at least at the time made me promise myself that when I was at a point in my life where I could I would get a Mercedes Benz. While I might be first time owner I have driven a significant number of miles in MBs before I got my own.

What comforts me is that drivability, and my impression of engineering quality hasn't changed. Of all the cars I have had until now this is by far the best handling SPORTS sedan.

Why do you drive a Mercedes?

 

I have no other mode of transportation.

 

I drive one because the wife wants one. I know too much about cars to drive an MB. Lexus all the way for me.

 

10 airbags, ESP, ABS.

then

Design, styling, colour.

then

retrofits !

 

runs in the family

 

What do you mean you know too much about cars to drive a Mercedes? Then you state Lexus all the way for you. That boggles my mind!

 

becuase my ML was a peice of unreliable crap... and i took it in for service with a blown head gasket, and it was easier to drive away in a new car fro that mbenz dealer... then shop around with a quickly dying car from dealer to dealer or fuss with the repair prices when the warantee expires in 450 miles.

 

I had a BM# E39 (99 528) would have gone in to another BMW but did not like the new 5 body style so I ended up witha E320 CDI. Liek the car just lacks the BMW feel. 2nd MB 1st was an ML. Both rock solid cars.

 

Ditto, pretty much. I had a BMW E39 ('97 528i, with a manual transmission) that we would have kept indefinitely, except that it was totalled in 8/03 by some dingbat running a red light. The new 5-Series, which was just coming out, was unacceptable to us, even after 19 years of driving BMWs, so we got an E500. I thought it would be sorta like our BMW, with more power and minus the manual transmission. It's not. It's a very different car. The 528i was the best car we've ever had.

 

Same reason I wear a Rolex. Vanity.

 

Cuase I can .. and life is short.

 

Because my butt can only sit in a Mercedes, anything else would not satisfy.

Seriously, I decided to get a Mercedes because of its design. I just love their cars inside and out. When buying cars I first look at design/styling, then on the brand, power, price & service.

 

To the OP - if the M-B is the best sports sedan you've ever driven then you seriously need to acquaint yourself with more sedans.

One of the best sports sedans is the old E36 M3. Great handling car. The new S4/RS4 Audis. The M5s. The M45. All better sports sedans than the W211.

The E55/E63s are monsters in a straight line - but not really even close to being fun to toss around.

The reason I chose a W211? Because I could. I agree with the poster who likened the M-B to a Rolex - I think it's a perfect analogy.

Mass-produced but with brand appeal and instantly recognizable. Not exactly a Patek - but much better snob appeal than a Seiko.

 

Mostly bought my first MB for the styling (w208 CLK). Then I just got used to the comfort and the luxury. The name didn't hurt the decision either.

 

Never really cared for any of the luxury cars until my wife decided that we needed a reliable car that is safe for our newborn children. This is before I found out that there are no Child Safety Locks on the rear doors. I do not have any experience with any luxury cars and simply assumed that the MB will last us a long time. I thought that I will never drive another car after owning SUV's but after riding inside my E350, I had a quick change in taste. I just hope that I didn't get one of the lemons that others have received. I do love the style and the ride of the W211 but I wished I had more aesthetic options like the Sports package or Appearance Package. Oh well, I'm happy so far. I'm not rich enough to get an E55 or an S class but I think the E suits me just fine. I hope others that are super wealthy have an understanding that not everyone on this forum are rich, but only have the desire for fine automobiles. This may be my only luxury car I'll ever get for a long time.

 

Because of Status, Arrogance, Big Head, Brash, Vain, Egotistic and "I am better than my fellow man". Did I forget one?


(I'm just kidding )

 

That's a beautiful line of cars you got there. Can I have one? You don't need all of those.

 

when i drive my MB. it feels precious and also elegant. i love Mercedes since i was young. the model is very elegant and never bored at looking at it. the most thing that i like the most is the car is very confortable eventhough how low your car is. that's all i can say about the car.

 

Because we could drive our 190D for 17 years and not be forced to replace it. Because our '91 300E still looks and runs like new. Because my 2004 E320 is a fantastic vacation car. 10,000 miles in two years and I'm ready to go again.

I don't buy Mercedes to impress anyone. I couldn't care less what people think. My neighbors would probably be more impressed with a Cadillac than a Mercedes. I buy Mercedes because they are the easiest cars I've ever owned to maintain and they aren't a disposable commodity. You take care of them and they truck on forever.

 

At least for all the E's that I've owned:

1. Safety
2. Design, look, feel, and build quality
3. Handling, power, and stability
4. "Relatively" reliable
5. Safety
6. Safety
7. Reliable
8. Reliable

I used to have a W124 E300 (150K w/o any problem), fun to drive.
Then switch to BMW 528 (E39), a disaster & problem prone fun-driving car, one thing after another broke, but a blast to drive.
Then Lexus GS300, a very reliable boring transportation, no problem at all and look & feel like new with 120K mile. There's no "fun driving" w/ it.
So back to the W210 and W211 Benz to enjoy driving.

 

Perks of the job...

 

keyless go and pano roof.. did it for me, baby

 

...and I can't seem to go a month without an overnight visit to the Service Department. I guess its just the luck of the draw. But I bought it for its reputation of ride quality, build quality, smooth, quiet power of the 8 cyl, and its status.

 

I bought my Benz because I like the look , styling ,comfort,safety features, roominess and the performance is a bonus.
Every car will break down sometime, some break more often then they should

 

I came from a Jaguar S-Type R which was fast as heck but rode a bit too stiff. Our nanny has a C240 and I took it one day to fill up her gas tank as was amazed at how smooth it drove. I immediately started looking at E55s but determined that I didn't need all that horsepower to sit in traffic every day. So I settled on the E500. So, I guess I purchased it for it's smooth ride and silky smooth looks. So what do I do? I lower it, and slap on 19's. I'm and idiot.

Love the car though. I miss the power of the supercharged Jag sometimes but the 500 isn't too much slower.