"Nice Mercedes Benz car sir"
when you get compliments on your car/s; do you accept the compliment for yourself? or do you pass it along to 'the car' and agree with the admirer??
(like the Seinfeld joke on pants, LOL)

I myself cannot accept such a compliment, but I do always concur with the admirer's and explain "it's the car, not me, but I agree with you completely"
what say YOU?
That being said, people do compliment me on my Porsche 911. It's distinctive and most people would like to have one of those useless hunks of German metal even if it was only for a week.
Being old enough to be his grandfather, I want to plead with him to keep working hard and study so he can own one too. But I resist the temptation to pontificate, and wonder how realistic that really is in his world today.
Regards,
Don
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This is why I love the E. Understated when you want it to be, and stands out when you want it to. Even my W211 got lots of compliments in 2010. W126's still get admired, as do W210's, etc. etc. The 3-Box 4-Door M-B bloodline is strong.
I used to have a Mustang that was so fixed up and known in my area, that it was an extraverted attention grabber.... it also had no mufflers. That car literally turned heads everywhere it went. I put so much creativity into that car, I did take the compliments on the car as a personal "back pat" as Mustangs are even more common than E-Classes by far. The E is more acquired and classily subtle than that, and it obviously doesn't seek that same kind of attention, but people do appreciate and even show admiration for it. With this car, all the "props" goes toward the car, I always am appreciative of any positive words and humbly thank them, though I do take credit in picking it.
Last edited by K-A; May 4, 2012 at 02:28 AM.
This is why I love the E. Understated when you want it to be, and stands out when you want it to. Even my W211 got lots of compliments in 2010. W126's still get admired, as do W210's, etc. etc. The 3-Box 4-Door M-B bloodline is strong.
I used to have a Mustang that was so fixed up and known in my area, that it was an extraverted attention grabber.... it also had no mufflers. That car literally turned heads everywhere it went. I put so much creativity into that car, I did take the compliments on the car as a personal "back pat" as Mustangs are even more common than E-Classes by far. The E is more acquired and classily subtle than that, and it obviously doesn't seek that same kind of attention, but people do appreciate and even show admiration for it. With this car, all the "props" goes toward the car, I always am appreciative of any positive words and humbly thank them, though I do take credit in picking it.

Understated when you want it to be, and stands out when you want it to
I think you can not summarize better how W212 E Class is like than these lines . This could be a good commercial line as well
On the second count, you definitely can not compare classics with late models. Some folks are into classics and some are into late models. I personally care nothing about classics, but I do mod and accessorize my late model Corvette, Silverado and E350. People consistently compliment and take pictures of all three every where I go. My wife drives a nice 2010 Escalade but it never gets noticed because it doesn't have any mods or accessories.
Of course, my '03 Corvette is in a different category all together. It does have approximately $50,000 in mods and accessories. Although I drive it on the street, I only drive it to car shows and car functions throughout the southeast. I have entered a total of 168 car shows and won a total of 143 plaques and trophies. I only say this to say I do have some understanding of what creates a compliment or an impromptu picture taking session.
I once posted a pic of my E350 on this forum and someone made the comment, "I almost threw up in my mouth." when I saw it. I fully understand modding and accessorizing is not for everyone, but I can pretty much guarantee if my E350 and the individual who made the above statement was parked in a parking lot together, there would be more compliments and pictures aimed at mine. I don't add mods and accessories to my vehicles to get noticed, I do it because I have never been able to drive a vehicle the way it came from the factory. I want to enjoy it while I own it. My vehicles have to be unique, or as I have always said, they have to have a personality. I don't care what it is worth in 10, 20 or 30 years because I definitely won't own any of them that long.
Of course there is another issue here. People like me who put thousands into mods and accessories wind up losing a lot of money when you sell it, because the value of the car does not go up with added accessories. On the other hand, some cars may even be harder to sell or trade because of added accessories.
It all boils down to different strokes for different folks and sacrifices each is willing to make to enjoy ownership of their vehicle.



But to answer OP, I usually accept the compliment but pass it onto the car or make a general statement on how MB builds great cars.
On the second count, you definitely can not compare classics with late models. Some folks are into classics and some are into late models. I personally care nothing about classics, but I do mod and accessorize my late model Corvette, Silverado and E350. People consistently compliment and take pictures of all three every where I go. My wife drives a nice 2010 Escalade but it never gets noticed because it doesn't have any mods or accessories.
Of course, my '03 Corvette is in a different category all together. It does have approximately $50,000 in mods and accessories. Although I drive it on the street, I only drive it to car shows and car functions throughout the southeast. I have entered a total of 168 car shows and won a total of 143 plaques and trophies. I only say this to say I do have some understanding of what creates a compliment or an impromptu picture taking session.
I once posted a pic of my E350 on this forum and someone made the comment, "I almost threw up in my mouth." when I saw it. I fully understand modding and accessorizing is not for everyone, but I can pretty much guarantee if my E350 and the individual who made the above statement was parked in a parking lot together, there would be more compliments and pictures aimed at mine. I don't add mods and accessories to my vehicles to get noticed, I do it because I have never been able to drive a vehicle the way it came from the factory. I want to enjoy it while I own it. My vehicles have to be unique, or as I have always said, they have to have a personality. I don't care what it is worth in 10, 20 or 30 years because I definitely won't own any of them that long.
Of course there is another issue here. People like me who put thousands into mods and accessories wind up losing a lot of money when you sell it, because the value of the car does not go up with added accessories. On the other hand, some cars may even be harder to sell or trade because of added accessories.
It all boils down to different strokes for different folks and sacrifices each is willing to make to enjoy ownership of their vehicle.
.


I mean E's in general. However, you're right, they're only "common" in upscale areas. I hang out in many different areas and when I'm somewhere that's even Middle Class, I rarely see E's. In Upper Class neighborhoods, they are quite common to see in my experiences.
This is probably like the 10th time I've had an "official" compliment my car, i.e someone who sits at some sort of checkpoint and looks at and into cars for a living (I've driven cross State several times). Usually they're quite taken aback by the ride.
I've even gotten many at garage's, valet's (though I've rarely valet'd), and many other places where people's jobs are to see cars all day long.
Like I said, if you present it right, the E can be anything you want it to be.
Last edited by K-A; May 6, 2012 at 07:25 AM.
In reference to KA's comment about seeing several W212s around. Well, I have to say, I live in Montgomery, Alabama, although it is the state capitol, it is not exactly a huge metropolitan area. After, I got my W212, I was surpirsed to see the huge number of 212s in the area. Most are white or black, with some silver ones here and there. It makes my Capri Blue kinda rare here in the local area. I have never seen one in my area with any noticeable mods or accessories, but there are a lot of them here.







