EuroDriverSD

All good things must come to an end...

My time here has been relatively brief, but well-lived. During my time here, I learned invaluable information and I have tried to reciprocate by sharing the knowledge that I gained. I joined here in the W203 section, moved over to W211 and finally graduated in W212. I was honored to be awarded the March 2020 FCOTM. But alas, I can't stay at the party forever.

Kids are growing up. Work hours keep getting longer. Health issues are rearing their ugly head. I can't play grease monkey anymore. The need for weekend meets and cruises has been overwhelmed by demands for family outings, weekend getaways, honey-do's. I need to slow down - I can't keep driving with my hair on fire. My fatal mistake was buying my wife an S60 - after that, she just had to have the SUV. The W212 didn't cut it as a family cruiser anymore. We needed more room for the dogs, the in-laws, nephews, nieces, etc., a car that can manage potholes.

My beloved W212 has moved on to new adventures with a new owner. I'm now behind the wheel of a Volvo XC90. It hurt to let go of the Benz keys, but I have to admit, the XC90 is plush - the change was not as bad as I thought it would be (and at least it's turbocharged and supercharged). The family is all giddy over it and no one else seems to give the absence of the W212 a second thought. But I'm okay with it. I've come to the realization that I've entered a new stage in life. They say growing old is mandatory but growing up is optional. Well, I wanted a wife and kids and so I impliedly opted to eventually having to grow up. But some habits are bad to break - I'm keeping my radar detector in the XC90 (I don't care if my wife hates it). I just hope the Volvos are as pleasurable and hassle-free as my Benzes.

I hope this is not a permanent farewell, although it will be farewell for a while (except I will keep checking up on the hot babe abs). It's been a pleasure being part of this community. Thank you all mods and members for making my Mercedes days a passion rather than mere ownership. I will always think of you as family. Please keep carrying the torch.

As to my W212, I will miss you dearly.

Farewell W212...

ghlkal

Good luck, and enjoy the next chapter

Senecat

Could have stored it in a storage unit and hung on to it. That's where my W212 lives. Sad, but it's safe, clean, and ready to go whenever I want to go visit it. Someday I'll get a bigger house/garage and bring it home to the others, but mortgage payments have recently doubled, so in the storage unit it stays for the time being.

BenzV12

I miss my W212 as well. I think you should have kept it anyway it's your choice and hope you won't regret

KEY08

Beautiful car! Glad you enjoyed it along with everything else in your life and it served you well. Life is all about change as we know, so enjoy that new ride and good fortune to you and your family. 👍

pierrejoliat

What a great post! I wish you all the best, I know that it's the 212 that brings us all together, but this forum has been the most active with the best members, I also moved through the forums car-wise, I was worried that the camaraderie of the 220 and 221 forums might be different in the 212,but found many friends and many very knowledgeable people who like those others, allowed me to own my car longer and do many repairs myself, anyway, you will be missed and I thank you for your past contributions! Life Happens,again, all my best to you and your family.

EuroDriverSD

Thank you everyone for your kind words and well wishes

Aussie_E350_Wag

I hope your XC90 isn't struck down by the auto issues many have suffered.

DubVBenz

I must have missed your post about getting rid of the 550.. care to share why you got rid of it and what you replaced it with?

EuroDriverSD

From what I've read, all major kinks were ironed out in the late 2022 models. I'm 700 miles into it and so far so good. Fingers crossed.

Replaced it with a '22 Volvo XC90. With the acquisition of the XC90 we were up to 4 cars - we are shrinking it down to 2 cars which is all we need.

Edward993

FWIW, the boy unit got our old XC90 which was a fabulous car. We are now down to four cars, that's my wife and I... Why yes, in fact, I do have a problem

Edward

Shuo Wang

I have been owning a 2018 XC90 T6 Inscription since Dec, 2017. It's a nice car, the ride is still a bit firmer than my W212, even though the Volvo has air suspension. The Volvo has been serving us well, you will enjoy it. It did had a few issues that could've cost a lot of money, but the warranty took care of it.
Just want you to know that XC90 definitely can't handle potholes in stock form. Mine came with 21 inch rims and I hit a pothole on my trip to yellowstone, cracked one rim and damaged one brand new tire. Make sure you steer away from all the potholes in your new Volvo.

EuroDriverSD

I have the Inscription with air suspension as well. I find the ride comfortable (but then again, I had the Brabus suspension in the W212). However I'm finding it to be more of a gas guzzler than the W212, even with the much smaller engine. I also notice more wind noise on the highway.

Thanks for the heads-up about the potholes - I also have the 21 inch wheels. I love their looks, but I didn't give their durability a second thought, otherwise I might have opted for 19's. At least I managed to negotiate potholes very well in the W212 haha.

Fliplegend

Best wishes! I enjoyed following your ILS Retrofit thread and you have indeed taught me a thing or two.

Jack McCarty

You could have elevated to the 212 Wagon & had the better horsepower output, torque & performance of the 212 4Matic Wagon with 3 rows of seats & Mercedes handling, & a 3.5 liter
V6.
Personally, I couldn’t go to Volvo with a 4000 lb. SUV powered by a lesser 2.0 liter, 4 cylinder motor.
That Volvo motor won’t be long lasting with that weight…

EuroDriverSD

I know the W212 wagon is a far superior car and the XC90 has nowhere near the power for passing acceleration but I had to go this route for several reasons:
- wife fell in love with the XC90 and I have to sleep warm
- the XC90 has great interior space
- we really needed a higher car for the Mexico roads in inclement weather and
- I really did need a car to slow me down to sensible speeds

EuroDriverSD

An SUV for a daily driver just wasn't the same - I missed the MB experience.
I was on the hunt for a vintage or semi-vintage car for the daily commute when I found this. I just couldn't resist!

2013 W204 C300 4Matic, fully loaded with P1 and P2 package:

CaliBenzDriver

Nice catch! I hope this beauty pleases you well everyday during commute - Amen.


Do you have the "Distronic Plus" in one of those packages?

EuroDriverSD

Thank you. I'm quite excited about this find. Jumping in the driver seat was a feeling of being back home. I really hope she turns out to be a reliable one - so far she's purring like a kitten and everything is smooth as silk.
No Distronic plus. I don't know that it was available in the 2013.

BenzV12

Nice to see you're back to Mercedes-Benz sedans
I think engine / drivetrain wise this is the best combo to me
Happy Driving

pierrejoliat

Nice car! I had a 2001 C240, wasn't fast but got great milage and was a solid car, drove it 60k without many issues, easy to park and zippy. LOL

DubVBenz

Good looking W204. The last couple of years with those headlights look really good. How's the reliability on the Volvo? Their designs are beautiful but I am weary of the drivetrains, they seem very complex.

EuroDriverSD

Thank you. I don't blame you for being weary of the Volvos - I had a 2000 S80 back in the day and as soon as the warranty ran out, it became a nightmare, money-gobbling headache. Fast-forward to now, and we have a 2021 S60 and the 2022 XC90 Inscription. The S60 we bought CPO because there were no new cars available at the time. I purchased a Volvo-branded extended warranty of 10 years, unlimited miles. The XC90 is still under new car, factory warranty but I will be purchasing the same extended warranty when the time comes. I figure if Volvo is willing to extend this type of warranty, they must be pretty confident in their reliability. I also did a ton of research and everything indicated they are a safe bet.

So far, both my wife and I are very happy with them. The S60 has a minor problem (malfunction with the aux battery) which was fixed under warranty with a software upgrade. Beyond that, they have both been problem-free so far, silky smooth, plenty of power and a pleasure to drive.

EuroDriverSD

Couldn't help myself - I got to work on the W204 right away. It ended up with many striking resemblances to my old W212.
Here she is in her newest glory:

BenzV12

Nice car, and real eye catcher with that color too. I'm afraid there's more resemblances between W206 and W213 as well