Hello all,

I am new to all things Mercedes. I’ve had many cars, even a few German ones and 1 hand-me-down Mercedes in my past (190E 2.6). Previously, I preferred cars that were light and agile. I’ve owned a 16V Scirocco, Lotus Europa, Alfa GTV6, and growing up there were a few Mercedes and BMW’s in the driveway that my parents owned. I’m poking around as I’m interested in owning another MB- hopefully a V8 coupe.

I’m sure I’ll be asking a lot of questions!

 

Hi @Richard_Mutt and welcome to MBWorld. Be sure to post a photo of your purchase 😀

 

welcome to mbworld...

 

Welcome!

 

As a follow up, I bought a 2002 CLK55 a few weeks ago and drove it back to NY from Fl. What a trip!

 

OK, looks like we need another photo 😃

 

Make sure it’s rust treated if you take it out in the winter. That road salt, and urea they use is murder. And watch out for those pot holes.
Other than that, welcome to MBWorld.

 

I’ve read that rust was the car’s biggest enemy. What treatment would you recommend?

 

I am not so much recommending a rust treatment as I am recommending that you don’t take the car out in inclement weather. If you do take it out, make sure it gets thoroughly rinsed with fresh water immediately after exposure to all the nasty road grime.

 

Funny story- I was originally going to have it shipped back to NY, but with the confidence from the owner who said he'd probably drive it if it were him, and he assured me the car was perfectly fine to go on a long trip. So at the last second, I decided to save a bit of money and drive its back. I left Clearwater at 5am and made it back to NY by 1 am (18 hours drive time). I did not do an overnight anywhere- just a few stops for gas and wake-up breaks. I powered through fueled with adrenaline. It was smooth sailing until the last few hours where my brother texted me and informed me of an unexpected snowstorm headed our way. I was a bit worried but it didn't seem like it would snow much- if at all. As I got closer, it was mostly rain that I had to deal with but driving through the NYC area, there was snow on the road which had mostly been cleared- no big deal. I slowed down as there were spots of slushy stuff. I was getting a bit nervous as the car has summer-only performance tires. I slowed down to 50 mph as it was getting a bit tricky. I finally got to my exit and as I pulled off the highway and onto the service road, I saw a large truck going really slowly. Then I saw the reason why- the service road had not been plowed! I thought "no big deal- it looks like an inch or so of virgin snow". Then on a gradual bend the car went sideways at 35 MPH! I gathered it up and tested traction by slowly applying the brakes on a straight bit. The was almost no slowing down at all- and a lot of sideways movement. I started to really worry now and slowed my pace to 10-15 MPH but even that was too fast for the conditions. All I could think of was "I've driven nearly 1200 miles, you just got this, please don't wrap it around a tree now!" I drove the final 2-3 miles at a walking pace and when I got home, I almost couldn't make it up the inclined driveway. I had to back it up and get a running start. It was an adventure. That was probably the first and only time the car has even seen snow as it was a Southern California and Florida car before I brought it to the NE.

P.S. I did give the underside a rinse a few days later and took it to the brushless car wash.

 

Sry this took a while!


This is just before I drove North to her new home.

 

That looks fantastic. Thanks for sharing 👍

 

Welcome, and congrats. Need to see that 16v scirocco.
R,
2Merks

 

I don't even know if I have pictures of the car any more since I owned it back when digital wasn't a thing. I probably have some 4 x 6 photos somewhere, and one of these days, I'll update this thread when I stumble upon them.

 

Sounds great...
R,
2Merks