I just bought a 2001 E55 a couple of days ago and there's not a chance in hell that I'd give one to a 17 year old. It's way too much power for someone with limited/no driving experience.

 

I am sorry to disagree. We have a daughter, precious to us as anyone else’s child and we live in LA which is a nightmare of road going potential tragedy.

The sad state of driver education in this country does not prepare a young adult to drive in all of the myriad circumstances they will find themselves in quickly once they start driving without parental supervision and most especially when their friends accompany them and thereby further distract them. Whatever your feelings are about having taught them to navigate traffic and get from A to B it is the very basics and only experience will flesh out their driving skill but I am betting you did not teach any of the following: skid control, emergency braking in the wet, emergency lane changes, debris avoidance, driving in fog or any other freak occurrences we have all encountered from time to time.

A Mercedes is an ideal car from a safety standpoint, some on this board say you put your son in an old POS, well what happens when some looney texting soccer mom runs a red light and T bones him in her SUV. Hey the gas is cheap though.
Nothing is built like a Mercedes and what’s more not much stops like a Mercedes either and that is 2 out of the 3 major issues solved. Just stand by the side of the POS you think your son should have and ask yourself what does this car look like after a head on.

Last issue is his own ability. MB clubs across the country have Driver Events, AutoX and safety days you should sign him up for. Learn to drive the car flat out, see what it can and cannot do. I took my daughter to a 2 day event hosted by Porsche and she is a whiz at the track but it did scare her enough that she doesn’t drive like an idiot on the street anymore and knows her limits, in the case of an emergency she can correct a spin. Last summer a pedestrian stepped out in front of her and she braked, turned and missed her by inches, the cop that saw the whole thing said he could not believe she missed hitting what he thought was a sure fatality.

I feel strongly that driving a high performance car makes you a better driver, the more sensitive car demands more attention and therefore you are more engaged in what you are doing. But kids need a graduate class before getting into a E55 (the 420 is no different) and a safe venue with professional teachers on a closed track is a must. I would argue all kids need this regardless of the car they drive.

 

What about a 240D? That's what I drove when I was in college. That thing is build solid and the engine is bulletproof I actually thought of getting one the other day when I saw one on the highway and brings back memories.

 

Lots of Ds in your signature!

 

Bev...I think I burn a lot of brain cells over the years sniffing the diesel fumes...

 

I can see where you are coming from and you do have a point. A mercedes will be safer than most other cars. But it doesnt have to be an e55. That thing piles on speed at an alarming rate. He'll be coming into corners 20 mph plus faster than in the e430. And at 17 he won't have the restraint that comes with age nor will he have the experience to guide him. Give him an e55 now and it will be purely by the grace of the Almighty that he won't kill himself before he's 20...
I say, buy him a mercedes e230.
Brgds