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And so, as Steely Dan said, "home at last." My journey which started Friday to bring home a new four-wheeled friend packed all four seasons and a multitude of weathers into two and a half days through five states (ID, WA, OR, CA, AZ): frigid cold, sleet, freezing rain, snow, monsoon, plain old overcast and sun. The fact that I embarked on this journey smack dab at the front end of a winter storm rolling over the Pacific Northwest and a pelting, high-wind monsoon over much of Northern California just proves that I went into the right businesses and never became a weatherman. Went through so much whether, I thought about calling this Mercedes "The Ark." Or "Sturm."
Some meaningless statistics:
day 1: 4:00pm-10:00pm (6 hrs pure driving time)
day 2: 7:15am-10:00pm (2 hrs for snow tires; 11:45 hrs pure driving time, including freeway shutdown due to glare ice & jackknifed trailers)
day 3: 7:30am-10:45pm (1 hr for fuel, food; 13:15 hrs pure driving time)
31 hours total driving time
1,828 miles
59.8 mph avg.
24.0 mpg avg.
76.2 gallons of fuel
number of observed car crashes, spins, ditched vehicles: lost count
number of jackknifed tractor trailers: 3
number of single-car crashes unfolding before my eyes: 1
number of overturned vehicles: 2
number of disgusting racial epithets heard on the CB radio: lost count
number of mechanical failures incurred: 0
number of electronics failures incurred: 1
highest observed speed: 84 mph (studded winter tires, after all)
highest observed elevation: 4,100 feet
lowest observed temperature: 5 F
highest observed temperature: 82 F
I'll be popping up in here with greater frequency now, seeking service advice, etc., so say "hello."
if you have no experiance with w210 cars and intend to keep her for many years?
first thing to do is not to drive her in winter, these cars have massive rust issues!
nice car by the way.
I like the smokey and the bandit CB antenna on the roof
if you have no experiance with w210 cars and intend to keep her for many years?
first thing to do is not to drive her in winter, these cars have massive rust issues!
nice car by the way.
I like the smokey and the bandit CB antenna on the roof
Not driving home on those days was in no way an option. And, in a way, I do have experience with them.
Ironically, this was originally an AZ car before it was in Washington state. So, kind of a homecoming.
Congratulations on your purchase. I've driven mine (W210 E55 2001) from NorCal (SF Bay Area) to Vancouver, BC in 1.5 days with 4 people, 2 adults, 2 teenagers. Then went on to Calgary, Canadian rockies (Banff, Jasper) and Edmonton Alberta for another day of driving. Easy driving most of the time because I want to enjoy the scenery especially thru Shasta area where we spent overnight in a bed and breakfast. However I drove during the summer with some occasional rain and high winds along the way.
That was such an enjoyable drive and I plan to do it again this summer.
Reminds me of when I bought my E430. Purchased it in Chicago and drove it back to Seattle in the middle of winter. I wasn't smart enough to purchase snow tires so I did it on the all seasons that were on it. Hit some subzero temps along the way.
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