In 2015 SUVs there were: GLK: the small one, ML: medium size, and GL: the big beast. There was also the G-wagon which was (and still is) the high-dollar off-road looking creature.

Now the GLK has been stretched and improved, and is called the GLC, there is a new GLA which has a sloping roof and looks more like a crossover, the ML has been rebadged GLE, and the GL has been rebadged GLS. So now the SUV line is all GLx, with the x tying it to the A, C, E, and S class vehicles. GLC is not currently available in diesel.

To add to this madness, the GLS and GLE are available in a coupe version (yes, SUV coupes) which have a sloping roof a-la BMW or Evoque looking.

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Gone to the dark side

- Jeff

I get in the 300SD with new suspension and get out saying "Damn, I Like driving that car."

I get out of the 78 Datsun Z with manual everything and say "Damn, I love driving that car".

I get into newer cars and say "Damn, how do you get this ***/!/* thing adjusted to drive.

Sometimes we rent cars for long trips because fuel & mileage savings pay for the rental and keep the mileage off our cars. I get out and say "It drives nice but is so B O R IN G.

I'll try a new Benz but the wife is probably much too pragmatic to go that route. I'll Keep tinkering with the old stuff for a while longer. I'm hoping to get a small house with a big shop before I lose interest in wrenching.

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85SD 240K & stopped counting painted, putting bac together. 84SD 180,000. sold to a neighbor and member here but I forget his handle. The 84 is much improved from when I had it. 85TD beginning to repair to DD status. Lots of stuff to do.

I agree, even from Mercedes, ... an SUV seems so sterile and boring compared to my older cars. It's as close to a minivan as I ever will get.

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Gone to the dark side

- Jeff

THIS! Exactly This!!!! +1


I've come to hate and despise our 2007 Camry. It has never broken down, maintenance costs are low, but I hate driving it. It's gotten to the point that now I refuse to drive it. When I drive it I just get angry at it.
It's so....mediocre. Everything from it's plastic steering wheel down to it's slightly uncomfortable seats, the touchy breaks, the laggy electronic throttle, the total silence in the cabin at highway speeds, the cloudy/mushy suspension (it has 4 new struts...Suspension ain't worn) the vague steering feel, ****ty stereo, it's quiet little engine, it's terrible automatic gearbox, the too-large ignition key that pokes me in the kneecap every time I drive...

Everything about it I hate. I hate the fact we actually spend a bunch of cash buying it. It was supposed to be our first real "grown-ups" car. Man, I've owned 200 dollar rusted-out cars when I was in college that I enjoyed driving much more than this total, grey'ish, boring piece of cr*p.

One thing is for certain: Most new cars will never turn into classics. Can you imagine someone proudly showing their 2007 Camry in 2040 and other people nodding their approval and giving a thumbs up?

Ha, most newer cars have the same character as my dish washer, and once disposed of when they break down will be forgotten just as quickly. "What was that sedan thing we owned back in the day? A Nissan Corolla or something, right dear?"

It's why I keep holding on to my lil' all manual Mazda and the ol' Benz so much...Those two I actually enjoy driving, even if they are much slower and noisier than that hateful turd of Camry.

I just simply can't fathom how the Camry is the best-sold car in the United States. What's wrong with people?!?! I'm waiting for the day it catches on fire or someone totals it. I will laugh all the way to the junk yard, gleefully collect the insurance money and buy a face-lifted W202 as replacement.

/Rant over....

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"The MB W123 is so bulletproof, you can drive them forever. Which is a good thing as it takes that long to get anywhere."
Betsie: 1984 W123 300D (hobby, 280k miles)
Myrla: 2001 Mazda Protege 2.0 ES 5spd (daily driver, 130k miles)
The Turd: 2007 Toyota Camry (wife's car, 118k miles)

I concur...

I am in my mid 40s and have owned them all, new Benzs to Tie-yodas. I have had a couple of reliable new Japanese cars (Honda Odyssey and Toyota Camry) and found them so lacking in Soul, so boring, so appliance like. I now tell my enthusiast buddies would you rather spend your days bored or "take a chance" on something with some quirks perhaps but more rewarding to drive and own. For me i do my own maintenance and light repairs so the reward also comes from a car built with maintenance in mind. I currently own 4 Mercedes and even with a monthly check engine light to diagnose I enjoy the ownership experience.

If i did not enjoy cars in the way I do life would be boring!

Life is too short to drive Camrys!!

I married into a 97 Saturn bought new by my new wife. She never cleaned the car. I barely even changed the oil and brakes. The only thing I remember doing in 200,000 besides oil and seldom brakes is changing 1 set of plug wires and 1 O2 sensor. The new O2 cost $18 and took 2 minutes to install. That car got great mileage on GAS.

I hated that car and eventually gave it away to a friend of mine.

The new owner called to say that "the gauges were going crazy and what should she do?" I looked at it and saw milky stuff in the oil. DEAD and sold for scrap keeping the new battery - probably blown head gasket caused by over heating. I should have changed the thermostat before giving it away.

There are forums where people actually like these cars but now I don't have to drive it or even look at it. I'm glad.

I'll keep the GF that turned into wife. She's the best I've had.

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85SD 240K & stopped counting painted, putting bac together. 84SD 180,000. sold to a neighbor and member here but I forget his handle. The 84 is much improved from when I had it. 85TD beginning to repair to DD status. Lots of stuff to do.

You'll miss the car. Guaranteed.

I'm sure the newer Benz will give you good service. I have no experience with that model, so I can't comment on differences.

But like the previous poster, I have a recent experience with a newer car, which was a rental when my car went in for accident repairs. The car was some Hyundai thing that was a fully loaded lahdidah. Every day I was exhausted after driving it. It felt...unsafe. Vision was poor in every direction except front. Backing out of my driveway, I realized why the backup camera was needed....because without it, you couldn't see squat.

The handling was crisp of course, but I never felt like I was driving the thing. It felt like it was driving me. I got honked once because I actually drifted into someone's lane! A first for me in over 40 years of driving! Now I know why I've had to honk at so many people in the newer cars who drift into my lane. The damn car does it for you! I'm not sure if it's because of the ****ty no- feel steering or the completely insulated feeling, but it gave me one clue as to why I always got out of the car tired.

Well, good luck with your new Benz Babymog. And yes, don't forget the Unimog dream. That is another quite amazing vehicle too.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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1987 300TD
1984 300D
755,000 KM and going strong
BC Canada

Although I haven't had any experience with any M B G-anything, I will say that I had the pleasure of driving my friends newly acquired 07 E320 Bluetec. That is one amazing car and engine! If I did not know I was driving a Diesel car, I would have sworn it was a gas V8 propelling it down the road. Yes the feel of an SUV and a sedan are quite different, but there is still great satisfaction when your brain tells your foot to push down on the skinny pedal, which then tells the computer to add more fuel and air to the engine, thereby increasing the power and speed of the Diesel engine propelling the car or SUV forward at almost a breakneck speed. And just to add more pleasure to the experience, it does all the above while providing econo-box like fuel mileage! I would also agree with the othe posters about the lack of soul and character in the typical sedans from Asia. Where they fall short in these areas, most any Mercedes-Benz (especially the older models) stands proud and above the crowd. With very little exception, the overall driving experience of any one of the 'Benzs that I have enjoyed over the years, is much better than any I have had with any other vehicle I have owned (over 100) since getting my license at age 16.

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All Diesel Fleet
1985 R107 300SLD TURBODIESEL
2005 E320 CDI (daily)

LOTS of parts for sale!


EGR block kit
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/355250-sale-egr-delete-block-off-plate-kit.html

1985 CA emissions 617 owners- You Need This!
Sanden style A/C Compressor Mounting Kit for your 616/ 617 For Sale + Install Inst.

Sanden Instalation Guide (post 11):
http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/367883-sanden-retrofit-installation-guide.html

I do not understand your post. You did not need to wrench on this car for 200K miles or at very minimum time and costs and you do not like it? I would take an econo box that can do 200K any time with minimum repair.

I like my old MBZ diesel. I would not say that they are money pit but you need to BABY them as they are all 25+ years old. It is time consuming as now and then some minor things crop up, like B1, B2, governor cover O-ring leaks, radiator leaks, A/C dies, ODO stops, ball joints replacement, mono valve, vacuum pods. vacuum not wokring etc etc. Not enough to bog you down but enough to irritate you. I enjoy wrenching but I do not want to marry to them either. Anyway, I am thinking of a newer bluetec like an E250 but my concern is the new computer wizardry. It may be giving me 45+mpg but I probably blow the gas saving on repair at the stealership. So I am still on the fence on newer diesel. However, I drove a BMW 335d and that was one hell of a rocket diesel.

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Not MBZ nor A/C trained professional but a die-hard DIY and green engineer. Use the info at your own peril. Picked up 2 Infractions because of disagreements. NOW reversed.

W124 Keyless remote, PM for details. http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/mercedes-used-parts-sale-wanted/334620-fs-w124-chasis-keyless-remote-%2450-shipped.html

1 X 2006 CDI
1 x 87 300SDL
1 x 87 300D
1 x 87 300TDT wagon
1 x 83 300D
1 x 84 190D ( 5 sp ) - All R134 converted + keyless entry.

Jeff, any pics of the new ML 250 to post? I still don't know what these things look like. It's not the little GLK, so, I'd it the big honking ML Land Rover looking MB SUV?

It's time.

I have listed Belle in the classifieds, as I promised my DSW.

The parts cache needs to sell also, hopefully with the car, but if someone wants lots of parts for a "one price takes all" I will split it up, will make selling the car easier.

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Gone to the dark side

- Jeff

Yes Joe, just one:

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Gone to the dark side

- Jeff

have you pee'd in the gas tank yet?

Not for another few months, ...

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Gone to the dark side

- Jeff