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  #16  
Old 03-16-2005, 08:30 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dculkin
...I know these guys who have big houses and lots of expensive toys, but they buy the wrong toys...
What's the 'wrong' toys, in your opinion? I need to check my list

Ken Silver
--------------
~1993 SL500, glistening triple black, xenons, AMG facelift to 2002 style.
~1999 SLK 230 Kompressor, silver/black leather, CD, immaculate
~1999 Lexus LX470 SUV, sand/ivory leather.
~1999 Suzuki Grand Vitara. black & silver.
~ex 350SL, 230E, 280E, MX5, Jaguar Daimler and a lot of other makes not nearly as nice.



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  #17  
Old 03-16-2005, 08:35 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KenSilver
What's the 'wrong' toys, in your opinion? I need to check my list
Bang and Olufsen.
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  #18  
Old 03-16-2005, 08:56 PM
wielder of thor's hammer
 
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It's strange. I am a young, poor college student who drives an 87 300E. Whenever someone asks me what I drive, I always feel the need to add on "but it's about 20 years old and leaks oil"- just so they don't get the impression I'm a Rich boy spending daddy's money. That's the impression people usually get if I just say mercedes.

One time, I was conversing with a girl in one of my English courses. She asked me what I drove and I said a benz. "You jerk, I envy you" she lightheartedly replied back. I asked her what she drove, and it turns out she was making payments on a 2002 626, which cost about 20K at the time. So I paid 1/7th of what she did for her car, yet in her mind my car was better, just because it was a benz.

It's no wonder that the quality at merc. has gone down like it has. they could slap wheels on dog poop over there and people here would still think it's great, just because it says benz on it. Crazy.
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  #19  
Old 03-16-2005, 09:07 PM
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dclukin, im not so sure being "smart" has as much of a correlation to being wealthy as it used to. There are 90 billion ways of making lots of money in todays corporate world... being in California, in a state where MB's are about as common as a mailbox, i stopped making assumptions about the people who drive new Mercs long ago.... sure there are the "educated" guys and gals who have the harvard degree and have a stable full of new Mercs, but for every one of these, I cannot even fathom how many people there are in CA who drive brand spankin new Mercs and have a standard or sub-standard education that have found wealth in business, arts, and other forms of "work" that bring in large amounts of monetary profit. But in the end, its all the same, and the stigma of driving a new benz still applies for those who wish to put people on a pedestal for their choice of automobile...

my thought on the topic of this thread is, that as someone mentioned earlier, it seems its not the year/model that people pay as much attention to, but rather condition.... which I have realised can fool a lot of people. Back when I had my first W123 people thought that thing was BRAND NEW.... just because it was in showroom cosmetic shape.... and probably combined with the fact that old benzes when well cared for, age nicely.. like wine.
Besides, only the shiny new and "new" looking old Mercs are the only ones that get any sort of attention with sooo many of them on the roads here.

Id like to think that driving an MB doesnt represent monetary wealth, but perhaps the preferance to drive a car that represents a company that has, or had, a passionate drive to build cars of unimaginable engineering and design quality, and in a way, paying homage to a company that has built cars for over 100 years, of unprecedented technological prowress, that has set a benchmark for longevity with their older models.... but then again, all too many people see the 3 pointed star and just see $$$, and nothing else.

I hafta say, my mom bought a 1989 Honda Accord SEi back in 1990 to use as a commuter car for work. That thing racked up 215K miles before the dummy at the shop didnt tighten everything up after an oil change, which in turn left my mom suddenly stranded on the side of the freeway with a burnt up engine.... we were thankfully given plenty of $$ for that mistake and ended up better off than to begin with on that deal. But that car sure was a great car, and it looked just as good in 1998 as it did new, out here in CA without the rust problems....

to summarize the more relative parts of this post, generally spekaing people see a clean well cared for benz of any vintage and think wow. Newness and model doesnt seem to matter.


Happy Motoring!
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  #20  
Old 03-16-2005, 09:36 PM
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Back in '67, you could buy a new 250S or a new Cadillac for $6,500. There was an ad line that went something like, "You can buy a Cadillac because of what your neighbor thinks of your car. Or you can buy a Mercedes because of what you think of your car." A few friends asked, "What did you buy THAT for?" But ten years later, they were driving them too.

A few years later, when asked how I liked the non-turbo 300D, my stock answer was "It's slow.......it smells...... it's noisy.........and I love it!"
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  #21  
Old 03-16-2005, 10:03 PM
KenSilver's Avatar
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kensilver
What's the 'wrong' toys, in your opinion? I need to check my list
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kuan
Bang and Olufsen.
Whew. I thought you might have said home theater projector, plasma tv, THX sound system, twin 19" computer flatscreen monitors, flatscreen in front of treadmill, trophy wife, Aeron office chair, cleaners, gardener, 4 trophy cars.

Ken Silver
--------------
~1993 SL500, glistening triple black, xenons, AMG facelift to 2002 style.
~1999 SLK 230 Kompressor, silver/black leather, CD, immaculate
~1999 Lexus LX470 SUV, sand/ivory leather.
~1999 Suzuki Grand Vitara. black & silver.
~ex 350SL, 230E, 280E, MX5, Jaguar Daimler and a lot of other makes not nearly as nice.
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  #22  
Old 03-16-2005, 10:30 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KenSilver
What's the 'wrong' toys, in your opinion? I need to check my list
Oh, I guess their toys are good for them, they are just not the ones I would get. Now, having said that, I will don the old flame suit and list three of the toys that strike me as suboptimal:

SUVs, unless you are driving a soccer team around with you all the time.
Big TVs
Harley Davidsons - On this one I probably deserve to get flamed. I have never owned a motorcycle and don't really know much about them, but the Japanese bikes seem so much more interesting than HDs. IMHO, of course.
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  #23  
Old 03-16-2005, 10:31 PM
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Is there a Mercedes mistique or something?

I have had my Mercedes for 1 day now. I notice people acknowledging me now that would never have before. People with other Mercedes wave when I drive by! It is a car, not a club. I just hope it doesn't cost too much to keep this biodiesel experiment running. Good thing I am mechanically inclined.
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  #24  
Old 03-17-2005, 12:33 AM
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My neighborhood-- upper working class if I have to put a label on it.
My 1990 300CE(115K) goes in the garage every night. Cost before
needed refurb/maint--$3200. Paid for.

When I back out in the morning, folks turn and look--
as if to say "who does he think he is"?
Then they get in thier $35-40K loaded pick-up truck to go to work. (Texas)
Which sat outside overnight-- and will be worth $7-10 k in 5 years when it is paid for.


Who's putting on airs and living over their means????
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  #25  
Old 03-17-2005, 01:24 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Veloce300DT
...Id like to think that driving an MB doesnt represent monetary wealth...
But it has and it does, and probably always will. You can't build a strong and expensive global brand over a century and have it mold fashion and opinion over that time without consequences. Rightly or wrongly it is still MB = $$ for most of the world's populace.

Ken Silver
--------------
~1993 SL500, glistening triple black, xenons, AMG facelift to 2002 style.
~1999 SLK 230 Kompressor, silver/black leather, CD, immaculate
~1999 Lexus LX470 SUV, sand/ivory leather.
~1999 Suzuki Grand Vitara. black & silver.
~ex 350SL, 230E, 280E, MX5, Jaguar Daimler and a lot of other makes not nearly as nice.
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  #26  
Old 03-17-2005, 01:28 AM
Provo Spain?
 
Join Date: Nov 2001
Posts: 656
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tx Benz
My neighborhood-- upper working class if I have to put a label on it.
My 1990 300CE(115K) goes in the garage every night. Cost before
needed refurb/maint--$3200. Paid for.

When I back out in the morning, folks turn and look--
as if to say "who does he think he is"?
Then they get in thier $35-40K loaded pick-up truck to go to work. (Texas)
Which sat outside overnight-- and will be worth $7-10 k in 5 years when it is paid for.


Who's putting on airs and living over their means????
Great post.

Usually when somebody points out my MB, I'll say, "How much did you pay for yours?" (Usually it's an SUV they are driving) and every single time, they paid more than I did.

Then I'll throw in the "it's over ten years old now" comment...
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  #27  
Old 03-17-2005, 01:42 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dculkin
...I will don the old flame suit and list three of the toys that strike me as suboptimal:

SUVs, unless you are driving a soccer team around with you all the time.
Big TVs
Harley Davidsons.
Crimony -you've taken two of the funs out of my life! So now - instead of taking these next 10 minutes working on earning a small fortune to upgrade my SUV and BigScreenTv, I will spend the energy explaining why they are wholly desirable...

I bought my first SUV a couple of months ago. This Lexus absolutely blew me away. I felt safe because of the size. I felt secure because of the high ride height visibility. I felt cossetted because of the luxury. I felt little of the road because of the superb air-cushioned ride. In short, it was all that I desired in a road-moving-vehicle, yet had never found in--even my Jaguar. It was no contest for the buying decision. I'd buy another Lexus in a NY minute... it is brilliant.

Big TVs. Well, when you want perfection, you don't stop at just any old tiny TV that hides details in its blurry confines. Instead you go for the largest screen for the best picture experience you can get. Would you sit in a picture theater and watch a 14" TV? Of course not. A large plasma, and a projector that I run through a dedicated PC, provide the quality I crave.

But here's the real and possibly insidious problem with these kind of toys... once you experience them, you never want to go back.

Ken Silver
--------------
~1993 SL500, glistening triple black, xenons, AMG facelift to 2002 style.
~1999 SLK 230 Kompressor, silver/black leather, CD, immaculate
~1999 Lexus LX470 SUV, sand/ivory leather.
~1999 Suzuki Grand Vitara. black & silver.
~ex 350SL, 230E, 280E, MX5, Jaguar Daimler and a lot of other makes not nearly as nice.
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  #28  
Old 03-17-2005, 01:56 PM
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It is simple really MB's are expensive cars and people think you have money. I would imagin the Rolls/Bently crowed gets it worse. Personally I like the attention a clean MB can get you, sometimes it can open doors.

I get the same thing when I am working on boats for people I know. No one will give you the time of day when your washing a small center console. But when I'm having lunch on the back of a $1m sportfish well then all of a sudden people want to be your friend. It is annoying.
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  #29  
Old 03-19-2005, 08:47 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ashman
I find most people do not have a clue. I get asked all the time if my car is a new car and if it is a 500 this or that.

They are shocked when I tell them what year it is.

That to me means one thing. still looks better than most new cars ont he road.

Alon
Thats exactly what I get, they even think its new. They think I'm loaded $, what ever, I love the car and it looks Great with those AMG's. But I'm mostly into my Chevelle SS 454 at this time.

PS. How you doing Alon !!!!
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  #30  
Old 03-19-2005, 09:02 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dculkin
Oh, I guess their toys are good for them, they are just not the ones I would get. Now, having said that, I will don the old flame suit and list three of the toys that strike me as suboptimal:

SUVs, unless you are driving a soccer team around with you all the time.
Big TVs
Harley Davidsons - On this one I probably deserve to get flamed. I have never owned a motorcycle and don't really know much about them, but the Japanese bikes seem so much more interesting than HDs. IMHO, of course.

Hey now........Harley davidsons have more class then every jap bike out there combined.........................


I've had my Harley since 1983.....I've Riden it to the Black hills rally in sturgis SD, I've ridden it in France, Austria, Switzerland and all over Italy.....

Still have it and still ride it...

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