I Hate New Cars!!!!! - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

E150GT · #1 08-22-2007, 11:19 PM

man, I hate getting in a new car these days. Tonight I drove around in my girlfriend's parents ml320 and I was like Tom Hanks in the limosine in Big. Soooo many little buttons and doomabobs. I really want one now and I dont want to go back to the ol 420. Makes me feel how worn my car really is. Oh well. I'll forget all about it in a few minutes and will be happy until I ride in it again. Then I'll be depressed all over again.

Gurkha · #2 08-22-2007, 11:25 PM

There is virtually no pleasure in driving today's car, be it of any make and model, no feedback, no involvement of the driver unless you like playing video games, all sanitized and full of unreliable electronics which would go bad in few years leading to costly repairs, gimme old MB W123 diesel or Toyota Cressida or Subaru over these any day.

Angel · #3 08-22-2007, 11:32 PM

In new GM (any many other brand...) cars, the speedo and tach do a little dance when you turn the key on. I figured this was their way of telling us "these gauges are really not connected to to the wheels or engine in any way".

I have enough EE knowledge to know mostly otherwise (senors, electrons, solid-state devices, copper wires and silicon traces...the meter is vaguely connected to the wheels or engine), but I see it as "fake" if the speedo can run itself up to 120mph with the car sitting still. makes me like the 240D I roll. Its the lousy mileage and no power that bug me about the 240D. Can't have it all I guess.

-John

Gurkha · #4 08-22-2007, 11:36 PM

The 240D stick I drove in college always gave me over 32mpg consistently even when driven hard and would return 36mpg on highway. It would go up to 80mph on plain level roads with little coaxing.

G-Benz · #5 08-23-2007, 01:53 AM

I can't be hatin' the new models...

Though I love the feel of my W124 on a regular basis, the 07 ML350 has been a pleasure on long trips.

So what if there are too many buttons? Just "set and forget". I never turned on the headlamps as they did so automatically...never turned on the (rain-sensing) wipers, and it was nice to have that sexy navigation voice lead the way on occasion.

The only oddity is remembering to switch from "stalk" tranny back to console shifter when Monday rolls around. Sometimes I try to back out of the garage with the W124 by moving the wiper lever!

Experience tells me that all of that electronic overhead will haunt me when the warranty period is up! So I leased this time!

Ara T. · #6 08-23-2007, 01:57 AM

I love new cars and old cars, hey, im a car guy.

I wonder if back in the 80's, some guy was test driving the new W126 long wheelbase car and he said, "Man, i hate new cars, they are too big and heavy, holy **** this car has a 120 inch wheelbase and is 2 tons heavy!"

Actualyl what i always loved about those long wheelbase 126's is that they never felt that big... didn't really notice the extra wheelbase length compared to my W123.

Oh, and i love the sound the 20 yaer old leather makes when you go over bumps (not).

I understand you not liking SUVs though, I hate driving them for the most part. I don't like driving in a position that's so high up.

Jim B. · #7 08-23-2007, 04:00 AM

Oh yeah, was supposed to be the dream car.

Brand new Firemist red Volvo C70 2001 HPT turbo coupe brand new, so new we aw it exactly as it was off the boat from Sweden to Port Hueneme Calif where it was unloaded and trucked up to the dealer to Burlingame

Right there with all the plastic sheeting stuck all over the body to protect it.

Opened the door and plastic sheeting everywhere: on the seats, the floor, the steering wheel. Everywhere plastic. Exactly as it was off the boat from Goteburg Sweden.

New car smell so strong it gagged you out. As new as factory fresh as you could ask. Totally new. About 3 miles on it.

CURSED BY EVERY DIETY FROM ALLAH TO ZEUS NO not that Zeus LOL sorry Chris.

That damn car was an utter piece of LEMON Spent practically every other week at the dealer.

They could never fix it. All I got was coffee stains from the dealer tech;s cup of coffee on theconsole, grease all over the dashboard dirty footprints and grease on the doors.

Disgusting.

Finally enough is enough.

Hired a Lemon Law Attorney. After a year got all money back (about $40k, too) less the miles driven at 20Cents a mile, aboiut 7700 miles in a year and a half , ate the insurance costs.

New car? pfffffffffffffffffffffffft

Nein danke.,

soooo,

What about this: A lovely little pearl gray '79 240 Diesel, manual shift, wind up windows, manual sunroof, MB tex, a Euro warning triangle on her, EUROro lights (French version) 0n her, howabout euro headlite wipers too, euro climate control, block heater,

painted hubcaps on steelies, Nicely run in at 85,000 miles, no rust anywhere, tools and jack, spare never down, all books and records there from new, always garaged, coco mats on the floor, and maybe one of those big chrome German horseshoes for good luck on the grille.

NOW we are talking.

Talke your new car and stick it where the sun don't shine.***

"""
"Carmel, California"

LUVMBDiesels · #8 08-23-2007, 05:07 AM

I agree with you guys. I have been taking my mother car shopping over these past few weeks. All the new cars, be them Mazda, Mercury, Subaru, Saturn, Chevy etc feel the same. totally disconnected from you. Sure they are comfortable and have 1 zillion airbags, but since when is the biggest selling point the fact that the car has 18 airbags? I mean what happened to design or performance?

I must admit that she has no interest in a new BMW or MB, but going to their dealerships for parts leaves me flat.They all look like cheap imitations of Korean cars. Can't say much about their road manners though so I might be missing out on a nirvana like experience in the new S class or 7 series

The last new car I loved was my '96 Impala SS That was a car. It could outrun and out handle a BMW 740iL and still give me 28mpg on the highway.

As I told my mechanic, I love German cars -- just ones from 20 years ago

miljohnj5 · #9 08-23-2007, 08:14 AM

For an older commuting college student my 300D fits my needs like a glove. However, I'm coming in line soon for graduate school and most likely a good paying job afterward. That said, yes I agree the Deutsche diesels will out-live all others but there are new cars out there which of course average Joe's like me can't afford that do provide car-driver interface for a driving experience not overwrought with gizmo distraction. I've been convinced on buying a '66 Maserati Sebring series II for about 10 years now once the time is right (mid-life crisis) but after seeing this car (not the exact) in person and hearing the engine roar, whoah momma forget the married life for me...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Aston-Martin-DB9-F1-Shift_W0QQitemZ270157302432QQihZ017QQcategoryZ5358QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Paddle shift!!! "Poor" guy must have lost BIG in Vegas, that car's worth double easy, unless...

miljohnj5 · #10 08-23-2007, 08:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by miljohnj5

For an older commuting college student my 300D fits my needs like a glove. However, I'm coming in line soon for graduate school and most likely a good paying job afterward. That said, yes I agree the Deutsche diesels will out-live all others but there are new cars out there which of course average Joe's like me can't afford that do provide car-driver interface for a driving experience not overwrought with gizmo distraction. I've been convinced on buying a '66 Maserati Sebring series II for about 10 years now once the time is right (mid-life crisis) but after seeing this car (not the exact) in person and hearing the engine roar, whoah momma forget the married life for me...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Aston-Martin-DB9-F1-Shift_W0QQitemZ270157302432QQihZ017QQcategoryZ5358QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Paddle shift!!! "Poor" guy must have lost BIG in Vegas, that car's worth double easy, unless...

Sorry to keep hammering this but engine ingition button on the center console,

James Bond(ed) and insured...

Hatterasguy · #11 08-23-2007, 01:24 PM

I drove an SL500, BIG, BIG mistake! Its a much more fun car to drive than my W126.

I'm thinking about selling the SDL next year and buying an 2000-02 CL/SL500.

miljohnj5 · #12 08-23-2007, 01:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hatterasguy

I drove an SL500, BIG, BIG mistake! Its a much more fun car to drive than my W126.

I'm thinking about selling the SDL next year and buying an 2000-02 CL/SL500.

Mad Hatter, you're from Milford eh? I almost bought a Volvo 240 Classic (sweet) from there last year instead of my trusty 300D, glad I didn't. There was a big power-outage and it was like 90-95 degrees, traffic lights out and everyone was let of work early, nice traffic snarl. Not a bad town though from what I saw.

Hatterasguy · #13 08-23-2007, 01:42 PM

Yeah I remember that power outage, that was a couple of years ago. I was fishing and watching the excitment from a distance.

All the power plants were going nuts, lots of smoke.

The Swede · #14 08-23-2007, 03:28 PM

I own opposites, an elegantly simple '79 diesel wagon and a plasticy, gizmo-ridden W220.

Both have their strong points, but overall the 123 is a "better" car. Nearly impossible to break. Fun around town and very practical -- the 220 is great for interstate travel or a night out on the town.

beevly · #15 08-23-2007, 03:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LUVMBDiesels

... but since when is the biggest selling point the fact that the car has 18 airbags?

...when you're buying it for your 18 yo daughter it sure is.

Agree with the other points here though - my '02 210 was fantastic new and still is, but it's gonna cost me to keep. I don't think it's realistic to expect it to last 20 yrs without a lot of $$$. I'll probably do it anyway, I never thought I'd like a car this much.